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Chicken Parmesan (also called Chicken Parmigiana) is such a treat! Classically crispy, coated in panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese, then topped with marinara and fresh mozzarella. It’s simple and absolutely delicious paired with my awesome garlic bread!
Crispy Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Parmesan is coated in a light and airy panko and parmesan cheese combo that takes this chicken cutlet to a whole new level of CRISPY!
Of course, the traditional Chicken Parmesan is delicious, but using Panko bread crumbs completely transports this chicken to heavenly status. It’s a great stick to your ribs dinner that gets on the table faster than you think it will, plus the kids just love it.
Main Ingredients Needed
Chicken Parmesan comes together with simple pantry ingredients, here is everything that you’ll need:
- Chicken Cutlets – this is a thin piece of chicken that makes for more even cooking.
- Flour – this is used for the dredging process and helps create a crispy exterior. If you are looking for a gluten-free option use cornstarch.
- Eggs + Milk – these two are mixed together and ensure that the parmesan sticks to the outside of the chicken.
- Japanese Panko Bread Crumbs – for that crispy texture
- Parmesan Cheese – freshly grated is best!
- Salt + Pepper – don’t forget to season.
- Butter + Olive Oil – both are used for flavor but olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter.
- Mozzarella Cheese – this is melted on top of the chicken and makes it taste so good!
- Marinara Sauce – use homemade marinara sauce or use the store-bought kind (I like Rao’s Brand)!
- Pasta – use linguine, spaghetti, angel hair or even fettuccine noodles here.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan
For full details on how to make Chicken Parmesan, see the recipe card down below. 🙂
1. Preheat Oven + Prep
Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with roasting rack (or cooling rack). Set aside.
2. Preheat Pan + Dredge Chicken
Preheat a large, nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt butter and olive oil in the pan as it heats.
Set up your dredging station by placing flour and beaten eggs into 2 separate shallow dishes. Combine the parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs in a third shallow dish.
Season the chicken cutlets with salt, pepper, garlic powder and italian seasoning. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture, then eggs, then into the cheese/bread crumbs – pressing into the cutlet to coat it evenly.
3. Cook Chicken
Working in small batches, place chicken into hot pan and cook until each side is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side, checking to make sure it’s not burning. Transfer to a cooling rack on baking sheet, repeating until remaining chicken is all fried.
Top each piece of chicken with dollop of marinara sauce and a slice of fresh mozzarella. Bake anywhere from 7-15 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and cheese is melted. The timing here will depend on how thick your cutlets are, so check on them periodically with a meat thermometer.
4. Assemble and Serve
To assemble, toss cooked pasta with remaining marinara sauce and place a small amount onto each plate. Top each with a piece of chicken and chopped fresh basil, if desired and serve hot.
What to Serve with Chicken Parmesan
The traditional side dishes for Chicken Parmesan are a long noodle pasta like linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti, or angel hair. Add some type of garlic bread and a caesar salad and you have a full meal. Here are some side dishes for Chicken Parmesan:
- Gnocchi Gratin with Garlic Bechamel
- Hasselback Homemade Garlic Bread
- Brussels Sprouts Ceasar Salad
- Steamed Broccoli
- Roasted Green Beans
More Italian Chicken Recipes to Try!
Be sure to save, pin, print or bookmark this recipe for later because it’s a good one! Have a wonderful day, friends! Enjoy! xoxo
Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 4 chicken cutlets 1-1 1/2 lbs
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella cheese patted dry
- 24 oz marinara sauce one jar (or homemade)
- 12 oz spaghetti cooked (or angel hair)
- basil fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with roasting rack (or cooling rack). Set aside.
- Set up your dredging station by placing flour and beaten eggs into 2 separate shallow dishes. Combine the parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs in a third shallow dish.
- Preheat a large, nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt butter and olive oil in the pan as it heats.
- Season the chicken cutlets with salt, pepper, garlic powder and italian seasoning. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture, then eggs, then into the cheese/bread crumbs – pressing into the cutlet to coat it evenly.
- Working in small batches, place chicken into hot pan and cook until each side is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side, checking to make sure it's not burning. Transfer to a cooling rack on baking sheet, repeating until remaining chicken is all fried.
- Top each piece of chicken with dollop of marinara sauce and a slice of fresh mozzarella. Bake for 12-15 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and cheese is melted. The timing here will depend on how thick your cutlets are, so check on them periodically with a meat thermometer.
- To assemble, toss cooked pasta with remaining marinara sauce and place a small amount onto each plate. Top each with a piece of chicken and chopped fresh basil, if desired and serve hot.
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This is by far my favorite chicken parm!!
This was soooooo good! I have always avoided chicken parmesan because the chicken never looked good with the pasta sauce. But when I saw the picture of yours and heard how you cooked it with the parmesan cheese I thought I would give it a try! Delicious! And so simple too. I cooked the whole thing in about 1/2 hour! Thanks so much for the recipe! I will be making it again soon!
love this idea…thank you for the weekly dinner ideas…helps a working mom/student
Hi Lauren, I made this tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit, I was told that it needed to go in the rotation! I used a mixture of panko bread crumbs and parmesan to coat the chicken, it came out so good. Thank you again for the recipe 🙂
This is going on the menu for next week, thanks for the recipe Lauren!
This is brilliant! My daughter is on a special diet for epilepsy (so very little carbs for her). I can easily adapt this for her and serve it to the whole family!!! Thanks for the idea.
What is your favorite jarred marinara sauce?
This looks and sounds divine! Definitely want to make this.
Love the way your recipe-creating brain works, Lauren. 1 question, though: is that 3/4 lb. linguine weighed before or after cooking?
I really like some of your recipes and would like to store them in my Yahoo recipe file. However, no matter how many time I have tried, they will not forward to Yahoo. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Lauren,
I can never access a pin it button on your posts. I’m using an iPad.
Wanted to pin crispy chicken recipe. ( I subscribe to your blog).
Thank you for your help. Judith
Coated in cheese? I love you.
This comment just made my day!! Lol!
Green can Parmesan? This is being added to the meal plan for next week. Yummmmmm
Can’t go wrong with more cheese.
The crispy cheese sends this over the top, looks awesome!
Holy Moleys crispy cheese!!! I’m in!! Also, I love any meal that has shortcuts!