Enjoy one of your favorite restaurant meals at home with this copycat version of The Cheesecake Factory's Chicken Costoletta. Boneless chicken lightly breaded in a Panko and lemon crust, fried; then topped with a lemony cream sauce.
We don't dine often at the Cheesecake Factory, usually once or maybe twice a year. But whenever we do, my daughter and I always get the same thing: Chicken Costoletta; which is basically a chicken cutlet with a creamy lemon sauce.
I think she's a lot like me in the sense that we don't like to have a lot of choices. Give me 3-5 things to choose from and I'll pick one. Give me 100, I go for the simplest thing I can find.
If you've never been to their restaurant, their menu is huge with a lot of different varieties of food to choose from. Each time we go, we'll spend some time looking at the menu and then always wind up getting the same thing we normally do.
My daughter and I always say that we're going to split one entree, but we always wind up ordering our own so that we can have leftovers.
So recently I decided to surprise her for dinner one night and make our favorite Cheesecake Factory dish at home. This recipe for Chicken Costoletta was definitely a close second to the original.
It has all of the same flavors we love. On the healthy scale? Not so much, but I'm a sucker for anything lemon.
Ingredients needed
For this recipe you'll need:
- chicken tenderloins
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- panko breadcrumbs
- lemon
- grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- EVOO
- butter
How do you make Chicken Costoletta?
Serving Suggestions
The Cheesecake Factory usually serves this with asparagus and mashed potatoes, but you can sub out any other vegetable like green beans or spinach.
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More Copycat Recipes
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Visit the recipe index to search for more recipes by category.
Chicken Costoletta (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 8 - (2-ounce) chicken tenderloins
- Ā½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- zest from 1 lemon
- Ā¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- Ā¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Ā¼ cup milk
- Ā¾ cup heavy cream
- Ā¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Using a meat mallet, flatten the tenderloins so that they are even in thickness.
- Gather three bowls. In one, place the flour. In the second, add the eggs and whisk them with a fork. In the third, combine the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and cheese.
- Coat each piece of chicken first in the flour, then the eggs, and then the breadcrumb mixture.
- Heat a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Once melted and hot, add the chicken to the pan and fry on both sides until cooked through; approximately 3-5 minutes per side depending on the thickness. You may need to do this in two batches.
- Remove chicken from the pan and drain on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Set aside.
For the Sauce
- Melt the oil in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat and add the garlic.
- Saute 1-2 minutes then whisk in the flour.
- Whisk in the milk, heavy cream, chicken stock and lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat until the sauce has thickened; approximately 3-5 minutes.
- Next, stir in the butter and pour desired amount of sauce over the chicken.
Notes
*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate.
Nutrition
M.J. Vee says
Carrie: This looks wonderful. I have been to the Cheesecake factory and have never tried it. I will try yours soon. Thanks for sharing! M..J.
Carrie Farias says
HI MJ thank you so much! It's so simple which is why we love it. Enjoy!
Layla says
Dear Carrie,
My boyfriend is such a big fan of this dish. He ordered the chicken costoletta his first time at the CheeseCake Factory and has never ordered anything new since. I hope he enjoys the homemade one as much as the cheesecake factory dish. Lol!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I am grateful (:
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
Hi Layla,
My oldest daughter and I always get this dish as well. The portion is large enough for the both of us, but we each get our own so we have leftovers. This is a pretty good copycat to the original and we loved it. I hope your boyfriend does as well! š
Leigh says
Hi Carrie,
Is there enough sauce to serve this over pasta or should I double the sauce part of the recipe?
Thanks!
Leigh
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
Hi Leigh, I would make extra. The sauce soaks into chicken and doesn't leave a lot extra for pasta. Enjoy!
Salena says
YUMMY!!!! This was delicious!!! I made it today and it tasted just as good if not better than Cheesecake Factory's! Thank you so much for sharing!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
Thank you for stopping back to let me know Salena, I really appreciate it and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We loved it too!
Holly says
OMG!!! I just made this tonight for Sunday dinner and it was AMAZING!! Thank you Carrie! This is my favorite meal at Cheesecake Factory and now I can make it at home š
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you liked it Holly! It's one of our favorites as well.
Sandy says
We LOVE this dish @ Cheesecake Factory. At the last min I tried your recipe for the sauce....OMG, its amazing!! To us it is a perfect match for the real thing, color, consistency and TASTE! Super easy to make. Trying the entire recipe tonight for his birthday, at his request! Ty soo much!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
You're very welcome Sandy! We love it too and thought it was a close 2nd to the real thing. Happy Birthday and I hope he enjoys the meal!
