Chicken parmesan is a perfect weeknight dinner option. You can really never go wrong with cheesy breaded chicken breasts cooked with a garlic infused tomato sauce!
I’d have to say that chicken parmesan is one of my favorite dishes to both cook and eat. It’s also one of my go-to recipes when I can’t decide on what to make for dinner during the week. While it’s such a simple dish, the flavors make me a very happy woman.
Chicken parmesan is also one of the recipes I frequently get asked how to make. It really is a simple recipe though yall! Nothing to be intimidated about. In about 30 minutes you can have this delicious meal on your table!
How to make chicken parmesan
Chicken parmesan consists of 2 easy recipes: breaded chicken breasts and marinara sauce.
Thin chicken breasts are breaded and cooked most of the way through. The marinara sauce is cooked separately. Then, the chicken will finish cooking in the sauce, helping to also make the chicken a little more tender. Top it with cheese and pop in in the broiler to get it all melty and fun!
I’ve adapted the same steps, but to be made in a shorter amount of time. While marinara sauce tastes better when slow cooked, I’ve found a way to make it taste like it cooked for an extended time versus several minutes.
How to make a good marinara sauce for chicken parm
While marinara sauce is a fool proof recipe, there are a couple of things you can do to elevate the flavor.
Marinara sauce starts out by sauteing minced garlic in olive oil. This needs to be done on low heat, while constantly stirring the garlic around. This will prevent the garlic from cooking too fast and burning. It will also create a nice garlic infused oil to help build up the flavor of the marinara.
Type of canned tomatoes to use for marinara sauce
The canned tomatoes used also make a difference in a great marinara sauce. If you can find it, go with San Marzano tomatoes.
San Marzano is a type of tomato that originated in Italy. They’re similar to the shape of plum tomatoes, but have fewer seeds. Compared to other canned tomatoes, San Marzanos are slightly sweeter and have a bit more of an intense tomato flavor. Imagine the flavor of a fresh tomato at its peak, then elevate it a lil bit.
If you can not find canned San Marzano in the stores, don’t worry! Regular crushed tomatoes will work just fine!
How to bread chicken for chicken parmesan
Another easy but intimidating thing is properly breading chicken for chicken parmesan. Again, don’t be scared. It’s so easy!
The breading happens in 3 stages:
- tossing the chicken in seasoned flour
- dipping the floured chicken into an egg wash
- dredging the egg washed chicken into breadcrumbs
The key to making sure there’s the right amount of breading on each piece of chicken is to gently shake off excess flour and egg with each step. If there’s too much flour on the chicken, the egg wash will not properly stick. You also don’t want too much egg wash on this chicken, or else it will be more of a batter than a breading when the chicken gets added to the breadcrumbs.
Different ways to serve chicken parmesan
The classic way of serving up chicken parmesan is on a bed of your favorite pasta. Spoon a little of the sauce on the noods as well!
This is also perfect in sandwich form! Toast your sandwich bread of choice and place the chicken parmesan in between. Whew! This is a good one!
As far as sides to serve with chicken parmesan, I’d suggest a nice salad with a vinaigrette. And of course, a great pasta dish isn’t complete without some cheesy garlic bread!!!
Can chicken parm be made gluten free?
Yes! Chicken parmesan can most certainly be a gluten free recipe!
The chicken does NOT have to be breaded. Simply season each side with salt and pepper before searing on both sides.
Also, either a gluten free pasta or bread can be used so you aren’t missing out on the fun of eating some type of carb because carbs is bae!
I hope you get to make and love my Chicken Parmesan recipe as much as I do!!! If you get a chance to make it, be sure to share it on Instagram by tagging me! Happy eating!!!
Cheesy Chicken Parmesan with Spicy Marinara Sauce
Equipment
- 3 medium bowls
- Cutting board
- Large oven safe skillet or cast iron pan
- Large plate
- wooden spoon
- Whisk
Ingredients
Breaded chicken ingredients
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless split in half width wise
Chicken Parmesan Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup onion small diced
- ¼ cup white wine
- 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 basil leaves rough chopped
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 6 ounces cooked pasta kept warm
Instructions
To bread the chicken breasts
- In one bowl, evenly mix together the flour, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Set aside.
- In a third bowl, mix together the panko breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese.
- One at a time, place and toss a chicken breast in the flour mixture to coat. Remove the chicken, gently shaking off excess flour that doesn’t stick.
- Dip the floured chicken into the egg mixture, shaking off excess egg that doesn’t stick.
- Next, place the chicken breast into the breadcrumb mixture, thoroughly coating the chicken so the breadcrumbs stick to the egg. Once coated, lightly shake off any excess breadcrumbs that don't stick.
- Place the coated chicken onto a plate, and follow the same steps for the remaining chicken breasts.
Chicken Parmesan Steps
- Preheat a large oven safe skillet or cast iron on medium low heat with the canola oil.
- Once the oil is heated, add the breaded chicken breast. Cook for 2 minutes per side. Once seared, remove the chicken and place onto a plate. Wipe the skillet clean.
- Reduce the heat on the skillet to low heat.
- Add the olive oil and minced garlic. Cook the garlic for 2 minutes while constantly stirring to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring every few seconds to sweat the onions.
- Slowly pour in the white wine and stir. Cook for 2 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid to half, stirring occasionally.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, butter, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Increase the temperature to medium heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the basil leaves. Submerge the seared chicken into the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, preheat the oven to broil on high.
- Evenly sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese onto each chicken breast.
- Put the skillet into the oven to melt the cheese under the broiler, for about 2 minutes. Keep an eye on the cheese so that it does not burn.
- Once the cheese is melted with some color, remove from the broiler.
- Serve with cooked pasta and fresh torn basil.
I am someone who does not cook normally in our household, so I was beyond grateful that this recipe was easy to follow and relatively quick to make! We all thoroughly enjoyed it!
This made my day!! Thank you so much Jordan!
I was craving chicken parmesan and made this recipe and it hit the spot! We especially loved the homemade tomato sauce!
Thanks Britney! The sauce is definitely my fav part!
This SAUCE, though! If you’re reading this, don’t skip the homemade sauce. The whole dish is wonderful and you have to follow the instructions for the full effect. Perfect!
The sauce definitely is a make or break, but is also so easy to do. Thank you for pointing this out!!!
This cheesy chicken was absolutely mouthwatering! I paired it with spaghetti instead because and it was delicious.
I love chicken parmesan but I’ve never made it myself til I found this recipe! It was so easy to follow and came out perfect!
I cannot believe how quickly this came together!! My family devoured it! I definitely will be making this chicken parm again!
Thank you! This one is perfect for families!
Served with a side of pasta, this chicken was the epitome of comfort food!
Comfort food FTW!!!
Your recipe delivers the traditional flavors and comes together easily. Great weekday dinner!
Glad you loved it!!!!