Classic Chicken Parmesan

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5 from 1 vote

Classic Chicken Parmesan

Chicken coated in crispy and cheesy breadcrumbs, topped with melted cheese and served with a rich tomato sauce

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American Italian

Keyword: chicken parmesan

Servings:

Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Equipment

This is an affiliate link.Ceramic baking dish
This is an affiliate link.Non-stick frying pan
This is an affiliate link.Meat tenderizer

Ingredients

3 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
1 clove garlic
500g/2 cups This is an affiliate link.tomato passata/crushed tomatoes
2-3 basil leaves chopped
125ml/1/2 cup water
salt to taste
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 tsp salt divided
1 tsp pepper
70g/1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
120g/1 cup This is an affiliate link.Panko breadcrumbs
50g/1/2 cup This is an affiliate link.Parmesan cheese grated
125g/4 oz fresh mozzarella ball sliced

Instructions

Make the sauce by heating one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan, add 1 whole garlic clove and let it cook for 30 seconds or so to flavour the oil, then take it out and discard. Pour in the passata or crushed tomatoes, torn basil leaves and a pinch of salt, add ½ cup water, let it simmer oven medium heat for 10 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. If the sauce is too acidic, add a teaspoon of sugar. Keep warm and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
Lay the chicken breasts on a work surface and cover in two layers of plastic wrap. Pound flat with a meat mallet until the thicker part of the chicken breast is the same thickness as the end. Season with salt and pepper.
Set three shallow bowls in front of you and add the beaten eggs to one, the flour mixed with the remaining salt to the second and the breadcrumbs mixed with half of the Parmesan cheese to the third.
Now bread the chicken by dredging it in the flour first, then dipping it in beaten eggs, then coating in the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside till needed.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan, then fry the chicken in it over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden on both sides. Press on the chicken breast in the first few seconds of frying to ensure the coating is fully in contact with the pan surface. Add more oil if needed. Don't worry, the the chicken does not have to be fully cooked at this point.
Place the fried chicken in a shallow baking dish in single layer, scoop ¼ cup of the tomato sauce over each chicken breast, make sure there is a part of the crispy coating is still exposed, then top with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Finish it off with the sprinkling of the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve on top of the remaining sauce.

Notes

There is no need to butterfly the chicken. Instead, pound the thicker end of the breast until it's even with the thinner end. A This is an affiliate link.meat mallet or This is an affiliate link.rolling pin work for this. This step prevents the chicken from drying out after being fried and put in the oven.
Panko are the best breadcrumbs to use. They result in much crispier breading than traditional breadcrumbs.
After the breasts are dredged in flour, seasoned, and coated in breadcrumbs, I fry them in This is an affiliate link.extra virgin olive oil until they are golden brown. If you don't want to use olive oil, butter can be used instead.
I recommend only using a dollop of the sauce on each breast before topping with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and cooking in the oven. But don't worry, the rest gets put to work when it is time to serve because you can add a full ladleful of sauce at this point. Waiting till serving means that the crispy breaded chicken doesn't have time to go soft while sitting in the sauce.

Nutrition