The best chicken parmesan with a deliciously crispy coating, smothered in a rich homemade tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese!
No one likes a soggy chicken parmesan! That’s why we have adapted this recipe to have a crispy coat, even after it’s been drenched in tangy tomato sauce.
THE BEST CHICKEN PARMESAN RECIPE
Chicken Parmesan, better known in some places as Chicken Parmigiana, is one of the most loved, most popular and most ordered chicken recipes in the world. But often when cooking it at home, it can come out too dry or doesn’t have enough flavour or seasoning. The sauce is bland, or cheddar cheese is used instead of mozzarella, etc.
With our recipe, you won’t have to worry about any of that! According to many of our readers, this chicken recipe has been crowned the crispiest and tastiest they’ve ever tried. We wanted our chicken parmesan to be just as juicy as our creamy French mustard chicken and our creamy dijon chicken (but without all of the sauce) while still retaining its crispy exterior.
That’s why we have taken the time to perfect our parmesan crusted chicken so that your chicken is simultaneously crunchy and juicy, first time round.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PARMESAN
Compared to our easy Cajun butter chicken breasts and our juicy oven baked chicken breast, this recipe may have more steps but we promise – they are all worth it:
- Breading
- Frying
- Sauce-ing
- Cheese-ing
- Baking
Each step is guaranteed to give you the best possible outcome and the juiciest chicken dinner you will never forget.
THE CRISPY COATING
To pack as much flavour into the coating as possible, the breading is made up of a combination of four ingredients:
- Panko — a Japanese breadcrumb found in any supermarket or grocery store, usually in Asian isles. Dryer than regular breadcrumbs, they absorb less oil producing a crispy and crunchier crumb!
- Breadcrumbs — Italian seasoned, golden or whatever you have on hand.
- Parmesan cheese (or Provolone)
- Garlic (or onion) powder.
CHICKEN PARMESAN SAUCE
In order to give your tastebuds the ultimate flavour experience, I have provided a homemade tomato sauce recipe to pour over your finished chicken parmesan. You are more than welcome to use store bought pasta sauce, marinara sauce or tomato sauce (U.S readers).
CHICKEN PARMESAN VS CHICKEN PARMIGIANA
There are some variations to the traditional recipe depending on the type of restaurant you’re ordering from. Some restaurants layer toppings with ham or bacon, or switch mozzarella to cheddar (not our favourite), but they are all essentially the same.
Australians know Chicken Parmigiana (Pollo alla parmigiana in Italian) as Parm, Parma, or Parmi.
Before there was chicken parmesan, there was eggplant parmesan. Eggplant slices are breaded, fried and layered with sauce and parmesan cheese. This is a great option for vegetarians or anyone cutting back on calories.
When running out of options on what to feed your family…look no further than these crispy succulent chicken breasts with so much melty cheesy!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN PARMESAN
- Pasta — thin spaghetti, angel hair pasta, fettuccini.
- Sautéed green beans.
- Mashed potatoes.
- Zucchini noodles or cauliflower mash for a lighter option.
- Garlic Mushrooms
Looking for a low carb version? Try this Low Carb Chicken Parmesan with crispy keto coating, or the Easy Mozzarella Chicken Recipe for a seasoned, not breaded, option!
CRISPY CHICKEN PARMESAN NOW ON VIDEO!
Crispy Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons parsley fresh, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt to season
- 3 large chicken breasts halved horizontally to make 6 fillets
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup breadcrumbs Italian or golden
- ½ cup parmesan cheese fresh grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup olive oil for frying
For The Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 14 ounces tomato puree Passata
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
For The Topping:
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese sliced or shredded
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese fresh shredded
- 2 tablespoons basil or parsley, fresh, chopped
Instructions
For The Chicken:
- Whisk together eggs, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Add chicken into the egg, rotating to evenly coat each fillet in the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes (or overnight night if time allows for a deeper flavour).
- When chicken is ready for cooking, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder together in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken into the breadcrumb mixture to evenly coat.
- Preheat oven 430°F | 220°C. Lightly grease an oven tray (or baking dish) with non stick cooking oil spray; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Fry chicken until golden and crispy, (about 4-5 minutes each side).
- Place chicken on prepared baking tray / dish and top each breast with about ⅓ cup of sauce (sauce recipe below). Top each chicken breast with 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese and about 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with basil or parsley.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and melted, and the chicken is completely cooked through.
For The Sauce:
- Heat oil in a medium-sized pot. Fry onion until transparent (about 3 minutes), then add the garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add the tomato puree, salt and pepper to taste, Italian herbs and sugar (If using). Cover with lid to simmer for about 8 minutes, or until sauce has thickened slightly. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper, if needed.
karen maxdonald says
U have not yet tried this recipe but I have tried many from cafe delites and have never been disappointed! whenever I am searching for a recipe if I see one from Cafe Delites I automatically go to it. Even after searching a number of others I almost always return to this one site.
Erin says
Delicious! Paired with buttered and herbed Angel pasta and caramelized broccoli. We devoured it. Thanks for sharing!
Heather says
Omg! This was truly the best chicken parm my husband and I have ever had! He is an executive chef, and has been in the business for 25 years… he hasn’t tried any other chicken parm like this! 100 gold stars girl!
Pat Fulgham says
Absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!!! Cooked a double batch to freeze. It was so good that we want to eat it today as leftovers. How do I reheat without it getting soggy?
Becky says
Delicious!! I had a slight change of plans so marinated chicken for 24 hours . I also added a dollop of pesto on top before baking and used jarred sauce to save time . Better than any I’ve made before😊👍👍
Tricia says
I bought the ingredients off your list which notes “grated” Parmesan but I just watched your video this morning as I’ll be making tonight and looks like you use “shredded” Parmesan … does it make a difference ?
Li says
I will never order chicken parmigiana in a restaurant again! This recipe is absolutely delicious: crispy, juicy chicken, and the sauce is so flavorful. My husband doesn’t like chicken parm and he agreed with me. Thank you for this recipe!
Ally G says
10/10 . Sooo good. I only did the chicken portion, not the sauce. I have my own family homemade sauce recipe. But I always worry about dry chicken…. I followed this recipe exact and it was very flavorful and juicy!! The only thing I didn’t do it cut all my chicken breaststroke in half. There were only 2 adults and 1 kid. So i did 3 chicken breasts and just pounded them down. I also
Blitzo says
Hi there, you are awesome!! I have followed your blogs, through this blog also I enjoyed cooking.
Debbie says
My husband and I made this tonight. It was easy and delicious! This is a keeper for sure!