If you’re looking for the Best Chicken Parmesan recipe, look no further. One taste of this tender, moist chicken breast with a deliciously crispy coating, topped with a rich homemade tomato sauce and ooey-gooey melted mozzarella cheese, oven-baked to perfection.
Chicken Parmesan (also called Chicken Parmigiana) was one of the most popular dishes in my restaurant days. Sadly, restaurant chicken parm is often too dry or doesnโt have enough sauce, cheese, or flavor.
But I’m going to teach you the secret to making the best chicken parmesan you’ve ever had. Just imagine tender, juicy chicken breasts, tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese for the perfect chicken parm!
If you love parm-style deliciousness, my Eggplant Parm and Veal Parm are other delicious choices.
Ingredients to make Chicken Parmesan
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Chicken Parmesan. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Simple Ingredients
- chicken breast
- mozzarella cheese
- spaghetti sauce
- parsley
- all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- seasoned bread crumbs
- eggs
- water or milk
- vegetable oil
How to make Chicken Parmesan
The key to making the perfect chicken parmesan requires flattening the skinless breasts. This also tenderizes them.
A meat mallet is the best tool for this task. This makes for the perfect bite. It’s not too thick, making it easy to eat, and each bite is packed with flavor.
The chicken breasts should weigh between 4-5 ounces each.
Flattening the Chicken Breast
Cover the skinless boneless chicken breasts with plastic wrap before pounding them. It keeps bits of chicken from flying around the room and makes the process easier.
If you don’t have a meat hammer, a regular hammer (wrapped in plastic) will do. Use the flat side of the hammer, not the part you drive nails in with. Be careful not to tear up the chicken breast.
While pounding the chicken breast, don’t strike straight down. You want to push the meat towards the outer edges while you pound. We want the breast intact; this is the best way to gain size without breaking the breast apart.
Do I have to pound the chicken breasts?
The short answer is no. But trust me, the difference between a pounded chicken breast and a not-pounded breast is night and day. I promise your chicken parmesan will be much better if you take the time to pound the breasts.
Pounding the breast will make it more tender. It will also spread out, giving you more space to cover it with sauce and cheese. And that means more flavor.
Once the chicken breasts have been prepped, it’s onto the breading station.
How to bread chicken cutlets for chicken parmesan
Set up three shallow bowls (or other containers). Make sure they are large enough to fit the flattened chicken breast. Use these bowls for the breading process.
- flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
- egg wash (eggs whipped with milk or water)
- Italian seasoned bread crumbs (or your choice of bread crumbs)
Start by dipping each piece of chicken into the seasoned flour. Then into the egg wash, and finally into the seasoned bread crumbs.
**Make sure to get a good coating on the chicken breast at each step of the process.
Once all the chicken breasts have been breaded, you’re ready to move on to the next step.
Breading food is not my favorite task, so when I bread chicken or eggplant, I make a large batch. After cooking, I freeze them on a sheet pan, and when they’re fully frozen, I store them in ziplock bags. That makes dinner a lot easier on nights I’m too tired to cook.
How to Fry Chicken Cutlets for Chicken Parmesan
Heat a large saute pan on high heat and add about half an inch of vegetable oil. Carefully place the breaded chicken cutlets into the oil using tongs. Add as many as you can into your pan without crowding them.
Cook chicken breasts until golden brown. Using tongs turn them over and saute the other side until golden brown (2-3 minutes per side). I usually use corn oil to pan-fry the chicken, but olive oil will also work.
Drain the fried chicken cutlets on racks over a sheet pan (or baking sheets). Allowing fried food to drain removes much of the fat associated with frying.
Most of the fat will not penetrate the food. It will stay on the outer layer. This is only possible if the oil is hot enough.
The secret to making perfect Chicken Parmesan is using enough tomato sauce. Sauce under and sauce on top is key to making chicken parmesan your whole family will love. Use my homemade spaghetti sauce recipe for the best chicken parmesan.
While you don’t want to smother the chicken cutlet with mozzarella cheese (okay, maybe you do), don’t scrimp on the cheese!! Although it’s called chicken parmesan, parmesan cheese is not the star of the dish. I recommend serving chicken parm with grated parmesan cheese or grated Romano cheese.
For a restaurant-style look, sprinkle finely chopped parsley on top of the cheese before you put the chicken parm in the oven to finish cooking.