Krystina says
Do you think you could make the sauce ahead of time?
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Absolutely!
Max says
Well.. it looks odd.... but whenever me and my wife get to US... guess what... we look for the cheesecake factory.... and this dish.... gonna try tonight!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I hope you enjoy it!
Lois says
Forget breadcrumbs! Use Panko, which is what is used at the Cheesecake Factory to create the extra crispiness.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Hi Lois, thanks for the tip but I did use Panko Breadcrumbs in recipe. They really do make a difference!
Holli says
Delicious, everyone loved it, I made it with Chipotle copycat cilantro lime rice and oven roasted asparagus.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Holli and that rice sounds amazing!
Zach says
Tasted good, definitely just needed a touch of salt and maybe pepper. Great recipe and method! Thanks!!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Thanks Zach, it absolutely needs salt. I salt everything, probably too much, so I don't cook with it and always suggest to add your own according to your own tastes. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hanh D says
Can't wait to make this for the second time! Tastes pretty close to the real thing. DELICIOUS
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Thank you Hanh, I'm so glad you enjoy it!
Caissa says
Made this last night and YUMMY! This is my favorite dish at Cheesecake so I paired with sauteed asparagus and homemade red scalloped potatoes. The bf really liked it especially the sauce. Thanks!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you liked it Caissa, thanks for trying the recipe!
william brian hay says
I make this dish at least twice a month. It is always good. The variations I've tried were to use 1 cup of heavy cream and I usually double the amount of garlic and lemon juice. But over all an amazing recipe.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Thank you and I'm so glad you enjoy the recipe!
Carmelita says
My boyfriend loved! He loves ordering this so of course I had to try to make it from home! Thank you for this recipe! It was a hit!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
You're welcome! I'm so glad you liked the recipe!
Teresa Di Marco says
Just made this recipe and I love it !!
Reading the comments prior to cooking I did increase the heavy cream to 1 cup.
My husband said this should be my signature dish !! Iām Italian and also cook from scratch.
Iāve just sent this link to my friends and family members who also enjoy cooking.
I cannot wait to try more of your recipes !!
So happy I found your site.
Unbelievable recipes.
Thank you
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you found us and liked the recipe! Thanks for stopping back to let us know Teresa!
Carmelita says
Thank you so much for your recipe! Iāve made this twice already and Iāve gotten better at preparing it every time. My boyfriend loves it from Cheesecake Factory so he loves when I make it from home now! He even helps prepare it too! Loved!!!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
You're welcome Carmelita! I'm so glad you like it!
Terri says
What a wonderful recipe! I loved this at the restaurant, but I loved this more with your recipe. Next time, I will add lemon zest on top of the lemony sauce over chicken for garnishment. It would be so pretty and fancy. Thank you Carrie! This would be a great dinner to serve our guests.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you liked the recipe Terri, thanks so much for giving it a try!
Nicole Moore says
My favorite item to order at Cheesecake Factory. So happy to have come across this copycat recipe! My kids love it as much as my husband and I do. It's party of our regular meal rotation. Making it again for dinner tonight and my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you like the recipe!
Karin Burton says
I've never had this dish at CF but it looks so interesting I'd like to try it. Do you think it would be good if I sautƩ some baby spinach and add it into the sauce? Just for nutritional value and ease of eliminating a side veg/salad.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
If you'd like to you can, but it may not taste the same.
Sabra says
I just made the Chicken Costoletta and for the first time in my life my eyes rolled up into my hairline over a chicken dish! š¤£šš
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you liked the recipe Sabra!
Chris David says
Really delicious recipe. I love it yummy!!! It's really awesome
Denise Layne says
I am on a comolete grain free diet. Has anyone tryed this with Almond or cocout four?
Deb says
I make this because I donāt like capers that are in piccata, but instead of cream I use garden vegetable cream cheese. Adds wonderful flavor!
Mary Slanker says
Wow. Amazing recipe. I would love to try this.
Dianne says
Fabulous!! I used gluten free bread crumbs and light cream in place of the heavy cream and milk because that was what I had on hand and I couldnāt wait to make it. It was so so so delicious.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you liked the recipe!
Corina says
can I use 2% milk instead? Or the person who used light cream, did they use it for both the milk and heavy cream measurements? I really want to make it tonight!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Yes you can use 2% milk but you may need to thicken the sauce more. You can either add 1 more tablespoon of flour or use equal parts cornstarch and water. Just add a little at a time until it gets to the right thickness.
Corina says
Omg it came out so good! Tastes just like the restaurant sauce; my husband loved it! Thank you so much! I didn't need to thicken the sauce it was perfect!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Great! I'm so glad you liked the recipe!