Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca was born out of a series of mistakes and misremembrances. From the time I was a kid until now, my favorite dish to order at an Italian restaurant is the saltimbocca. If it is on the menu, I'm ordering it. Sometimes it is awful and dry and other times it is perfectly cooked.
When I was a kid, we barely ever went out for dinner. It was only on special special occasions. and even then we usually just did it at home. But when I first started cooking, I tried cooking saltimbocca from scratch, I somehow misremembered it as a tomato-based dish. It is obviously not, and you can check out our real saltimbocca recipe if that is what you are looking for.
But this recipe is an homage to my first attempts at really cooking because it was such an exciting part of my life. I was making so many mistakes and I still thought my food was the best. And, I mean, "best" is subjective when the people you are cooking for would otherwise be eating ramen or Kraft mac n cheese.
Here's What You'll Need to Make Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca
- 2-3 chicken breasts, sliced thin
- 8 oz prosciutto
- 1 bunch sage
- 8 oz mozzarella
- 1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1½ tsp crushed red pepper
Substitutions
For those who are gluten-free, you could substitute arrowroot starch or corn starch for the flour. I have done this before and although it is a slightly different texture it is fine. Otherwise, I stand by this recipe as is.
How to Make Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca
The recipe is a fairly easy one to follow with a simple sauce and a quick sauteing process for the chicken.
Preparing the Chicken
Prepare chicken by slicing it thin, and I mean pretty thin. If these cutlets are thick, you'll have to cook them pretty long on the pan. I try to get 3-4 cutlets out of each chicken breast. Then place plastic wrap over the chicken and pound them out. Top each cutlet with 1 sage leaf and then a slice of prosciutto.
Smack the prosciutto on to make it stick. I learned this from watching Chef Max Mariola. You can literally smack the prosciutto while it's on the chicken and they stick perfectly. But you can also thread it with a toothpick if you'd like. Salt the chicken side and then dredge both sides in flour.
Sauteing the Chicken
In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat. Place chicken prosciutto side down for 1 minute. Flip it to the chicken side and saute for about 4 minutes. Set chicken aside.
Making the Spicy Sage Sauce
In the same frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant. Add the tomato paste and combine. Saute for 30 more seconds. Add the peeled tomatoes, hand-crushing them or using a wooden spoon to gently break them apart. Bring to a simmer and add salt and 6-8 sage leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Baking it All Together
Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large baking pan, coat a layer of sauce. Then place the chicken on top and lightly top with more sauce and slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
How to Reheat Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca
Saltimbocca is best reheated in a pan with the sauce. The cutlets being so thin and being topped with prosciutto make it somewhat easy to dry out. The mozzarella helps hold some of the moisture though, so the microwave works if necessary.
Spicy chicken saltimbocca can be served with creamy polenta or rice. It is a delightful dish that I'm happy I happened to create. People don't like when you mess with tradition. I'm a big fan of bulldozing tradition. I love traditional recipes, don't get me wrong, but if we didn't try new things we'd be eating the same old stuff forever!
If you liked this recipe, please leave us a review or comment below! Find us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or on Tiktok @alwaysfromscratch. Check out some of our other chicken recipes right here!
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Restaurant-Style Chicken Francese
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Chicken Saltimbocca
Ingredients
- 2-3 chicken breasts, sliced thin
- 8 oz prosciutto
- 1 bunch sage
- 8 oz mozzarella
- 1 28 oz can peeled tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Prepare chicken by slicing it thin and then pounding it out. Top it with 1 sage leaf and then a slice of prosciutto. Smack the prosciutto on to make it stick or thread it with a toothpick. Salt the chicken side and then dredge both sides in flour.
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat. Place chicken prosciutto side down for 1 minute and then flip to the chicken side and saute for about 5 minutes. Set chicken aside.
- In the same frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and combine. Saute for 30 more seconds. Add the peeled tomatoes, hand-crushing them or using a wooden spoon to gently break them apart. Bring to a simmer and add salt and 6-8 sage leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large baking pan, coat a layer of sauce. Then place the chicken on top and lightly top with more sauce and slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
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