The Best Chicken Parmesan

February 13, 2018 42 Comments
5

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The Best Chicken Parmesan, with a buttery crispy panko coating baked to a perfect melted mozzarella cheese topped crispy chicken entree.

We’re huge fans of the Crispy Baked Lemon Parmesan Chicken and have it in our monthly rotation, but sometimes theres just no substituting the classic Chicken Parmesan recipe, especially when the recipe is as easy as this one!

Chicken Parmesan on spatula The Best EVER Chicken Parmesan

The Best EVER Crispy chicken breasts topped with homemade marinara sauce and melted mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Serve it up with thin spaghetti for the best classic Italian restaurant favorite.

Depending on how fancy of an Italian restaurant you get chicken parmesan from it may be called chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana. They are the same dish, just read the second one with a super Italian accent.

Why do they call it chicken parmesan? It’s called chicken parmesan as a throwback to eggplant parmesan where slices of eggplant were breaded and fried before being served with slices of parmesan cheese on top. In it’s modern form it is served with melted mozzarella and normally just garnished with parmesan cheese. This recipe calls for parmesan cheese to be added to the breading for even more flavor.

Kid Friendly Chicken Parmesan

One of the first departures my oldest made from chicken nuggets was to this chicken parmesan. I sold it as a chicken nugget pizza (total parent win, bribe your kids into trying something new by pretending its a mashup of two of their favorite foods. In fact we started making this Chicken Parmesan topped with pepperoni after that dinner.

PS this is a thing apparently and you know if Cheesecake Factory is making it for customers I’m going to be all about recreating it for the blog! In fact you can check out all the Cheesecake Factory copycat recipes here (currently 8 of them!).

If you’re looking for a more creative chicken parmesan option there’s also my favorite dark horse recipe: Chicken Parmesan Casserole with a super unexpected crispy topping. I’ve served it to ALL my friends and they all love it and can’t believe the topping.

Chicken Parmesan in bowl

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What can be served with Chicken Parmesan:

You can serve chicken parmesan with spagetti in its classic presentation, steamed vegetables or spiralized zucchini noodles for a lighter option. Chicken parmesan is also regularly served on hoagies as a hot sub sandwich.

What sauce do you use for Chicken Parmesan:

Chicken Parmesan is served with a classic marinara sauce which is added to the top of the chicken cutlet and baked with shredded cheese on top. You can also serve chicken parmesan cutlets over other pasta recipes like this Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta or Cheesecake Factory Chicken Bellagio.

Why don’t you add more sauce to the chicken? The sauce is meant for flavor but not to drown the chicken out. It also makes a spot on the chicken where the breading softens. The remaining part of the chicken not covered in sauce is able to remain crispy.

Chicken Parmesan on cookie sheet.

Tools used in the making of this Chicken Parmesan:
Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Pig Tail Flipper: I use this to flip the chicken without damaging the breading and its super easy. I use this tool EVERY time I cook something that requires flipping, it is amazing.

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Chicken Parmesan in bowl
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The Best Chicken Parmesan

5
  • Yield: 4 Servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Course: Main Course
  • Cuisine: American-Italian
The Best Chicken Parmesan, with a buttery crispy panko coating baked to a perfect melted mozzarella cheese topped crispy chicken entree.

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup  shredded provolone cheese

Instructions

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

  1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Put the chicken breasts between two pieces of saran wrap or parchment paper.

  3. Using a rolling pin or flat kitchen mallet flatten it to 1/2 inch thickness.

  4. Season with Kosher salt and black pepper.
  5. In three shallow bowls add the flour to one, eggs to one (and beat until combined) and the panko and Parmesan cheese to the other (and mix).
  6. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then the egg and finally press it into the panko mixture.

  7. Add the olive oil and butter to a cast iron skillet on medium high heat.

  8. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown (it'll be raw inside still).

  9. Add the chicken to a baking sheet, add the marinara sauce on top and finally top with the shredded cheeses.

  10. Cook for 18-20 minutes.

Recipe Video

Nutrition Information

Yield: 4 Servings, Amount per serving: 477 calories, Serving Size: 1 , Calories: 477g

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Chicken Parmesan Collage Photos
Chicken Parmesan with Pasta in bowl.

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Comments

  3. I will be making this Thursday since I already have planned my valentine dinner.  Thank you so much for this amazing delicious looking dish

    Reply

  8. We made this for our Valentine’s Day dinner tonight. My fella told me it was as good as the Chicken Parmigiana we order at our favorite Café Amore! Thanks Sabrina!

    Rating: 5
    Reply

  10. no offense, but nothing even closely similar to this recipe exists in Italy.
    it will be tasty, no doubt, but no one single restourant (or mom) would prepare a dish like the one in the photo.
    100% american stuff. don’t confuse.
    greetings

    Reply

  13. Made the recipe but made a few changes. I added Italian bread crumbs to the panko. And for the marinara I added some red wine, sugar and salt. Came out very well two thumbs up

    Rating: 5
    Reply

  16. I made this recipe and it was so good. I used Italian bread crumbs and put some grated parmesan cheese in it. I didn’t see the Panko crumbs until after I made the meal. I seasoned my spaghetti sauce and used it for the marinara. I pretty much kept your recipe the same. Everyone loved it so much. I’m making it this weekend for 9 people and I’m excited. Thank you for the recipe

    Rating: 5
    Reply

    1. I prefer a cast iron skillet because it gets a nicer crust on the chicken but it’s not necessary. You can use any fying pan you have on hand.

      Reply

  19. Hi Sabrina-I would like to try your recipe tomorrow night for about 6-7 people. I see this recipe serves 4. Would you recommend I just double the ingredients? Please get back to me when you can. Thank you.

    Reply

    1. There is a slider tool on each recipe card for you to increase or decrease the serving size and it will adjust your ingredients to match. Just hover over the serving size and it’ll show up. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  20. This is the first time I can really say I was surprised at how AMAZING this tasted. Usually the recipes are just ok and good. This was to die for! Even my husband, who seems to find fault with everything, loved it and didn’t complain. Yummmmmmm.

    Reply

  22. This looks delicious! I’m making it tonight…would i be able to prepare it all except for the baking step and just keep it in the fridge until time to bake it or would it mess it up to put it in the fridge after cooking it in the cast iron?

    Reply