Giada De Laurentiis Just Put an Air Fryer Twist on This Italian Favorite & It’s So Much Easier Now

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We try not to be dramatic about what we do in the kitchen, but other than cleaning, is there any task more annoying than deep-frying? From the initial splatters as you fill your pot or pan with oil, to the fiery splutters that burn your skin and grease up the cabinets and counterops as you cook, to the stinky clean-up, it’s one of our most-dreaded cooking activities. That means that we don’t get to eat crispy chicken milanese, one of our favorite meals, as often as we’d like. But Giada De Laurentiis, author of Everyday Italian, has a modern solution that takes all of the fuss out of making a chicken milanese recipe: just use an air fryer!

It seems like everyone we know has an air fryer these days, and it’s easy to see why they’ve become so popular. They eliminate all of the hassle that comes with deep and shallow-frying things in oil, and they’re better than the microwave for re-heating all sorts of leftovers and cooking frozen foods, too.

Here’s how De Laurentiis makes her crispy air-fried chicken milanese. First, she butterflies her chicken breasts, so that they are thin cutlets. You can also sometimes find thin chicken cutlets at the store, which can save some time. Then, to make the chicken even thinner, the butterflied pieces get sandwiched between plastic wrap and pounded with a rolling pin or mallet until they’re 1/2 inch thick. This ensures they’ll all cook evenly, and they’ll cook up quickly, too.

The chicken cutlets are breaded in the traditional manner, first getting dipped in flour, then in beaten eggs, then in a Parmesan cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs mixture. The air fryer gets preheated and coated with cooking spray, and the breaded chicken cutlets get sprayed with cooking spray on top, too. This helps the breading crisp up and brown.

The chicken goes into the air fryer where it cooks for about 10 minutes. You might need to make the recipe in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.

The end result? A platter of versatile, golden-brown, crispy, cheesy chicken cutlets. They can be eaten as is, with a squirt of lemon and a peppery salad on the side, or they can be used to make hearty Italian subs, chicken parmesan, as chicken tenders, and more. Best of all, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of oil frying, but you still get the chicken milanese flavor and texture you love.

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Watch: How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Stuffed Lasagna Rolls