This unique chicken Parmesan starts with juicy marinated chicken. Breaded for a crispy golden Parmesan-panko crust, a bright tomato marinara sauce, and a generous layer of melted mozzarella cheese. Finished with your favorite toppings. This recipe is made the classic way of shallow frying and then oven baking. However, there are other variations, such as grilled chicken Parmesan, seared chicken Parmesan, and baked chicken Parmesan, to suit your preference. No matter which variation you choose, the flavorful marinade penetrates the chicken throughout, creating a well seasoned, juicy cutlet with Parmesan flavor in every bite.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Breast - Sliced in half for 4 fillets and pounded out to an even thickness
- As Needed Oil - For shallow frying the chicken, enough to come up halfway on the fillets
- As Desired Mozzarella Cheese - Sliced about 1/8 inch. Optionally with a bit of shredded provolone on top.
Marinade
- 1/2 C Water
- 1/4 C Oil & freshly grated Parmigiano - each
- 1 tsp Chicken Powder & Sea Salt - each
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper & Paprika - each
Seasoned Flour
- 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Tbl Sea Salt - or a bit less
- 1/8 tsp Black & White Pepper - each
- Pinch of Cayenne
Egg Wash
- 1 Whole Egg
- 1 Tbl Cold Water
Panko Crust
- 1 C Panko Flakes
- 1/4 C Freshly grated Parmigiano
Tomato Sauce
- 680 ml Passata
- 1/2 C Water - place into the bottle and emptied into the pan
- 1/2 C Onion
- 1/4 C Light-Tasting EVOO
- 2-3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 28 g Fresh Basil - Torn or chopped, added very last
Instructions
- Prep: Combine into a bowl all the ingredients for the marinade and whisk. Slice the chicken breast in half horizontally to create 2 thinner chicken breast fillets. Pound the chicken to get an even thickness across. Place the chicken in the marinade for at least one hour, refrigerated.
- Breading Station: Combine all the ingredients for the seasoned flour into a bowl. In a small bowl add the egg and water and whisk. In another bowl place the panko flakes & freshly grated parmigiano. From the marinade, place each cutlet into the seasoned flour, dip into the egg wash, and finally coat with panko and parmigiano, pressing it in. Set aside on a baking sheet until all chicken is breaded. Then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Tomato Sauce: Prepare the tomato sauce and any toppings desired for the Parmesan chicken.Place onions & garlic into the sauce pot with EVOO over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until golden. Do not let the onion or garlic brown. Add passata and then 1/2 cup water inside the passata bottle to get all the tomato sauce and pour it into the sauce pot along with salt & pepper. Mix well, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Keep a gentle simmer partially covered for 30 minutes or longer until the sauce is thickened. Mixing about every 10 minutes or so. When the sauce is just about done, add torn pieces of basil and adjust the seasoning.
- Frying Chicken Parmesan: Remove the breaded cutlets from the fridge to rest on the counter and preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position. Heat a frying pan over max heat with enough oil so that it covers half or a bit more of the breaded chicken when placed in. Let the oil get hot, about 335F-350F, before placing the chicken in and cooking for 2-3 minutes per side or until light golden and crisp. Transfer the chicken back on the baking sheet and repeat until all the cutlets are fried.
- Baking Chicken Parmesan: Place the fried chicken cutlets in the oven and cook for 10 - 15 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 157°F is reached. Place mozzarella cheese on top and back into the oven until the cheese is just melted, about 5 minutes. When done, remove and let rest for 5 minutes.Sauce the plate with hot tomato sauce and place the chicken on top of the sauce. Optionally with desired toppings and serve.
Notes
Oven-Baked Chicken Parmesan: Skip the shallow frying and go straight to the oven by adding 1/4 cup of melted butter into the bowl of panko flakes and mixing well. Bread the cutlets and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and bake at 350F for about 20-30 minutes or an internal temperature of 157F. Place cheese on top and back into the oven to melt the cheese. Remove and let rest 5 minutes.
Seared Chicken Parmesan: Sear the breast in fat over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes per side, a bit longer if using a whole chicken breast or until an internal temperature of 157°F. Place cheese on top and cover the pan to build up the heat and melt the cheese. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Grilled Chicken Parmesan: Grill chicken breast for about 5 minutes per side, a bit longer if using whole chicken breast, or until an internal temperature of 157°F. Place cheese on top and cook until just melted. Set aside to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.