This Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe for Crusted Chicken Romano has thinly cut chicken breasts, parmesan cheese, flour, and egg wash, all coming together to create a juicy piece of chicken that is lightly pan fried until golden brown.

Parmesan crusted crusted romano on a white plate with parsley sprinkled on top

Oh Cheesecake Factory, the restaurant known for having a million dishes. And on top of that, a million cheesecakes. No one could go there and say that they didn't have options! This parmesan cheese crusted chicken romano is a simple dish that they serve, like a grown up chicken tender. It takes only 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper, but that's a given!).

Looking for more chicken copycat recipes to try? Olive Garden Eggplant Parmesan, Red Robin Chicken Ensenada Platter, Olive Garden Chicken Veronese or Olive Garden Steak Gorgonzola are all delicious options!

Ingredients for Crusted Chicken Romano

raw chicken breasts, salt, pepper, flour, parmesan cheese, and an egg measured out on a wooden cutting board

Thin-Cut Chicken Breasts: Buying chicken breasts already thin cut makes this an extra easy protein for dinner with less clean up. You can also use regular boneless skinless chicken breasts and pound them them or butterfly them. Thin cut chicken breasts are great in Giada Chicken Piccata and Creamy Boursin Chicken as well.
Parmesan cheese: You can use fresh grated parmesan or green shaker cheese works just fine here.
Egg: Egg acts like glue, holding the coating in place.
Flour: Regular all purpose flour works great. Gluten free flour can be substituted to make this crusted chicken romano gluten free.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients.

Variations and Substitutions

Make it gluten free. You can easily make this a Gluten free Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Simply replace the flour with cornstarch or gluten free flour and you are good to go. (Cornstarch will actually make the chicken coating even crispier! It's used in the coating for these Crispy Chicken Teriyaki Bites).

How to make Cheesecake Factory Crusted Romano Chicken

chicken breasts coated in flour on a white cutting board.

Step 1. Start by getting three shallow bowls. In the first bowl, add flour. Coat each thin cut chicken breast with flour and then shake off.

Step 2. In the second bowl, place egg and water and stir with a fork to create egg wash. Then each flour coated piece of chicken into the egg wash.

chicken breasts coated in parmescan on a white cutting board.

Step 3. In the third bowl, add parmesan. Coat each chicken breast in parmesan cheese, pressing cheese into meat to ensure it sticks.

finished crusted chicken romano on a white plate.

Step 4. Heat olive oil in a large sturdy skillet over medium high heat. In batches, fry chicken until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Recipe Tips and Notes

This dish is simple but it's helpful to have your different dredging ingredients set up before you start because you will be touching raw chicken throughout the process.
One of the best ways to do fried chicken cutlets in a pan is making sure they are very thin. This way you get a super crispy crust, but you don't risk the inside being over or undercooked.
Once the chicken is done, place on paper towels to catch excess oil before serving.
This fried chicken cutlet recipe does not have breadcrumbs. Between the flour, egg wash, and cheese, a nice crust is formed, no bread crumbs needed. If you want the crust to be extra crispy, try adding a ¼ cup of breadcrumbs to the cheese and mixing well. Use that to coat the chicken instead of straight parmesan. Delicious!

How to Serve

This chicken is so versatile-- it can be paired with countless different dishes from adding protein to salads, in wraps, and with different pasta dishes. It is a pretty neutral flavor, the saltiness of the romano cheese is the strongest part. It would be great with a side of Steakhouse Creamed Spinach.

At Cheesecake Factory, this chicken is served with pasta. This side romano chicken pasta recipe is so simple I thought I would quickly share with you how to make it!

Cheesecake Factory Creamy Tomato Pasta

½ lb. pasta noodles of your choice
1 cup tomato sauce ( I used standard marinara sauce from a jar)
¼ cup of heavy cream

Cook the pasta according to packaging instructions and then drain well. Place pasta back in pot and pour in tomato sauce and heavy cream. Stir to coat. That's it! Super simple side dish, but a little extra special with the added cream.

More Pasta Recipes

chicken on a white plate with spaghetti and a green and white striped napkin

If you tried this Crusted Chicken Romano or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love to hear from you.