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Easy Chicken Parmesan

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Treat Your Mum By Making this Special Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe For Mother’s Day

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A serving of Easy Chicken Parmesan with a side of spaghetti sits on a red plate.

What could be more classic than an Easy Chicken Parmesan recipe for a special-occasion family dinner? Mother’s day is this weekend and I know quite a few mothers who would love a day off and have dads or kids do the cooking and cleaning for a change!

This recipe is made easy and delicious by cutting out the hassle of preparing your own marinara sauce. In this recipe, you’ll just be focusing on the chicken, so it’s extra juicy-tasty-crispy-fabulously-delicious! Purchase your favorite store-bought tomato marinara sauce for this recipe (I love RAO’s).

Chicken cutlets are seasoned for Easy Chicken Parmesan with salt.

I used thawed prepackaged frozen chicken cutlets in these photos which made chicken prep more easy. If you can’t find them (I got mine at good ol’ Walmart), purchase fresh chicken breasts and pound them to 1/2 inch thin by placing them in a large zippered bad and smacking them with a rolling pin. It can be very therapeutic, especially if you imagine it’s your boss’ face or something :0) :0) :0) (Not that I’ve never ever done that…)

How to Bread Chicken

Lay the thinned chicken out in a single layer on paper towels and sprinkle with salt to season them. Let them sit out while you prep the rest of the ingredients. If your chicken pieces are really large, as in too much for just one person to eat, simply cut them in half. Especially if you are serving health-conscious people who practice portion control. Plus, you’ll likely be serving this chicken with a side of pasta to help complete the meal.

A Chicken cutlet is dipped into eggs whisked with flour (a yellow creamy mixture) for Easy Chicken Parmesan.

Mix a couple eggs with a little flour until smooth. Dunk both sides of the chicken cutlets in the egg mixture, then press the breading generously onto both sides. The breading is made with panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic and pepper to give this chicken an amazing flavorful and crunchy breading.

A chicken cutlet is pressed into a mixture of parmesan cheese and seasoned bread crumbs to make Easy Chicken Parmesan.

How to Pan Fry Easy Chicken Parmesan

Pan fry the chicken pieces in vegetable oil until beautifully deep golden brown on both sides. It is so important to use thin chicken cutlets in this recipe, and not regular bulky chicken breast meat, because if the meat is too thick it will not have time to cook through!

Breaded chicken cutlets are pan fried in vegetable oil until beautifully deep golden brown.

Top each freshly fried Easy Parmesan Chicken cutlet with mounds of mozzarella cheese mixed with a little fontina cheese for more depth of flavor. Then a quick trip under the broiler turns it into “oooey gooey melty goodness” that is soooo deliciously amazing!

Freshly fried Easy Chicken Parmesan pieces are topped with mozzarella cheese and broiled to melt it.

Place a generous dollop of your favorite store-bought tomato marinara sauce on top of each chicken piece and serve over a bed of spaghetti or Linguine. I have written the recipe to include cooking pasta, but if you want to simplify things further you can always leave it out, and serve a different side dish, no big deal!

A closeup of Easy Chicken Parmesan on a red plate with a side of spaghetti and some fresh basil for garnish.

Just looking at these pics is making my mouth water for some savory Easy Chicken Parmesan! If you really want to be ambitious, make some of my Homemade Quick Crusty Dinner Bread to go along with this sensational meal. Looking for other streamlined Italian favorites? Look no further than this recipe for Cheese Stuffed Manicotti. I hope you love this Easy Chicken Parmesan recipe, and as always, please consider subscribing to my blog and give the recipe a rate and review below. Thanks!

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Easy Chicken Parmesan

  • Author: Emily
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
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Description

If you’re looking for an easy yet impressive dinner recipe that tastes like your Italian grandmother made it from scratch, then Easy Chicken Parmesan is the answer! Juicy chicken cutlets fried in a crunchy panko parmesan crust smothered in melty mozzarella, all topped with yummy tomato marinara sauce (that you bought from the store, shhhh, no one will know). Serve it on a bed of lightly-sauced spaghetti or fettuccine noodles. An impressive and delicious family dinner, ready in about 30-40 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 chicken breast cutlets, 1/2 inch thick in the center
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 1 and 1/2 cups of your favorite tomato marinara sauce (I love RAO’s)
  • 1/2 package of spaghetti

Instructions

  1. Fill a large dutch oven or stockpot with water to cook the spaghetti and set it over high heat to boil. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or other non-stick lining and set aside. Move an oven rack to the upper middle position.
  2. Lay out the chicken cutlets in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt. In a small bowl, mix together the mozzarella and the fontina cheeses and set aside. 
  3. In a pie plate, whisk together the eggs and the flour until smooth. In another pie plate or round cake pan, stir together the parmesan, panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, oregano and pepper.
  4. Blot the chicken dry on both sides with paper towels. Dip both sides of the cutlets in the egg mixture, then in the panko-parmesan mixture, pressing the crumbs on to stick. Set breaded chicken on a platter.
  5. Set a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Place two cutlets gently into the oil and don’t move them for at least 2-3 minutes. When the bottoms are golden brown, flip the chicken over and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes or until evenly browned. Remove and set on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
  6. Add in the spaghetti noodles to the boiling water and cook al dente, according to the package directions. Set your oven to broil. Mound the mozzarella cheese mixture on top of each piece of cooked chicken. Place the chicken under the broiler for just a minute or two to melt. Watch it carefully to keep it from burning!
  7. Turn off the heat for the spaghetti when it’s done and drain the water. Toss spaghetti with 1 and 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and cover to keep warm.
  8. Place a couple spoonfuls of marinara sauce over the chicken cutlets and serve over individual servings of spaghetti. 
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 chicken cutlet and 1/2 cup spaghetti
  • Calories: 452
  • Sugar: 3.1 g
  • Sodium: 1088 mg
  • Fat: 15.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 6.2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 44.1 g
  • Fiber: 2.6 g
  • Protein: 33.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 124 mg

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If you're looking for an easy yet impressive dinner recipe that tastes like your Italian grandmother made it from scratch, then Easy Chicken Parmesan is the answer! Juicy chicken cutlets fried in a crunchy panko parmesan crust smothered in melty mozzarella, all topped with yummy tomato marinara sauce (that you bought from the store, shhhh, no one will know). Serve it on a bed of lightly-sauced spaghetti or fettuccine noodles. An impressive and delicious family dinner, ready in about 30-40 minutes.

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