Guys, I’m obsessed with this chicken parmesan.
I love chicken parmesan but I’ve never made it. Are you surprised? I know my mom was when I told her this other day. I have made a semi-homemade version using precooked chicken cutlets but I don’t really count that. So here we are with a new recipe, unlike anything you’ve seen before on the blog.
Chicken parmesan is not hard to make but it does have a number of steps. The time is worth it for this recipe. The chicken has a crispy crust and is tender on the inside. It’s simple and absolutely delicious. Guys, I even ate the leftovers three days in a row! If you know me, then you know that rarely happens. Proof that we’ve got a winner here.
My husband said that he would like to add some Italian bread crumbs instead of the panko bread crumbs for the crust next time. I figure that’s worth a shot but we haven’t tried it yet.
I think that my one takeaway from finally making this at home is that I need a meat tenderizer. Upon discovering that we don’t own one, we immediately set out to find something else in the kitchen that would do the job. After finding an alternate utensil, my husband warned me before we started that it would be destroyed in the process.
Not only were we only sort of successful, he was right and we did in fact ruin the alternative we chose. We tried to cut one of the chicken breasts in half (in the thickness direction) to help make our wimpy not-a-meat-tenderizer have a better shot at success, but that only resulted in uneven pieces. Reality can be messy sometimes, and in this case also a bit destructive to otherwise innocent utensils.
I did take one short cut and used store bought tomato sauce by Raos. My husband recently saw that Ina Garten is a fan of it so I figure if it’s good enough for her then it’s good enough for me. It’s become my go-to jar sauce now, and we’d never even heard of it a month ago.
Chicken Parmesan Recipe
(Makes 4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (equivalent to about 1 pound)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (divided per the directions)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of oil (I used olive oil) (divided per the directions)
- 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of your favorite marinara (I used Raos Tomato Basil Sauce.)
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, chopped
- 1/2 cup provolone cheese, shredded
- fresh basil, chopped
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Get a 9×13 baking dish and set it aside.
- Place each chicken breast one at a time into a heavy duty zip top bag. (You can use 2 pieces of other similar plastic if you don’t have a bag.) Firmly pound the chicken to a thickness of 1/2 inch. You really need a meat tenderizer for this step if you want thin pieces.
- Season the top and bottom of each chicken with salt and pepper and set them aside.
- In a big shallow bowl, beat the 2 eggs and set it aside.
- In another big shallow bowl, mix together the panko crumbs and 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese. Set it aside.
- Place the flour in a sifter or strainer and sprinkle it over the top and bottom of each chicken breast, making sure to coat everything evenly.
- Take each floured chicken and dip it into the egg bowl, making sure to coat everything evenly on both sides.
- Take each egg covered chicken and dip it into the panko bowl, pressing the crumbs evenly on both sides.
- Move the completed pieces to a large plate and let them sit for 15 minutes.
- In a large skillet, over Medium heat (#4 on our oven), heat 1 cup of the oil until it gets hot.
- Place each crumb coated chicken in the hot oil and cook it for about 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown. You can do multiple pieces at once for this if your pan is large enough. Keep it to one layer and don’t crowd them. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven, this is mostly for browning them on the outside.
- Pour a little bit of the marinara on the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish and spread it around. Use just enough to coat it.
- Place each chicken breast into the baking dish. More than one layer is okay here if you need to.
- Sprinkle the chopped mozzarella cheese, shredded provolone cheese, the remining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh basil on top of each chicken breast.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over the top of all of the chicken pieces.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is done cooking.
Slightly adapted: Allrecipes
