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This parmesan crusted chicken recipe is a comfort food classic with tender chicken breasts nestled inside crispy breading. It’s ready in just 30 minutes, and the parmesan and panko breadcrumb coating is easier to make than you think!
Try my Chicken Milanese or Boursin Stuffed Chicken Breast next for another super simple weeknight dish.
Why you’ll love it
If you’ve made my Chicken Parmesan recipe, you might have thought that the breaded chicken would be fantastic on its own. And you’d be right! Learning how to bread chicken is a great kitchen skill to have, and it’s easy to make golden, ultra crispy chicken that uses only a handful of pantry ingredients.
In my home this is one of our favorite ways to jazz up chicken since it has a tasty crunch from the crispy parmesan coating yet stays juicy and tender on the inside. The kids will love it too since it’s basically the restaurant quality, dressed-up version of chicken tenders!
What you’ll need
- Chicken breasts – cutting them into four smaller cutlets keeps them juicy, and they cook faster and more evenly
- Garlic powder – you’re not going to want to leave out this extra burst of seasoning!
- Flour – to dredge the chicken cutlets
- Egg – the egg mixture is for binding the parmesan breading to the chicken
- Panko breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese – this delicious trio makes up the crispy breading. Make sure to grate your own parmesan.
- Olive oil – for frying up to dreamy, crispy perfection
Pro tip
I like using panko breadcrumbs to make it extra crispy. If you can find Italian seasoned ones, no need to add the extra Italian seasoning. You can make this with regular breadcrumbs if that’s all you’ve got on hand.
Breading tips
- Make sure that you dry off the chicken before getting started. Simply pat it with paper towels.
- During each step of the dredging process (flour, egg, breadcrumbs), be sure to shake off any excess and that the chicken pieces are fully coated for each step.
- Don’t add all the chicken to the skillet at once. I do two pieces at a time to give them plenty of room. Make sure the pan is hot prior to adding it.
- Don’t move the chicken around the skillet. Once it’s in there, resist the urge to touch it until it’s time to flip it over!
How to make parmesan crusted chicken
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Preheat oven. Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so that you end up with four smaller cutlets. Season them on both sides with salt & pepper and garlic powder.
Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour, followed by dipping into the egg wash.
Finally, dip each piece into the panko breadcrumbs and parmesan mixture. Cooking the chicken in two batches, pan fry until golden brown. Arrange all four cutlets in the oven-proof skillet, and finish them off in the oven.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Tongs make flipping the chicken in the skillet really easy.
- This recipe uses an oven-proof skillet. It’s something that I think every cook should own. They’re very versatile and come in a range of price points. For this recipe I used my 10.25″ Le Creuset. You can see it was a little small since I happened to buy rather large pieces of chicken, but a little overlap for the last part of the recipe is fine. I also love my Lodge cast iron (a more affordable option).
- If you don’t own an oven-proof skillet, transfer the chicken to a baking dish for the last step.
- Use an instant read meat thermometer to quickly check if chicken is done.
What to serve with parmesan crusted chicken
- Try Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce, my Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or Pesto Gnocchi.
- A side of vegetables works great too! I used broccolini in the first photo.
- You can’t go wrong with a simple salad. Try dressing it up with this homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers of this chicken can be kept in the fridge in a covered container for 3-4 days, but the parmesan breading will soften up a bit.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers.
- To reheat, try crisping them up again in an air fryer. A couple of minutes/side at 350F should do the trick. You could also microwave them in 30-second increments or heat in a skillet on low until warmed through.
More tasty chicken recipes to try
Questions about this breaded chicken recipe? Let me know in the comments below, or leave a review if you made it. You can also find me on Instagram!
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 heaping teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Position the rack in the top third of the oven.
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so you have 4 thinner pieces. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Sprinkle it with the garlic powder and some salt & pepper on both sides.
- Prepare 3 bowls: one with the flour, one with the eggs (beat them with a fork), and the third with the panko/parmesan/Italian seasoning (mix it all together).
- Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to an oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Let the pan heat up while you're working on the chicken in the next step.
- Meanwhile, coat the chicken pieces in the flour. You will then dip each piece in the egg, followed by the breadcrumb mixture (shake off any excess at each of the 3 steps). Pro tip: do the dipping with one hand and leave the other one free to make this process easier. You may need to gently press the chicken into the breadcrumbs to make them stick.
- Add 2 of the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for around 2-3 minutes/side until golden. I use tongs to easily flip the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and for the second batch, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Once you've fried all the chicken, take the skillet off the heat and arrange all 4 pieces inside. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through (chicken is done when an instant read thermometer reads 165F).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I recommend reading the blog post for tips if you’ve never breaded chicken before.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I followed the recipe exactly to make this chicken. It was so very good. I tend to cook more with chicken thighs, but these chicken breasts were so tender and juicy. I served it with baby Yukon gold potatoes and your recipe for asparagus. Delicious dinner! When I’m looking for recipes, I always look for yours first. Thank you!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Joanne!! 😀 That makes me happy!
Making these this evening! I am also adding a Parmesan sauce to drizzle over top after bake time! Can’t wait- thank you for your descriptive recipe and steps!
You’re very welcome, Kelsey!! 😀 I hope you love it!
Why do you recommend not freezing them. I would love to them to my prepared freezer meals.
Hi Holly! I just worry the breading is likely to either come off or become soggy and not crisp up nicely, so that’s why I don’t recommend it. Let me know if you have success with it, though. I am not someone who freezes a lot of food, so if you have a trick that makes it a good freezer meal, please come back and share as I’m sure others would love to know as well. 🙂
Can you make this with frozen chicken breasts? Do you just thaw them at room temp before starting? Love making your recipes! I am learning to cook and they are all easy enough for beginners!
Hi Sadie!! Yup, you would need to thaw them first. I’m so happy you found me and enjoy my recipes… that’s really nice to hear! 😀 Let me know how it goes.
Can you prep the chicken and put it in the fridge till cooking time?
You mean the full breading? I don’t recommend it. I suppose you could try as an experiment, but in my experience, it’s best to do it right away.
Very good. Made them a couple of times with a couple of alterations. Made them with Italian style bread crumbs, which I like better than Panko. Instead of putting the chicken in a skillet first, I baked them directly in the oven at 350 for about about 35-40 minutes, depending on chicken size. they were moist and very tasty.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the oven tip. 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have fresh Parmesan, but using bought stuff still worked perfectly! Definitely will make again 🙂
Wonderful!
Made them the directions are perfect. So easy to follow. Made extra adding them to a bed of lettuce with hard boiled eggs.
Made this recipe 😋 will definitely be making it again.
Yay!! Thanks, Lora!
I didn’t have fresh parmesean cheese so I used mostly romano and some grated parmesean. Yummy!!! Super easy and quick too
I’m so glad it worked out and you enjoyed it, Erin!! Thanks for your 5-star review! 😀
I made this chicken and your Alfredo sauce recipe for my mom’s birthday and it was absolutely incredible!! Everyone LOVED it. I’m not much of a cook so I felt very proud when I got so many compliments. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Aww I love that!! 🙂