This classic Italian-American dish was a request from my husband Ben, and he said I nailed it! Ben grew up eating this, and it reminded him of his childhood. It’s very simple to make, and we can add this to the list of dishes we can serve to young guests as well as adults! After lightly pan-frying the panko-breaded chicken to produce the golden brown crust, we bake it in the oven with all the topping layers to finish. The result is a crispy outer crust with very moist chicken topped with melted cheese and marinara sauce. Hard to argue with that. I love eggplant parmesan, so I’m looking forward to trying this recipe with eggplant!
Chicken Parmesan
Servings 3 people
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin
- kosher salt divided
- freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2.5 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup olive oil
- 25 ounces marinara sauce
- 0.5 pound fresh mozzarella thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 15 leaves fresh basil julienned, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Prepare the chicken
- Rinse the chicken breasts with cold water and pat dry with paper towel.
- Place a chicken breast between plastic wrap and pound with a mallet to 1/2-inch thickness. Repeat for all breasts.
- Place the pounded chicken breasts on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
Dredge the chicken
- Prepare 3 shallow bowls. Put the flour, pinch of salt and pepper in one and stir. Put the egg, water, and pinch of salt and pepper in the second. Put the panko, pinch of salt and pepper in the third.
- Place a chicken breast in the flour mixture, lightly coat both sides, and shake off any excess flour. Then dip the floured chicken breast in the egg mixture, lightly coat both sides and shake off any excess egg. Lastly place the coated chicken in the panko mixture, pat both sides down with panko, and shake of any excess panko. Repeat for all chicken breasts. Set aside.
Fry the chicken
- Heat a large pan with the olive oil on medium-high. Once the oil starts smoking, place the breaded chicken in the pan. Don’t let the chicken touch each other. Fry in batches if necessary. Fry each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Bake the chicken parmesan
- Place the fried chicken on the lined baking sheet. Place a thick layer of tomato sauce on top of the chicken. Place the mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle two thirds of the basil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
To serve
- In a small pot, heat any marinara sauce that is left over.
- Serve the baked chicken parmesan on a plate with some of the heated marinara sauce on top. Garnish with some fresh basil and serve immediately.