A classic Italian-American comfort food that never fails to wow. If your experience of this fabulous dish is only an Italian-American restaurant’ then get ready to be wow’ed because homemade is so much more delicious. Tender chicken breast, sliced into thin cutlets, pan fried to crispy perfection, then covered in umami rich marinara sauce and baked with a topping of fresh mozzarella cheese. The final result is a crisp chicken cutlet with a pooling of marinara, melty mozzarella, salty parmesan, and herby basil—it’s simply insanely delicious!
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: Start by patting the chicken dry, then cut each piece in half horizontally until they’re almost divided through. Repeat with the remaining chicken breast into six thin cutlets.
- Marinara Sauce: I prefer using a top quality jarred marinara sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese. Fresh mozzarella works best alternatively provolone works well too, but our favorite is fresh mozzarella for creamy, milky and melting quality.
- Fresh basil: To give a herby freshness to a rich dish basil works very well.
- All Purpose Flour: we’ll dredge the cutlets in a.p flour that will help the egg and breadcrumb mixture stick.
- Eggs: Eggs help the breadcrumbs stick to the cutlets.
- Panko or breadcrumbs: really makes a crispy crust.
- Parmesan cheese:The recipe is called Chicken Parmesan after all! choose the best quality and preferably a hunk of Parmesan and grate it yourself, just like the Italians do.
- Italian seasoning: a mix of Italian dried herbs+garlic powder amps up the flavors of marinara sauce for extra deliciousness.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: For pan frying the chicken, olive oil adds so much flavor to the chicken.
How To Make Chicken Parmesan
- Slice the chicken breasts into cutlets butterfly each chicken breast by slicing them in half horizontally. Making sure they’re thin.
- Set up a dredging assembly line by lining up three shallow plates or wide bowls or small baking pans. Add whisked egg to one plate, one plate with panko & parmesan cheese, and one with all purpose flour.
- Season the chicken by sprinkling the chicken cutlets with sea salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Dredge by dipping the chicken cutlets completely making sure every nook and cranny is covered with flour, then egg, then the Parmesan-panko mixture.
- Fry the chicken cutlets in olive oil for two minutes each side.
- Assemble! Place the chicken cutlet on a wire rack, carefully top each chicken piece with marinara sauce and mozerella cheese.
- Bake the chicken Parmesan until the chicken is done and the cheese has melted and bubbly.
- Serve with a green salad or side of your choice.
Pro Tips
- Make sure every nook and cranny of your chicken cutlet is covered with the breading.
- Do not overcrowd the pan so each breaded chicken cutlets has enough room to get crispy.
- Add just enough sauce to cover the top yet maintain the crispy texture of the chicken. Over doing the sauce will leave the chicken soggy defeating the purpose of crispy chicken.
- Thinly sliced mozzarella melts faster than a thick piece of cheese. Fresh mozzarella has high moisture content which will leave the crispy chicken soggy.
Chicken Parmesan
Equipment
- skillet or frying pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast about 3 large breasts butterflied into cutlets(6 pieces)
- 1 jar Marinara sauce of your choice
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 6-8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese thinly sliced or grated
- ¾ cup panko, gluten free if needed
- ¼-⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large fresh eggs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- small handful of fresh basil
- red pepper flakes for heat optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F with a rack in the center position.
- Start by assembling 3 low bowls, or rimmed plates, large enough to fit one chicken breast. In the first bowl/plate whisk the eggs. In the second bowl/plate, place the all purpose flour.In the third bowl/plate, combine the panko and Parmesan. Save some parmesan for garnish.
- Combine the garlic powder, sea salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Season the chicken with the seasoning evenly.
- Take one chicken cutlet at a time and dredge in the a.p flour, gently shake off the excess flour. Next dip the floured cutlet in the whisked egg, allowing the excess egg to drip off.Next place the the chicken cutlet in the parm-panko mixture, gently pressing to coat completely on both sides. Repeat with the remaining chicken cutlets.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is well heated, add about 1-2 chicken breast cutlets and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes each side. Once done transfer the chicken pieces to a baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken(add more oil if needed) and transfer to the baking sheet.
- Spoon each piece of chicken with about 2 tablespoons- ¼ cup of marinara sauce and enough mozzarella to barely cover the sauce. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through, and the cheese has melted, about 14-15 minutes. Chicken is done when the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F with an instant read thermometer.
- Garnish with thin julienne of basil, extra Parmesan, and red pepper flakes if using.Serve with salad greens or side of your choice. ENJOY!
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