Easy Italian Chicken Parmesan Recipe

You don’t have to go to a restaurant or be an Italian chef to make a classic Italian chicken Parmesan recipe. My recipe is very easy to make and doesn’t take long either. You’ll end up with a crispy breading topped with pasta sauce and cheese that everyone will love!

About this Recipe

Even though I grew up in an Italian household, and my husband did too, this is one recipe we don’t remember growing up with. Sure we knew what it was, but you mostly found it at Italian restaurants – not in Italy. That’s why our parents didn’t ever really make it; it isn’t truly from Italy.. but it is still Italian.

However, this version of the recipe is how I like it and it’s for a few reasons. First, it’s not smothered in gooey stretchy cheese or overloaded with sauce that turns the crispy breading to a soggy mess.

If that’s the way you like it, then just up the quantities I give you in my recipe. This is a “no-judging allowed” website!

Recipe Summary

This recipe uses more ingredients than I typically use in my recipes, but that’s because I’m making my own seasoned breadcrumbs. You can use store-bought brands if you prefer and that’s totally fine.

For this recipe, I bread and season the thin cut chicken breasts and lightly fry them on each side. I give you tips on how to skip the frying step if you only want to bake them. Then I top with sauce and bake them, making sure to add the cheese about 10 minutes before I take them out of the oven.

Hungry yet? It’s delicious! I give you a bunch of serving suggestions later in this article.

Ingredients Needed

• Chicken breasts
• Flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Herbs (parsley and basil). Dried or fresh is fine
• Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Mozzarella cheese. Shredded or fresh is fine.
• Italian pasta sauce.
• Eggs
• Salt & pepper

How to Make Chicken Parmesan Recipe

Recipe Note: If you don’t want to fry the chicken, you don’t have to. I’d recommend drizzling or spraying the breaded chicken breasts on both sides with the olive oil before baking. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until fully cooked through.

Step one. Start by making your breading station. Place your flour on a plate or in a bowl. Then your beaten egg in another bowl, and lastly combine your breadcrumbs, herbs, Parmesan cheese, plus the salt and pepper in a third bowl or on a plate.

Step two. Slice your chicken breasts so they are only about 1/4″ thick. You don’t want super thick chicken breasts, but you don’t want them as thin as a chicken cutlet either.

PRO TIP: Try to keep the chicken breasts an even thickness. If you need to use a meat mallet to lightly flatten some areas you can do so. Remember no thinner than 1/4″ thick.

Step three. Coat the chicken breast with the flour, shake off any excess.

Step four. Then dip it in the egg and let any excess drip off.

Step five. Then finally, coat the chicken with the breadcrumb mixture and set aside on a plate.

Step six. In your skillet or frying pan, heat the olive oil up over medium-high heat until it sizzles when you drop a little bit of the breadcrumb mixture in it.

Gently add the chicken breasts to the pan and fry on each side for about 2-3 minutes until the breading is golden brown. Don’t worry about cooking it all the way through, the oven will do that. We just want to get that golden brown color.

Step seven. Place the fried chicken breasts in the baking dish. There is no need to grease it or lay down any sauce on the bottom of the dish.

Step eight. Add some of the sauce to the top of the breasts. I like to leave some of the edges exposed so that I can ensure a crispy texture.

Step nine. Bake in the oven at 350F for 35 -40 minutes, but add the remaining cheese about 10 minutes before it’s done (so around the 25-30 minute mark).

When the chicken breasts register an internal temp of 165F in the thickest parts, you know it’s done and ready to be taken out. The cheese should be melted by now.

PRO TIP: If you add the cheese too early, it is possible that it will get too hard and burn. I like to always add cheese to my dishes even if it’s a pizza recipe, with just enough time to get it melted and heated.

Recipe Tips

Here are some suggestions you can incorporate for this recipe. I think there are a lot of amazing versions of chicken Parmesan and mine is just one of many. Feel free to be flexible and have fun being creative!

1. You can avoid frying the breasts by coating both sides of the breaded chicken with olive oil before baking. Extend the baking to 45 minutes or until 165F internal temp.
2. You can use a combo of parsley and basil, or just either one.
3. Add a small layer of pesto in with the topping when baking if you love that basil flavor.
4. Don’t feel like you have to use mozzarella. You can just use Parmesan cheese. In fact, even if all you have is Romano cheese – use that! It will still taste amazing!!

What to Serve This With

Here are some ideas for what will help round out this dish.

These are some ideas to get you started. If you want even more ideas, check out my Italian side dish recipes and for a first course check out my list of Italian soup recipes!

Serve with some pasta on the side with some spaghetti sauce. It goes so well together. Or a simple breadcrumbs and pasta dish.

Enjoy some healthy Italian green beans!

You can’t go wrong with a quick and easy Italian green salad!