This baked chicken parmesan recipe starts with tender chicken cutlets dredged in tasty breadcrumbs, smothered in sauce and cheese, and baked to perfection. Seriously, this might be the best baked chicken parmesan recipe ever! And it’s healthy!
It doesn’t get any more Italian-American than a delicious chicken parmesan recipe. Mama Mia! YUM! I’ve been making this simple baked chicken parmesan recipe for YEARS!
I had every intention to share it YEARS ago but for some reason every time I made it I either screwed it up, kids were screaming for it, or I forgot to take pictures. You think my kiddos would know by now that I need to photograph all food prior to it being consumed. Umm, hello?
Also, I never had a recipe for my chicken parmesan. I just dipped in breadcrumbs, slathered it with sauce and cheese, and then threw it in the oven. Easy. Well my baked chicken parmesan is da bomb (yup I say that) and since I want to share this recipe I decided to pay attention and take notes while I made my chicken parmesan last week. I suggest a glass of red dry wine with this. Not that I drink wine during the day…well sometimes…but only on Sundays 🙂
Let’s get right to the recipe. I think you will be very happy to see this is very easy to make.
Here’s my quick video tutorial to watch this delicious recipe come to life.
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How Do You Make Chicken Parmesan?
Baked chicken parmesan requires 4 main ingredients:
- Chicken
- Breadcrumbs
- Sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
Of course a recipe is only as good as the ingredients used so I’m going to talk about each of these ingredients and share what I use and recommend for the perfect baked chicken parmesan.
Let’s talk about the chicken first. My favorite chicken to use is organic chicken breast that I purchase from Wegmans or Whole Foods. In my experience, it has the best flavor and texture. I also like Harvestland natural chicken breasts that I find at BJ’s Wholesale or Tops. Bottom line the higher quality the chicken the better the chicken parmesan.
I use thin cutlets for chicken parmesan. I try my best to purchase them already prepared into cutlets because I’m lazy and don’t like handling chicken more than I need too. However, if I can’t find chicken cutlets then I will pound them into cutlets using a meat mallet. When I do this I put the chicken into a ziploc bag or in-between two pieces of plastic wrap.
If the breasts are really big you can cut them in half using a sharp knife. Regardless, you want the chicken breasts to be on the thinner side. You also want the chicken breasts to be close to the same size because this helps for the chicken to cook evenly.
Now for the breadcrumbs. When you’re creating a healthier version of a classic, flavor is everything. In the past, I used seasoned Italian breadcrumbs. Those are good and will work to create a tasty recipe but one time I created my own seasoning for the breadcrumbs and never went back.
My absolute favorite seasoning mix to use in breadcrumbs for baked chicken parmesan is Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. YUM! This is such a basic mix but it’s so good!
If you do use seasoned Italian breadcrumbs then stir in some grated cheese to elevate the flavor.
I do not recommend using Panko breadcrumbs. In my experience, they don’t coat the chicken completely and the coating falls off as it bakes.
Stir all the ingredients together and then coat both sides of the chicken with the breadcrumbs. Typically, I use 6 chicken cutlets about 2lbs of chicken. If I have leftover breadcrumbs I just toss it.
Next, let’s chat about the oil part of this recipe. A traditional chicken parmesan recipe is fried in oil and then smothered in sauce and cheese. Since we are trying to make this a healthier version we are going to skip the frying part. However, coating the baking sheet with olive oil will keep the chicken from sticking and also give the chicken a nice brown “fried” look. Seriously, in my opinion, it’s better than fried.
Now the chicken parmesan is ready to go in the oven.
Place the chicken in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes and then flip over and baked for another 15 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and spread 2 tablespoons of sauce and 2-3 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast. Stick back in the oven for 10- 15 minutes or until the sauce is hot and cheese is melted. Super easy.
Let’s talk about the sauce. This time around I used sauce I had leftover from the weekend but you can use any jar sauce you like. There is no shame in using jarred sauce. My only recommendation is to use a high quality sauce. My favorite jarred sauces is Rao Marinara Sauce. It’s a little on the pricey side but you can find a big jar of it, for a great price, and BJ’s Wholesale store.
If you prefer extra sauce of course feel free to use more. Personally, I think this is the perfect sauce, cheese, and chicken ratio. Remember healthy eating is about portion control. That’s one of the ways you can still enjoy the foods you love.
What to Serve With Baked Chicken Parmesan?
Of course, classic chicken parmesan is served with spaghetti and sauce. Since this is a healthy chicken parmesan recipe I recommend serving it with whole grain pasta and a small salad.
However, in my old age I like to keep things on the low carb side so often I’ll skip the pasta and enjoy it with some vegetables or a big salad. You can even serve this on a garlic roll as a chicken parmesan sandwich or sub. Yum!
Tips for Baked Chicken Parmesan
Let’s just sum up what we talked about for a delicious healthy chicken parmesan recipe.
