I Tried Applebee’s New Lemon Parmesan Chicken and I’d Do It Again

Working at Applebee’s during college was one of the foundational experiences of my life. I survived an armed robbery and a terrible relationship with a moody line cook, and I met my best friend in the whole world (25ish years and counting!). During that time, I also ate a lot of Applebee’s food, even though anytime a customer asked me about my favorite thing on the menu I’d always scoff and say, “I don’t eat here.” I was 19 and a big brat—sue me!

Videos by Sporked

Last week, I sat down at an Applebee’s for the first time in a long time to taste test their new summer menu with my buds Justine and Ariana. Back in the day, my go-tos were the Spinach & Artichoke Dip, the caesar salad with fried black pepper shrimp (an oldie but a goodie), and the Oriental Chicken Salad, which still goes by that unfortunate name. On our recent visit, I found something else I would recommend to customers now that I’m all grown-up and somewhat less predisposed to small acts of rebellion. Somewhat.

New Menu Item!

Applebee’s Lemon Parmesan Chicken

Applebee’s

Pros: First of all, this is a HEARTY meal. The hand-breaded chicken cutlet is enormo—and our server assured me that it really is hand-breaded. It comes with skin-on mashed potatoes and a vegetable (the website shows steamed broccoli, but we were served green beans, which I actually prefer). The breading is thick, but not tough—it’s crunchy and extremely flavorful. It tastes like there’s a ton of parm in the mix, and that salty, nuttiness really comes to life when you get a bite with the lemon-parm sauce that’s served on top. The chicken is juicy, not dry for a change. It reminded me of chicken you’d get at a meat-and-three-style cafeteria somewhere in the South, but with a little chain restaurant flare. I liked it so much that I took the leftovers home.

Cons: I think some of the lemon sauce ended up getting absorbed by the pretty mid mashed potatoes, so we were left wanting more. If you order this, ask for extra sauce on the side just in case. The chicken cutlet is plenty flavorful on its own, but the sauce makes it special.

Credit: Liv Averett / Applebee’s

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.