When your schedule is hectic and you need a hot, comfort food kind of easy dinner, here is the solution. Skip the Italian restaurant and make this easy chicken parmesan recipe the whole family will enjoy. Made with golden chicken breast cutlets, pasta sauce, and parmesan. It’s the answer to what’s for dinner.
The beauty of basic recipes is that they work in a variety of ways, like building blocks, to create different meals. I’ve taken two of my basic recipes, the Golden Chicken Cutlets and 30 Minute Pasta Sauce and combined them to make easy chicken parmesan. If you don't have time to make the sauce, use your favorite store brand.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: choose boneless skinless chicken breasts for a fast dinner
- Seasoning: sea salt, ground black pepper, and granulated garlic
- Flour: use coconut flour or brown rice flour for gluten-free. If you're not GF, use white whole wheat flour. Some recipes use panko bread crumbs (wheat or GF). Using flour gives you a thinner crispy coating.
- Cooking fat: use extra-virgin olive oil or butter. The combination of the two is nice. What not to use? Vegetable oil. It's terrible for you. Toss it.
- Cheeses: for speed use pre-grated mozzarella cheese, or grate your own fresh mozzarella. For the Parmesan, get a chunk of the real deal and grate a little fresh, or get a container of fresh grated. Not the powdered stuff. Grated. Another option, use an Italian cheese blend.
- Sauce: your favorite jarred marinara (or homemade) or pasta sauce
- Herbs: fresh chopped oregano or parsley (optional)
Skip Egg Wash
What this recipe is not: it is not a classic breaded chicken parm recipe. It's light crispy chicken. It's less messy, too, as you don't have to set up a 3-stage breading station with egg wash and bowls. No frying, no pounding, and a lot less dishes. Try this method, I think you'll like it.
Create Cutlets
To create chicken cutlets, use boneless skinless chicken breasts. Trim off tenders. Do them separately or save for another use. Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally. I use a sharp, thin, 7-inch flexible slicing knife, a useful addition to your collection.
Season Cutlets
Season the chicken, not the flour, for better control over your seasoning. Use salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.Sprinkle the seasoned cutlets with a little olive oil so the seasoning sticks, then dust with flour.
Before cooking, gently shake off any excess flour. A light dusting gives the chicken a golden color, crisp texture, and toasty flavor.
Recipe Instructions
Heat a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat and add the oil or oil and butter mixture. Cook until the cutlets are golden brown on the first side, then turn them cook for another minute or two until they are done.
The best way to know when they are done is the cutlets will feel firm to the touch, with just a little give to them.
Broil to Finish
Once your cutlets are cooked and your sauce is ready, pre-heat the broiler until hot. Position the rack below the top level.
Place cooked cutlets in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet (parchment will burn under the broiler), or place them in a broiler-safe shallow baking dish. On top of the chicken, spoon sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
Broil for a minute until cheese melts. Serve topped with herbs such as fresh basil, oregano or Italian parsley to garnish. Serve extra sauce on the side.
Pasta Sauce
My thirty minute homemade sauce (marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce) is made from things you probably have in your pantry, like canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, garlic and dried herbs.
I make a larger batch and freeze it in small jars to thaw for a quick dinner. It works for pasta dishes and nicely for this Chicken Parmesan. Here is the recipe.
Make Ahead and Serve
Make the cutlets up to 4 day ahead of time, refrigerating chicken and sauce separately in an airtight container. When ready to serve, let the chicken rest on the counter for about 45 minutes to get the chill off, then top with sauce, cheese and broil.
Serve hot with a side of steamed broccoli, broccolini, fresh green beans, or zucchini noodles (or your favorite pasta) and a simple green salad with Italian dressing. A little garlic bread is good too if you're not concerned about carbs.
Chef's Tip: Be sure the chicken breasts are hot to serve. You might want to heat them first in a 350° oven for a few minutes, then switch to broiling to finish.
More Chicken Recipes
Try my 20 minute salsa verde chicken recipe, or braised Italian chicken thighs.
⭐️Did you Make This?
If you make this recipe, please comment and let me know, and if you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers.
📖 Recipe
Easy Chicken Parmesan
Equipment
- Large fry pan 10" - 12" size
- Rimmed baking sheet broiler safe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- ½ cup flour wheat, coconut, cassava, brown rice or GF blend. They all work.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups homemade pasta sauce or favorite store brand
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup grated or shredded mozzarella or Italian blend
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, oregano or parsley optional garnish
Instructions
Slice cutlets
- Place the chicken breasts flat on your cutting surface with the rounded, smooth side facing up. Trim any tenders and set aside to cook with the cutlets or freeze for later use. Place the palm of your hand on the chicken breast. Slice the chicken breasts into equal halves horizontally, keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board (see photos in post).
Season
- Rub each chicken piece with just a few drops of oil. Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic. Sprinkle flour over the chicken and lightly coat both sides. Shake off excess.