When the cheese is melted, it’s time to enjoy your chicken parm.
What else can I make with a chicken cutlet?
Try a few of my favorite toppings:
- swap out shredded mozzarella with fresh mozzarella.
- bacon, tomatoes, and Swiss cheese
- sauteed broccoli rabe, roasted peppers, and provolone cheese
- sauteed broccoli and cheese sauce
- mushrooms, sauteed spinach, and melted bleu cheese crumbles
See how easy it is to create deliciousness? Have fun with the toppings making your own signature chicken dish, it doesn’t always have to be about Chicken Parmesan.
After one bite, I know you’ll agree this is the best chicken parmesan you ever tasted. The sauce adds flavor, and the cheese adds that ooey-gooey deliciousness that turns a chicken cutlet into an amazing culinary creation.
Recipe FAQ’s
In order to get a crisp (not soggy) chicken cutlet, the oil must be hot enough. In the restaurant, we cook at 350 degrees in the fryer. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, heat the oil until it’s shimmering but not smoking. It should be hot enough so that a piece of breading dropped into the oil will sizzle.
Technically it is not. Chicken parm is not found in Italy. It was created by Italian Americans as an imitation of Parmigiana di Melanzane, which is made with eggplant.
Traditionally chicken parm is served with pasta. But other options are veggie noodles, Caesar salad, mashed or roasted potatoes, rice, or garlic bread.
More Italian Recipes You’ll Love!
Best Chicken Parm Recipe
Ingredients
- 24 oz chicken breast four 6 ounce boneless skinless breasts, lightly pounded
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 12 oz spaghetti sauce your favorite brand or see my recipe
- 2 teaspoon parsley finely chopped
- 1 cup flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
- 2 cups bread crumbs Italian seasoned or your choice
- 2 large eggs
- 2 oz water or milk (mixed with egg to make egg wash)
- vegetable oil for frying chicken cutlets
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board lined with plastic wrap. Cover the chicken with another sheet of plastic wrap and using a meat hammer lightly pound the chicken breasts (see notes).
- Set up a breading station with flour seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, egg wash and Italian seasoned bread crumbs.
- Coat the chicken breasts with the seasoned flour. Then place in the egg wash and finally in the bread crumbs. Make sure you get a good coating of each ingredient on the chicken breasts, completely coating them.
- Heat a large saute pan on high heat and add about a half an inch of vegetable oil. Carefully place the breaded chicken cutlets into the oil using tongs. Add as many as you can into your pan without crowding them. Let them saute until they get a nice golden brown color. Using tongs turn them over and saute the other side until golden brown.
- Drain the fried chicken cutlets on baking racks over sheet pans (or baking sheets).
- Place the fried chicken cutlets in a baking dish. Top each cutlet with about โ cup of spaghetti sauce, covering the chicken cutlet.
- Add two ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the marinara sauce.
- Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top of the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.*make sure the fried chicken cutlet has reached a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately with your favorite pasta.
Video
Notes
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees F.
- Place the breaded chicken in a single layer in your air fryer. Depending on how many chicken cutlets you are cooking you may need to cook the chicken in batches.
- Cook the breaded chicken for six minutes, then turn the pieces over. Top the chicken cutlets with tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
- Let the chicken parm cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees F.
Alya
Great recipe! Question: How can I prevent the breading from clumping up?
Chef Dennis Littley
Let the eggwash drip off a little before placing the chicken in the breadcrumbs. Also when you bread, use one hand for dipping and the other for breading. That will help keep excess breading that sticks to your hands out of the mix.
corinne
Question … is prepping the day before (frying, assemble) a good idea? Will it make the chicken parm dry?
Chef Dennis Littley
You can definitely prep it ahead of time. I usually make a large batch and freeze them. Cover them well and don’t stack them unless you put paper or foil between them.
When you bake the parm, add sauce under and over the parm getting a good coating. The mistake most restaurants make is not adding enough sauce or cheese.
Tom
Great recipe, will use often. Thx
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for letting me know you’ve been enjoying my chicken parm recipe.
