Chicken Milanese & Creamy Pesto Penne
Enjoy a multi-dish culinary tour of a new destination!
- Milk
- Wheat
- Soy
This Italian-inspired feast is sure to impress everyone at the dinner table. For a savory app, you’ll whip up lemony, tomato-and-olive topped crostini. Then, you’ll serve golden-brown chicken Milanese, plus creamy pesto penne that you’ll finish with crispy bites of prosciutto. A balsamic-dressed arugula salad completes the feast!
Ingredients
1.5 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
2 ounce
Arugula
4 tablespoon
Pesto
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Lemon
6 ounce
Penne Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
1 tablespoon
Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
2 unit
Tomato
2 ounce
Prosciutto
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
¼ ounce
Parsley
5 teaspoon
Balsamic Glaze
1 unit
Demi-Baguette
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
1 unit
Green Olives
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
4 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce.
Dice tomatoes into ¼-inch pieces. Finely chop olives. Finely chop parsley. Zest and quarter lemon. Slice baguette into 8-10 rounds (16-20 rounds for 4 servings).
In a shallow bowl, combine panko, Parmesan, and Italian Seasoning.
In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, parsley, lemon zest, a drizzle of olive oil, juice from one lemon wedge (two wedges for 4), salt, and pepper. Set aside, stirring occasionally.
Pat chicken* dry with paper towels; place between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a mallet or rolling pin until chicken is about ½ inch thick. Season with salt and pepper; brush all over (both sides!) with sour cream.
Working one piece at a time, press chicken into panko mixture until fully coated. Transfer to a plate. TIP: For less mess, use tongs to dip and transfer.
Once water is boiling, add penne to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes.
Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
Place cream sauce base and pesto in pot used for penne over medium heat. Stir in drained penne until thoroughly coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired. Set aside, stirring occasionally. TIP: If needed, stir in splashes of reserved pasta cooking water until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.
Spread baguette slices out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Toast on middle rack until golden brown, 5-8 minutes.
Separate prosciutto from sheets. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto in a single layer. Cook until browned and crisped, 2-3 minutes per side. TIP: Work in batches if necessary. Press down on prosciutto with a spatula for even crisping. Lower heat if browning too quickly.
Turn off heat; transfer prosciutto to a paper-towel-lined plate. Thoroughly wipe out pan.
Heat a ⅓-inch layer of oil in a pan used for prosciutto over medium-high heat.
Once oil is hot enough that a pinch of panko sizzles immediately when added to the pan, carefully add coated chicken. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side (you may need to work in batches for 4 servings). TIP: Lower heat if chicken begins to brown too quickly.
Turn off heat; transfer chicken to a paper-towel-lined plate.
In a medium bowl, toss together arugula, half the balsamic glaze, a drizzle of olive oil, juice from one lemon wedge (two wedges for 4 servings), salt, and pepper.
Roughly chop prosciutto.
Place crostini on a small serving platter and top with tomato-olive mixture (drizzle with any remaining balsamic glaze for a tangy sweetness if desired). Transfer pasta to a serving bowl; top with crispy prosciutto. Place arugula salad and chicken Milanese on a serving platter. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The creamy pesto penne and crispy prosciutto were standout hits, and many described the overall meal as restaurant-quality 🍝.
- Ease of prep: This is a multi-component feast with many steps and dishes to manage — plan for significantly more than 45 minutes, especially on your first try.
- Suggestions: Brine the chicken before coating to keep it juicy; some found the sour cream breading uneven, so press the panko firmly and keep the oil at a steady medium-high heat. A few felt the chicken needed its own sauce — try drizzling extra pesto or balsamic glaze over the top before serving.
- Leftovers: Portions are generous and several customers reported having enough left over for a small lunch the next day.
- Crowd appeal: Kids and families loved the fried chicken and creamy pasta, making this a great choice for a special dinner night 🎉.
- Timing: Consider prepping the crostini topping and pickling the tomato-olive mixture a couple of hours ahead to break up the workload and reduce stress at dinnertime.
Reviews from our home cooks
They were all very good, but it just didn't go together. It felt like three separate things. The pasta was great with the prosciutto and pesto. The chicken milanese was great but maybe just needed to be served over some spaghetti noodles. The bruschetta was great but it just didn't go with the rest of the meal. Also, it was a lot of prep for those three things, and it should be labeled as that. I could handle it because I can multitask in the kitchen, but if you were a beginning cook, it would have been very hard.
This was an excellent meal. However, I think your expectations for 10 minutes of prep time are unreasonable. It's more like 40 minutes with all of the work that you have done in the recipe. Needless to say, keep it on the menu. It's fantastic! Just increase your level of expectations.
Good flavors. Too much salad and food for two people, though. Chicken breasts were not cooked through in the suggested time - recommend suggesting pounding them thin before coating in breadcrumbs and frying.
This was a huge hit. Even the pickiest eater raved about every part of the meal, except for the arugula. Arugula is a hard sell for younger kids.
Absolutely wonderful! Full of flavors!! We have enjoyed all our meals thus far, but this was sooo good!
This meal was very good. I would use less oil to fry next time as I feel I used too much.
Complicated and takes more time. However, the best meal to date from Hello Fresh!
Loved this. Struggled a bit with keeping the breading from sticking to the pan but probably my fault.
Best meal yet! Cooking time way more than 45 mins, but absolutely worth it!
So it felt like this whole meal was separate. The salad was too rough with only arugula, needed some baby spinach or soft green. Pasta and chicken are best part. Wish there was a different coating method for the chicken, I always lose some breading even with a thin layer of sour cream. Crostini was great mix, just more herbs to brighten flavor.