Cook
- Heat a large saute or fry pan over medium heat. Add olive oil or oil/butter combination. When it’s bubbling and hot, add chicken cutlets, smooth side down first. Allow the cutlets to cook until they are golden. You can tell when they are almost ready to turn as the edges start to get white. Turn the cutlets and cook another minute or two, depending on how thick the cutlets are. When done, they will feel firm to the touch but still give just a little.
Finish and serve
- Pre-heat the broiler on high. Place cooked cutlets on a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Top with sauce and cheeses. Broil briefly until cheese melts. Top with fresh herbs and serve. Serve any extra sauce on the side.
Abbey says
OMYGOODNESS!!! This was such an easy and delicious recipe!! I had all the ingredients at hand and the sauce was the prefect topping! Definitely a keeper! Thanks!!
Rebecca says
I have been looking for new recipes and came up pin this one today and decided to try it.
My 7 year old son tends to be a picky eater. I did use pizzas sauce I had on hand and mozzarella cheese but my son loved it and had 3 helpings!
It's a keeper!
Sally Cameron says
Love to hear that Rebecca! Thanks for commenting. Happy you have found something that works for your son!
Marvin Anderson says
Confused, what is white whole wheat flour?
Sally Cameron says
Good question Marvin! white whole wheat flour is milled from hard white spring wheat, a lighter-colored grain than traditional red wheat. White whole wheat has a milder taste than regular whole wheat flour. You can find it in most grocery stores, Trader Joes. I would buy King Arthur brand. Find more information on their website at KingArthurFlour.com.
Mary says
I made this and loved it! I used with spaghetti squash.
Daphne says
This was easy and we loved it!
Lokho Kotile says
My brother and I made this dish for our parents and they loved it. We are such great kids haha.
Sally Cameron says
You are great kids to cook for your parents! I am so happy that you guys cook. Many kids today never learned and need to. Its an important skill if we are going to eat healthy, be healthy and live healthy. Good for you!
Barry Anderson says
I made this for my wife and it tasted delicious. You'd think shed be happy but no.....not even a thank you or a compliment....Im so undreappreciated
Sally Cameron says
Well I appreciate that you took the time to comment back Barry. That made my day. Glad you liked the recipe. Maybe she will wake up tomorrow and say, hey that was a great dinner. Thanks for cooking. I am sure that she does appreciate it.
Anna Stuart says
I like to salt & pepper the cutlets, lightly coat them in flour, dunk them into beaten eggs, and finally dredge them in a 50/50 mix of Italian breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese. Then I fry them in olive oil and they come out so delicious we usually just eat them like this with buttered noodles and a big salad. The Italian breadcrumb/parmesan mixture makes the chicken scrumptious!
Sally Cameron says
Hi Anna. Thanks for commenting. What you've described is a different recipe (process) than what this one is. Yours is a traditional 3-step breading process. Mine is lighter. While I am sure yours tastes good, I wanted to lighten it up a bit, make it little faster and less messy. There are many ways to approach recipes, from traditional to new twists. Do what works best for you and your family. I do, as you do, season my chicken first rather than season the flour. Better control over flavor that way.
Ryan says
Earlier today I was just Googling boneless skinless chicken breast recipes and my surfing lead me here. After reading the recipe and starting at the photo, I knew this was the recipe for dinner tonight. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly. I couldn't find coconut flour at my local Kroger, so used the white whole wheat flour instead. Also, instead of grated parmesan I used mozzarella cheese I had on hand. I've tried a dozen chicken parmesan recipes from around the web, I haven't found one I wanted to keep until now! It turned out delicious! I also used the 30 minute pasta sauce recipe with this dish. I will never buy bottled pasta sauce again! This was my first experience with this site and definitely not my last.
Sally Cameron says
Love to hear that Ryan. You made my day! Thanks for commenting. Great idea on the Mozzarella! If you ever have any question on recipes,just let me know. I want to make all of my readers happy and successful in the kitchen.
Eboni B. says
Do you have to use parsley or oregano?
Sally Cameron says
Hi Eboni. You can skip the herbs but they do add a nice fresh flavor and color at the end. I's up to you!
Jake Penrose says
Ok first of all DELICIOUS!! I added a little more breading onto the Breasts but still Delicious. For a side dish I did a bow tie noodles salad and it went great with it. Thank you for the recipe!
Kathy Mills. says
This was delicious! I was worried that my husband might expect more breading -- but, when I mentioned it, he said that he thought it was perfect, as is. Thank you for a great recipe!
Jessica says
Very good taste was delicious.
Walter says
Great recipe! For a little extra depth of flavor, I melt a couple of anchovy filets in the hot oil before adding the onion. Don't worry! The sauce won't taste the least bit fishy. It adds a bit of salty flavor (so you can ease up on the actually salt a bit) and also gives the sauce a deep earthiness that's just wonderful.
I keep a small bottle of anchovies in the fridge just for this use and the occasional Caesar salad. They keep forever.
michelle says
Very easy recipe, but i think it needs alittle more breading, but very good
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
When I clicked on your site I immediately got hungry. Chicken Parmesan has been on my to-do list. I will be checking out the coconut flour.