Chicken Parmesan recipe – crispy breaded chicken topped with marinara and melty mozzarella. Serve over pasta for an easy restaurant quality meal at home.
Classic Chicken Parmesan is easier to make at home than you may think and is one of my favorite comfort food meals.
Tender pieces of chicken breaded and browned to golden crispiness topped with homemade pasta sauce and melty cheese.
It’s an easy dinner recipe from simple ingredients the whole family will love and is also ideal this holiday season because it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Crispy breaded tender chicken is the hallmark of this recipe.
Never greasy, juicy perfectly cooked chicken topped with rich homemade tomato marinara and plenty of melty cheese.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS RECIPE:
- This is an easy, restaurant quality recipe for traditional Chicken Parmesan at a fraction of the cost of what restaurants charge.
- It’s a delicious dinner – and easy weeknight meal if you opt for your favorite jar sauce.
- The breading combination of Italian, panko and parmesan creates a crispy breading loaded with delicious flavor that you can’t get from plain breading.
- Crispy chicken outside, tender white meat inside topped with marinara and gooey cheese. OMG.
- My homemade marinara is simple to make and takes this dish to the next level for entertaining.
WHAT’S IN CHICKEN PARMESAN?
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- eggs
- all purpose flour
- Italian bread crumbs
- Panko bread crumbs
- grated Parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- butter
- sliced or shredded mozzarella
- pasta of your choice (spaghetti, penne or short pasta) + reserved pasta water
WHAT’S IN HOMEMADE MARINARA?
- onion
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- tomato paste
- dry red wine (cabernet, pinot noir or chianti)
- canned crushed tomatoes
- Italian seasoning
- fresh Italian parsley chopped
- pasta water
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE MARINARA SAUCE:
Over medium heat, add the onion to a pot or skillet with high sides.
Season with salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes until onions have softened then add grated garlic and cook one minute.
Add tomato paste, blend with the onion and cook 1 minute.
Pour in the wine, reduce heat to medium low and cook 3-4 minutes letting the wine reduce by about half.
Add crushed tomatoes and italian seasoning then lightly season with salt and pepper.
Give it a good stir to combine then cover and simmer over low heat 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Fold in the parsley then taste and adjust for salt.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PARMESAN:
BREADING:
Trim excess fat from the chicken breasts then pound or slice to an approximately 1/2″ thickness.
Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
Set up a dredging station in three shallow bowls:
In the first bowl, whisk the eggs. Add flour to the second bowl and in the third bowl combine Italian bread crumbs, panko and parmesan cheese.
Working one piece of chicken at a time, dip the first piece in the eggs, then dredge in flour, dip back into the egg then coat with the breadcrumb mixture gently pressing into the chicken (EGGS, FLOUR, EGGS, BREADCRUMBS)
Repeat the process until all the chicken is breaded then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes.
This step helps the breading stick to the chicken when you cook it.
COOKING THE CHICKEN:
To a large skillet heat add oil over medium to medium-high heat then melt in the butter.
Once the oil/butter are hot, add the chicken without overcrowding the skillet (work in batches if needed).
Cook 3-4 minutes until a light golden brown, then transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
ASSEMBLY:
Add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom fo a shallow baking dish or baking sheet (just enough to lightly coat the bottom).
Transfer the chicken to the baking dish, top with a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce (or more to your liking) and a few slices of mozzarella.
Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until the cheese is melty and chicken is cooked through to an internal temp of 165°.
PASTA AND SERVING:
Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water then drain.
Blend marinara and pasta drizzling in some of the reserved pasta water until your sauce is smooth.
To serve, add pasta to each plate, top with breaded chicken breast then garnish with extra parmesan cheese and eat right away.
VARIATIONS TO THIS RECIPE:
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
- Boneless chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts
- Sub chicken tenders for chicken breasts (adjust cook time accordingly)
- Garlic powder instead of fresh garlic in the sauce.
- Try creamy alfredo sauce instead of red sauce for a tasty twist.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN PARMESAN:
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN PARMESAN:
Leftover Chicken Parm can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Enjoy!
Let’s cook together!
If you make this Chicken Parmesan recipe or any other recipe on the blog, don’t forget to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating!
Chicken Parmesan
Equipment
- large skillet
- baking dish
Ingredients
CHICKEN
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons butter
MARINARA/SAUCE
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup dry red wine cabernet, pinot noir, etc.
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped
- 8 ounces mozzarella sliced or shredded
- 8 ounces pasta (reserve 1/4 cup pasta water) spaghetti, penne or other short pasta
Instructions
MARINARA SAUCE:
- Over medium heat, add the onion to a pot or skillet with high sides. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes until onions have softened then add grated garlic and cook one minute.
- Add tomato paste, blend with the onion and cook 1 minute then pour in the wine, reduce heat to medium low and cook 3-4 minutes letting the wine reduce by about half.
- Add crushed tomatoes and italian seasoning then lightly season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine then simmer over low heat 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add parsley then taste and adjust for salt.
BREADING THE CHICKEN:
- Trim excess fat from the chicken breasts then pound or slice to an approximately 1/2″ thickness. Season generously with salt and pepper on both side
- Set up a dredging station in three shallow bowls:In the first bowl, whisk the eggs. Add flour to the second bowl and in the third bowl combine Italian bread crumbs, panko and parmesan cheese.
- Working one piece of chicken at a time, dip the first piece in the eggs, then dredge in flour, dip back into the egg then coat with the breadcrumb mixture gently pressing into the chicken (EGGS then FLOUR then EGGS then BREADCRUMBS.
- Repeat the process until all the chicken is breaded then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes to help the breading stick to the chicken when you cook it.
COOKING THE CHICKEN:
- To a large skillet heat add oil over medium to medium-high heat then melt in the butter.
- Once the oil/butter are hot, add the chicken without overcrowding the skillet (work in batches if needed) cooking 3-4 minutes until a light golden brown, then transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
ASSEMBLY:
- Add a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of a shallow baking dish (just enough to lightly coat the bottom. Transfer the chicken to the baking dish, top with a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce (or more to your liking) and a few slices of mozzarella.
- Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until the cheese is melty and chicken is cooked through to an internal temp of 165°.
PASTA:
- Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water then drain.
- Blend marinara and pasta drizzling in some of the reserved pasta water until your sauce is smooth.To serve, add pasta to each plate, top with breaded chicken breast then garnish with extra parmesan cheese and eat right away.
Good Golly…..what a delicious looking dish! This is my daughter-in-law’s favorite Italian dish. Will be making this as a surprise for her very soon. It really is an easy dish, love that you have a easy homemade sauce…not store-bought. Makes it more special! Pinned. Have a great weekend. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Mary! What a sweet idea to make this for your daughter-in-law! You must have a special relationship. Enjoy and thanks for pinning.