In the quest to find easy delicious dinners for you, I have another winner! This delicious and easy to throw together Baked Chicken Parmesan is perfect for a weeknight meal. One of my picky eaters looked at this dinner like the ultimate skeptic she is. And then she proceeded to devour it. She was looking over my shoulder as I edited photos and said, “Oh that was YUMMY!” The ultimate seal of approval. You will love skipping the frying of the chicken, and you will still be impressed with the deep flavor and moist chicken. This is a perfect family dinner meal; one that everyone will love.
How to Make Baked Chicken Parmesan
While a lot of chicken parmesan recipes require some pan frying, we are skipping that step all together and putting the chicken right in the oven.
How to Cut Chicken into Cutlets
As mentioned above, we are cutting out the step of pounding the chicken thin by cutting the chicken into cutlets. If you would like to skip this step you can buy chicken cutlets right from the meat counter. Start by placing your hand on top of the chicken breast and using a sharp knife, slice through the chicken. You can see this in action in the video. If after you butterfly your chicken, you find that there are still parts that are too thick (over half an inch thick), place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or a rolling pin to pound it so the entire piece is half inch thickness.
How to Bread Chicken
We use all purpose flour to lightly coat our chicken. The flour sticks to the wet chicken and helps the egg wash stick in the next step. Now the floured chicken goes into an egg bath made of whisked eggs and milk. The egg mixture is what will keep the breadcrumbs on in the following step. Finally we take the chicken from the egg wash to the seasoned bread crumbs. If you desire, you can do one dip of breadcrumbs, return to the egg bath, and then a second dip in the breadcrumbs for a really thick breading.
How to Season Breadcrumbs
I decided to forgo using Italian Bread Crumbs for this recipe. I opted to use regular breadcrumbs and then season them to make sure that regardless of what you can find at the store, you can make this. That being said, you could use Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs, add in some parmesan cheese, and you will be all set.
Cooking Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken
After breading the chicken, it is ready to cook in the oven. I love that we skip pan frying it. The breadng still turns out delicious and crisp and we avoid the calories, time, and smell of frying. Bake the chicken and then remove from the oven to top with a small amount of spaghetti sauce and some cheese. Return to the oven under the broiler.
Using a Meat Thermometer
Just like in my Pork Chop recipe, I highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer. I have one that can stay in the meat in the oven, so I can pull it out at the exact right temperature. Pull out your chicken when it hits about 160. Top it with sauce and cheese and put it under the broiler. It should come to the right temperature around the same time the cheese is ready. This is the thermometer I have and love, but there are a lot of great options on the market.
What to Serve with Chicken Parmesan
I love serving this with spaghetti, but if you are looking for a lighter meal, you could just serve with with some vegetables. Here are a few great options.
Arugula Side SaladCrispy Brussels SproutsOven Baked AsparagusThree Bean SaladBrussel Sprout Salad
If you make this easy baked chicken parmesan or any of my other recipes, I would love to know! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