- Use high quality chicken breasts.
- All the chicken breasts should be the same size and thickness to make sure everything bakes evenly.
- Make your own seasoned breadcrumbs. Remember don’t use panko because they’ll fall right off the chicken.
- Oil your baking sheet, this is how you get perfectly brown “fried” chicken breasts.
- If you don’t use homemade sauce then pick up a jar of high quality sauce like Rao’s marinara. The flavor of the sauce will make a big difference in the results. For example, if you use a roasted garlic marinara that will taste different than a plain marinara.
This is an easy chicken parmesan recipe and it’s so delicious. You won’t miss it being fried and honestly I bet you will like it better. You can enjoy this Italian loved classic without all the guilt.
Supplies
Mixing Bowls – This set of 3 glass mixing bowls from Pyrex are great to have on hand for this recipe and many others.
Meat Tenderizer – You absolutely need one of these if you want to create thin cutlets for your chicken parmesan.
Cheese Grater – Just in case you want to great your own shredded mozzarella.
Baking Sheets – It couldn’t be baked chicken parmesan without baking sheets. If you don’t have a couple, I recommend getting some for this dinner and many other sheet pan dinners.
More Baked Chicken Recipes
- ½ cup unseasoned wholegrain breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan (or romano) cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2lbs chicken cutlets
- ¾ cup sauce
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Coat a sheet pan with the olive oil.
- Dredge each chicken cutlet in the breadcrumb mixture and place on the sheet pan. Discard the rest of the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake the chicken for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and spread 2 tablespoons of sauce and 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese on each chicken cutlet.
- Place back in the oven and cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until sauce is hot and cheese is melted.
- Serve hot.
Make-ahead instructions
You can dredge the chicken ahead of time in the breadcrumbs and store in a container in the refrigerator. Or you can make the chicken parmesan completely ahead of time, store in the refrigerator or freezer, and then reheat in the microwave.
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I have made this several times and it is beyond Delicious! I’m Italian and originally from Buffalo, NY and many of our meals are centered around family and wonderful food such as this dish. This was definitely one of the foods I hated to have to limit while I was starting my weight loss journey. This recipe as well as a few others has made it possible to enjoy these foods without feeling guilty about it. Thank you!
That is awesome! Thanks for this comment. I’m also a fellow Buffalonian!
Do the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken well? Every recipe I’ve ever seen instructs you to first dredge in egg or milk.
Yes they stick great.
Where do you find unseasoned wholegrain breadcrumbs?! I can’t find any!!
I get them in my grocery store wegmans. I’ve seen them everywhere in with the other breadcrumbs.
Love this so easy to make. Made for a friends birthday dinner she loved it also.
That’s great! So glad you enjoyed it.
Just made this tonight with gluten-free breadcrumbs and it was great! Added some shredded parmesan cheese instead of grated and broiled the cheese (I used whole slices of mozzarella) at the end. Really great recipe, thanks for sharing!!
Hi! Just used this recipe tonight and I realized you left out the Italian seasoning in the steps. We realized in time to add them but just so you know
Tried this tonight. Turned out great! Couldn’t get to the store for mozzarella, so I sliced a couple of Babybels, added some sliced tomatoes, sauced it and topped with some parm at the last 5 minutes of baking. Added spaghetti on the side and voila!
I go to this recipe everytime I make chicken parm. Its spectacular and super healthy! Combination for bread crumbs is perfect! Yumm
Excellent
I have looked extensively for a recipe for chicken parmesan, one that my husband would appreciate and one I could serve guilt-free on my Weight Watchers diet. This is a keeper, and he said it satisfied his need for spaghetti & meatballs. I did serve a side of spaghetti with it. I had no granulated garlic, so substituted 2 t. of garlic powder. Excellent and thanks for sharing.
This chicken parm recipe is delicious and super easy to make! I’m looking forward to eating the leftovers for dinner tonight.
Looove this recipe! It is super easy and tastes so good. My husband’s new favorite!
Yes we love this recipe. I make it all the time for guests and they can never believe it’s not fried.
Do you cover it to bake?
no I do not
What’s the herb on top of the chicken in the picture? Flatleaf parsley? Made before and it was a hit! Thank you!
yes just parsley.
When you add the Italian seasoning?
Add it into the breadcrumbs
This is a good recipe, have made it twice now. I see someone mentioned the Italian seasoning in the recipe, I also noticed that the full amount of mozzarella cheese and sauce the recipe called for didn’t look like it was directed to use all of, but I dump the 3/4 of both on for the last part of the cooking. It’s a nice, easy recipe, thank you for this!
Great & easy recipe! It’s been so hot here in Greece this summer that I’ve needed quick & easy recipes that don’t need a lot of messing about in the hot kitchen. This was just the thing, thank you.