This Easy Chicken Parmesan makes a great weeknight dinner! With chicken breasts coated in flavorful seasoned breadcrumbs, a layer of gooey mozzarella cheese, and your favorite pasta sauce, this recipe rivals anything you’d find in a restaurant for a fraction of the price!
This Chicken Parmesan, also known as Chicken Parmigiana, is delicious, easy to make, and something the whole family will love. I love making it for guests, but I’ll make it just for me, too!
This Parmesan Chicken is right up there on my list of all-time favorites along with my mom’s Lasagna, and my Stuffed Shells. But what I truly love about this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients and doesn’t require a lot of work. Sometimes I serve it alone with a green salad, while other times I’ll make my favorite pasta and a loaf of my grandma’s Italian Bread. It’s pretty filling, but it also makes great leftovers!
Here’s what’s on my grocery list for this chicken recipe:
I have a detailed list of ingredients in the recipe card at the end of the post, so make sure to check it out!
First, I prepare everything for baking. I preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, then spray an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Then I pour half the pasta sauce into the bottom of the pan.
Next, I prepare the chicken. I slice my chicken breast in half and place the halves in between two sheets of parchment paper or wax paper. Then I pound each until they are an even thickness, about ½ inch thick. Then I sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.
Now I make the coatings. In one pie plate or shallow bowl, I beat the egg. In another, I combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning and mix well.
I dredge each piece of chicken first in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumb mixture, making sure to press the breadcrumbs into the chicken so they adhere well.
Then, I heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. I know it’s hot enough when I can toss in a few bread crumbs and they rise to the top of the oil. I place one of the coated chicken breasts into the pan and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Then, using tongs, I carefully turn the chicken over and brown on the other side. I prefer to cook one of the chicken cutlets at a time, but if you have a larger skillet, you could cook more than one. I drain the chicken on a plate lined with paper towels to get rid of excess oil before placing the pieces into the baking dish.
Finally, I cover the chicken with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese all over the top of the chicken. I let it bake for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly, the cheese has melted, and the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165 degrees F. If the cheese is browning too quickly, I loosely cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Lastly, if I’m serving pasta, I cook it according to the box directions. I like to serve my Chicken Parmesan right on top of the pasta and garnish it with fresh basil or freshly chopped parsley.
Do you know you shouldn’t discard used frying oil down your sink drain? As it cools, it may clog your pipes. Instead, allow it to cool completely, then pour it into a sealable metal or glass container that can be thrown in the trash. I keep a container in the freezer and just keep adding to it until it’s full enough to throw away.
Place any leftover chicken pieces in an airtight container in the fridge. Unfortunately, the crumb coating will soften overnight, but you could crisp it up by heating it in a skillet or air fryer the next day. It will last for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Make sure the breading gets nice and crispy when frying, and this means the oil needs to be hot enough. You can use Panko bread crumbs, which are larger and more crunchy than regular breadcrumbs or go for a combination of both. Also, sometimes, I’ll omit the sauce from the bottom of the pan and only put about a 1/2 – 1 cup of sauce on top of each chicken cutlet before covering them with mozzarella. I’ll warm the extra up either in the microwave or on the stove to serve it on the side.
Use a meat mallet, or if you don’t have one, you can use a rolling pin to pound chicken evenly.
Looking for more ways to use up those chicken breasts? Try one of these recipes:
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