My family absolutely loves this recipe for The Best Chicken Parmigiana, and I’m sure yours will too! The chicken always turns out crisp, tender, and so flavorful! The sauce and pasta are simple pantry staples, and this meal looks and tastes like it came from your favorite Italian restaurant. I love to make this dish for friends, family, or even a quiet Sunday evening with just the 4 of us at home.
Homemade Chicken Parm definitely involves a few steps in order to get the chicken cutlets thin, tender, and crispy. But it is well worth the effort to prepare fresh chicken and fry it up the day you make the pasta and assemble the Chicken Parm. The process isn’t complicated, it just requires some preparation, and a few extra dishes.
How to Make the Best Chicken Parmigiana
The Marinara
To begin, add 2-3 jars of homemade Marinara or your favorite store bought Marinara sauce to large sauce pan over low heat. I love the Specialty Selected Marinara from Aldi – it has amazing flavor, and regular everyday ingredients (no added sugar).
Season the sauce with one teaspoon of Pizza, Pasta Magic blend, or any dried Italian herb seasoning blend. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce, if desired. Let the marinara simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
The Pasta
Boil Spaghetti in salted water according to package instructions, making sure not to overcook. Drain well and set aside.
Preparing the Chicken Cutlets
- Butterfly the chicken breasts to reduce the thickness (cut in half lengthwise).
- Cover with plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4 inch thickness with a mallet or rolling pin. Cut the chicken breasts in half, as needed (the pieces can be quite large depending on the size of the chicken breast originally).
- Season each of the chicken breasts with sprinkles of kosher salt and black pepper.
Dredging the Chicken
Add each set of ingredients for dredging to deep plates or casserole dishes. Whisk the eggs and 1 Tbsp of water until yellow and smooth. Stir the crumb mixture together until the parmesan and garlic are well incorporated. Finally whisk the flour, salt, and pepper together.
One chicken breast at a time, thoroughly coat the breast with flour shaking off any excess. Next, dredge the piece in the egg mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. To finish, thoroughly coat the breast with the Parmesan breadcrumb mixture. Transfer to a plate, and repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.
When nearly finished dredging all of the chicken breast cutlets, preheat the olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet. Also, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Frying the Chicken
- Fry the chicken cutlets in batches, ensuring not to crowd the pan. If pounded thin, the chicken should cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until crispy and golden brown. Work carefully when flipping the chicken, to ensure none of the breading falls off. *You may need to reduce the heat a little as you fry each batch of chicken so the oil doesn’t get too hot.
- Transfer the chicken to a rack lined with paper towel to rest.
- Transfer the pasta to a large casserole dish. Pour marinara around the edges of the dish.
- Arrange multiple chicken pieces in the pan on top of the pasta and marinara.
Pour a little marinara sauce (about 1/4 cup) over each of the chicken breasts. Then top generously with shredded mozzarella cheese. Be sure to reserve some sauce for serving, our family loves extra sauce on our pasta! Not to mention for dipping our garlic bread in too!
Broil the entire dish in the oven for 3-6 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbly. Be very careful not to let it burn! Broiling the cheese will cause it to brown quickly.
Serve the chicken with a side of spaghetti and marinara sauce, and a thick slice of garlic bread. Top everything with some fresh or dried parsley leaves, and enjoy! The Best Chicken Parmigiana is one my family’s absolute favorite meals. They cannot get enough of the crispy, cheesy, chicken, and yummy pasta!
Feel free to serve it like your favorite restaurant would – with some extra freshly grated Parmesan cheese!
The Best Chicken Parmigiana
Ingredients
The Marinara
- 2 jars Good Quality Marinara such as Rao's or Aldi Specialty Selected
- 1 tsp Pizza, Pasta Magic Seasoning (or dried italian herb blend)
- 1 tsp Granulated Sugar
The Pasta
- 1 lb Organic Spaghetti
The Chicken Cutlets
- 6 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to season chicken
- 2 large Eggs
- 2/3 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 2/3 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
- 2/3 cup Finely Grated Parmesan
- 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella
Optional Garnish
- Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Dried Parsley
Instructions
The Marinara Sauce
- To begin, add 2-3 jars of homemade Marinara or your favorite store bought Marinara sauce to large sauce pan over low heat. Season the sauce with 1 teaspoon Pizza, Pasta Magic blend, or any dried Italian herb seasoning blend. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce, if desired. Let the sauce simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
The Pasta
- Boil Spaghetti in salted water according to package instructions, making sure not to overcook. Drain well and set aside.
The Chicken Cutlets
- Butterfly the chicken breasts to reduce the thickness (cut in half lengthwise).Cover with plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4 inch thickness with a mallet or rolling pin. Cut the chicken breasts in half, as needed (the pieces can be quite large depending on the size of the chicken breast originally).Season each of the chicken breasts with sprinkles of kosher salt and black pepper.
- Whisk the flour, salt, and pepper together in a medium casserole dish or deep plate. Whisk the eggs and 1 Tbsp of water until yellow and smooth in a separate medium casserole dish or deep plate. Stir the parmesan, garlic powder, panko, and Italian bread crumbs together in a third casserole dish until well incorporated.
- One chicken breast at a time, thoroughly coat the breast with flour shaking off any excess. Next, dredge the piece in the egg mixture, allowing any excess to drip off. To finish, thoroughly coat the breast with the Parmesan breadcrumb mixture. Transfer to a plate, and repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.
- When nearly finished dredging all of the chicken breast cutlets, preheat the olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet. Also, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Fry the chicken cutlets in batches, ensuring not to crowd the pan. If pounded thin, the chicken should cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until crispy and golden brown. Work carefully when flipping the chicken, to ensure none of the breading falls off.Transfer the chicken to a rack lined with paper towel to rest.
Assembling the Chicken Parmigiana
- Transfer the pasta to a large casserole dish. Pour marinara around the edges of the dish. Arrange multiple chicken pieces in the pan on top of the pasta and marinara.
- Pour about 1/4 cup marinara over each of the chicken breasts. Then top generously with shredded mozzarella cheese. Be sure to reserve some sauce for serving.
- Broil the entire baking dish in the oven for 3-6 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbly. Be very careful not to let it burn! Broiling the cheese will cause it to brown quickly.
- Top the finished dish with dried parsley leaves, and freshly grated Parmesan, as desired. Serve the chicken with a side of spaghetti and extra marinara sauce, and enjoy!
Notes
Like this recipe? Try my Cheesy Sausage Rigatoni next!
It’s so good.😋