Kyle
For the past week I’ve been craving Chicken Parmesan. Having never made it before, I searched for recipes and came across yours on my Google search. Well the Mrs. and kids just finished dinner and they absolutely loved it. Your recipe was super easy and clear and I will definitely be making it again. I’m also glad that I doubled the recipe to enjoy for lunch time. Thank you and I look forward to checking out your other recipes.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed my chicken parm recipe! I hope you find more recipes on my website to try.
Ashlee
Hi! Iโm planning to use your tip and fry ahead of time. When baking from frozen, what is your process? Do you bake for a bit with sauce and then add the cheese?
Chef Dennis Littley
That is exactly what I do. Sauce over and under the chicken cutlet, bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees add the cheese and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
This looks amazing. When you pound your chicken, do you prefer which side of the mallet to use; i.e., the flat side, spiked, or a mixture of both?
Chef Dennis Littley
I always use the flat side of the mallet when pounding chicken. I don’t want to tear the meat with the spiked side.
Amanda M Mason
I made this and it was really delicious. Question though…I typically bake my chicken breasts at a higher temperature, about 425ยฐF and the chicken is SO AMAZINGLY JUICY AND TENDER! Why does your recipe call for cooking the breasts at 350ยฐF? Does it really matter? I mean your chicken in this recipe was really juicy, a well.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed my chicken parm recipe. As for the temperature, If you’re simply cooking plain chicken breasts 425 is a good temp to roast them. With the parm you have already partially cooked the chicken while frying it. At this point cooking at 425 would overcook the chicken. This is more of a complete entree, rather than plain chicken breasts which is why the temp is lower.
yvette blake
I need to make in 2 stages. After I am doing with the chicken in the pan and the fat has drained and I put the sauce and cheese on top can I finish cooking the next morning?
Chef Dennis Littley
Make and fry the chicken parm, wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. Yes you can. When ready to bake add the sauce and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then add the cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer to melt the cheese.
Tracy
Can I freeze the chicken after it’s fried and then bake at a later time? Or will that affect the coating?
Chef Dennis Littley
Absolutely, I usually make extras and freeze them other meals.
Misty Chittum
This recipe is the perfect one for our dinner thank you
Nan
sounds delish…but when and how do I use the water or milk?
Chef Dennis Littley
sorry for the confusion, its used to mix with the eggs for the egg wash that you dip the floured chicken in.
Martha
I made this tonight. Excellent! I like your idea of cooking/freezing several cutlets for other dinners. I’m going to do that. I’ve enjoyed several of your recipes recently. Thanks for making my dinners better.
Chef Dennis Littley
I love having the cutlets in the freezer ready to go. I love chicken parm, but I have been know to use other toppings! My wife loves a mixture of spinach and mushrooms, topped with fontina on the cutlets.
Paula
Made this tonight for my family. My nephew wants me to teach him how to make this. Huge hit! Delicious and easy to make!
Steven D Tucker
Hey Chef, Tried this Chicken Parm Recipe tonight. It was AMAZING!!! A lot of times I’ll start a new recipe and I start tweaking it before I even try the original so tonight I decided to make it exactly as it was written and it was perfect. I signed up for the email updates and what not. I also read the spaghetti sauce recipe and am looking forward to trying it in the near future. I was in the restaurant business for 38 years and ultimately retired from it. I still love cooking though and am always looking for new sources of inspiration. Thanks again!!!
Marilyn
Itโs an amazing dish!!
Terry Brand
Where do I find the marinara sauce recipe?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Terry
this is the recipe I use anytime I need a red sauce. It’s not really a marinara since its cooked for 4-5 hours. You can make it without the sausage if you like. https://www.askchefdennis.com/restaurant-style-spaghetti-sauce/
Sharon
I want to serve to my dinner club. Will it be alright to make ahead and warm yp
Chef Dennis Littley
I would cook the chicken and set it up with sauce and cheese and put it into the oven to finish before serving. I wouldn’t precook and then warm it up.
Margaret Frick
I have made Chicken Parm numerous times but I was never happy with it. Saw your recipe so I gave it a try. It was deliciously fantastic. I have now, after 53 years of cooking found my go to recipe for chicken parm. You would think that this fairly easy recipe wouldnโt be difficult but sometimes the easiest becomes the most challenging. I wanted restaurant taste and presentation. This recipe has it. Thank you Chef Dennis.
Chef Dennis Littley
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed my chicken parm recipe Margaret, you made my day!