Delicious Chicken Pizzaiola (Pollo alla Pizzaiola) made with juicy chicken cutlets in a flavour-packed, rich tomato sauce and topped with melted smoked Scamorza cheese. Serve with crispy Italian roast potatoes and green beans for a comforting, easy and healthy dinner!
When something is cooked alla Pizzaiola it means done 'pizza style' with tomatoes and oregano. It refers to the tomato sauce used for pizzas and not the toppings although it's common to find capers and/or olives in an authentic pizzaiola sauce.
Steak Pizzaiola is the most common way of serving it and is one of our most popular recipes, it's so quick and delicious perfect for weekday meals.
But this time we're using juicy and tender chicken cutlets instead of steak. It's cooked in a classic pizzaiola sauce and then topped with melted smoked Scamorza cheese.
If you've never had smoked scamorza it's often referred to as dry mozzarella because it's prepared in a similar way but is then hung up to dry creating a pear-like shape. If you can't find it then use a good quality fresh mozzarella.
See the full recipe below including step by step photos, top tips and a video tutorial. Buon Appetito!
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Ingredients - what you need
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make this recipe plus some important tips on ingredients!
- Chicken - try to make sure all chicken breasts are similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Flour - this is for dusting the chicken, just use regular all-purpose flour.
- Tomatoes - we use canned plum (whole) tomatoes but you can also use chopped or crushed just make sure they are high quality as it'll make a huge difference to the flavour of the whole recipe (see tips section below).
- White wine - use a dry Italian white such as Pinot Grigo, Vermentino or Verdicchio. If you don't drink you can omit the alcohol.
- Capers - these add so much delicious flavour. If you can't find them you can use olives instead or leave them out.
- Oregano & basil - use dried oregano and fresh basil, if you can't find fresh basil just leave it out or use fresh parsley.
- Scamorza cheese - this is a delicious and creamy, mild smoked cheese. You should be able to find it in Italian food stores but if not use a good quality fresh mozzarella.
Step by step photos and recipe instructions
Prepare the chicken - Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and bash using a meat mallet or rolling pin until they are between ¼ inch and ½ inch thick (photos 1-3).
Dredge the chicken - Sprinkle each chicken cutlet with a pinch of salt then dust in flour until lightly coated, shake off any excess (photo 4).
Fry the chicken - Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Once hot fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches) then transfer to a clean plate. Cover the chicken with foil and set aside (photos 5-7).
Reduce the wine - Add the white wine to the same pan you cooked the chicken and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half (photos 8 & 9).
Make the sauce - Next, add the plum tomatoes, add 1-2 tablespoon of water to the can and rinse out any leftover tomato, add it to the sauce. Crush the tomatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon. Add the oregano then let it simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes (photos 10-12).
Add herbs and capers - After 10 minutes the sauce should have reduced. Add the capers, torn fresh basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, stir (photo 13).
Add chicken to the pan - Add the chicken to the sauce and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes (photo 14).
Meanwhile, pre-heat your broiler (grill UK).
Add the cheese - Cut the scamorza cheese into ¼ inch thick slices. Turn the heat off the chicken then lay slices of cheese over each cutlet (photo 15).
Put the pan under the broiler (grill) until the cheese is melted and golden, serve (photo 16).
What to serve it with
Chicken pizzaiola is served with a beautiful rich tomato sauce so make sure you have plenty of crusty bread to mop it all up (fare la Scarpetta).
Typical side dishes are Italian roast potatoes or other veggies such as roasted broccoli, green beans or grilled zucchini, choose whatever veggies you like.
If you're looking for a side salad then keep it simple with our Arugula Salad with lemon and Parmesan. It literally takes 2 minutes to make and tastes delicious.
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Speed things up - if you're able to buy pre-sliced thin chicken cutlets then you can skip the step of cutting and bashing the chicken and go straight to dredging (dipping in flour).
- Good quality tomatoes are a must! - I can't stress enough how important it is to use good quality canned tomatoes. I really can make or break a recipe and it's the key to the best tasting sauce. Brands I trust and have easy access to in the UK and in Italy are Cirio and Mutti (they're also reasonably priced). I've heard a lot of good things about Cento tomatoes in US although have never tried them.
- Alternative to scamorza - If you can't find smoked scamorza cheese then you can use fresh mozzarella cut into slices. Dab it with kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture before using.
Yes, there's no garlic in this recipe and trust us, it's delicious! If you want to add garlic though always use fresh and saute it before adding the wine.
Yes, you can prepare this whole dish (don't add the cheese) and store it in the fridge. Reheat it on the stovetop until piping hot throughout then add the cheese as directed in the recipe. You will likely need to add a splash of water to the sauce to loosen it.
Leftovers will keep well covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes, you can freeze it, make sure to defrost the chicken pizzaiola completely before reheating.
More Italian dinner recipes you might like
- Steak Pizzaiola - (Carne alla Pizzaiola)
- Chicken Piccata with Capers and Lemon
- Chicken Puttanesca
- Italian Chicken Cutlets with Pesto and Spinach
- Chicken Cacciatore - Pollo alla Cacciatora
- Veal Marsala (Scaloppine al Marsala)
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📖 Full Recipe
Chicken Pizzaiola with Smoked Scamorza Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
- â…” cup all-purpose flour for dusting (around 150g)
- 24 oz canned plum tomatoes (800g)
- â…“ cup dry white wine (80ml)
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 small handful of fresh basil
- 7 oz Smoked Scamorza cheese (200g) or use fresh mozzarella
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and bash using a meat mallet or rolling pin until they are between ¼ inch and ½ inch thick.
- Sprinkle each chicken cutlet with a pinch of salt then dust in flour until lightly coated, shake off any excess.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Once hot fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches) then transfer to a clean plate. Cover the chicken with foil and set aside.
- Add the white wine to the same pan you cooked the chicken and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
- Next, add the plum tomatoes, add 1-2 tablespoon of water to the can and rinse out any leftover tomato, add it to the sauce. Crush the tomatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon then let it simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes the sauce should have reduced. Add the capers, torn fresh basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, stir.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pre-heat your broiler (grill UK).
- Cut the scamorza cheese into ¼ inch thick slices. Turn the heat off the chicken then lay slices of cheese over each cutlet.
- Put the pan under the broiler (grill) until the cheese is melted and golden, serve.
Notes
- Speed things up - if you're able to buy pre-sliced thin chicken cutlets then you can skip the step of cutting and bashing the chicken and go straight to dredging (dipping in flour).
- Good quality tomatoes are a must! - I can't stress enough how important it is to use good quality canned tomatoes. I really can make or break a recipe and it's the key to the best tasting sauce. Brands I trust and have easy access to in the UK and in Italy are Cirio and Mutti (they're also reasonably priced). I've heard a lot of good things about Cento tomatoes in US although have never tried them.
- Alternative to scamorza - If you can't find smoked scamorza cheese then you can use fresh mozzarella cut into slices. Dab it with kitchen paper to remove the excess moisture before using.
- Leftovers and freezing - leftovers will last up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated or you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
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