Chicken Parmesan is an Italian Restaurant staple and for good reason. This delicious 3 step chicken parmesan recipe makes it approachable for most home cooks and can easily be increased to feed a crowd!
Crispy, Juicy, and Smothered in Melty Cheese.
Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian Restaurant dish that
manages to elude some home cooks.
My South Jersey inspired method and recipe will ensure a
crispy crust, juicy chicken, and have tons of
mouthwatering flavors.
Why should you make this recipe:
- Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian-American dish that can easily serve a crowd and is great comfort food
- My technique ensures that your breading actually sticks to the chicken
- This recipe make amazing leftovers for meal prep or an exquisite chicken parm sub
Ways to customize this recipe:
- Add in different seasonings to the flour; try Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper to heat things up!
- Season your chicken breast BEFORE you dredge them in flour. Seasonings will really stick before you flour them, so go easy
- Try different grated cheese in the breading mix or different melted cheese on top, you do you
Steps for success:
- Pound the s%^& out of your chicken…ð Your chicken needs to have an even thickness throughout and pounding your breasts tenderizes things as well. I suggest putting each chicken breast filet in a gallon zip top bag and using the FLAT side of a kitchen mallet to achieve an even thickness.
- Once breaded, let your chicken sit at room temperature for a good 10 minutes. If you fry up your chicken when it’ still refrigerator cold, the muscle fibers will seize up creating tough, rubbery chicken. I generally leave my chicken out for a good 20 to 30 minutes prior to prepping and cooking but be sure your chicken is cooked to 165â before serving!
- Make sure your oil is HOT and DO NOT overcook your chicken in the oil, it will finish in the oven. Hot oil prevents greasy chicken and we just want some color when frying.
How to make Delicious 3 Step Chicken Parmesan
Prep your Chicken:
- First, your chicken needs to be thoroughly dried with paper towels before you start. Too much moisture will mess with the breading and you will get oil splattered everywhere
- Once your chicken is dry, we need to slice each breast sideways so create filets. You’re basically slicing them parallel to the cutting board the way you would a loaf of bread or a baguette.
- Now that you have several breast filets, place each one of them into a zip top bag and use a kitchen mallet to GENTLY pound them into half inch thicc pieces. Be careful with the mallet, a little pounding goes a long way. ð
Setting up the Breading Station:
- There are a few general rules for the amount of breading you need based on how much chicken you are cooking
- In general, you will need about two tablespoons of flour per whole chicken breast. This comes out to one tablespoon per breast filet. Also remember to season your flour with salt and pepper; 1/8 teaspoon of each per whole breast is a good starting place but season to your individual taste
- The egg dip is one egg thoroughly whisked per whole chicken breast
- I use a 50/50 ratio of seasoned breadcrumbs to grated parmesan cheese; about two tablespoons of each per whole breast and mix to combine
- First, dredge your chicken in the flour until it is thoroughly coated and shake off the excess flour
- Now, dip into your egg until the flour is coated. Work quickly with this step so that you do not soak up too much egg
- Next, coat your wet breast with the breadcrumb mixture making sure each side is thoroughly coated and pressing the breadcrumbs into each side of the chicken
- After breading, place each filet on a sheet pan to rest. This is when I let my chicken rest on the counter and prep and heat everything else.
Frying and Baking:
- Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit or 375° if using the convection setting
- Prior to frying, I lay paper towels down on a sheet pan and place a cooling/baking rack on top to place the chicken after cooking. Placing the chicken on a wire rack instead of paper towels after frying keeps both sides crisp.
- For frying, I use a tall sided skillet with vegetable oil. Add enough oil to come up about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the pan.
- Heat the oil up over medium high heat until a toothpick placed in the oil starts to sizzle immediately.
- Carefully lay a breaded chicken filet in the hot oil and cook about 45 seconds to one minute on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Remember, you DO NOT have to cook your chicken through in this step, we will finish the cooking in the oven!
- Place on your wire rack to cool and drain off some of the grease
- Repeat with remaining breaded filets
Finishing and serving:
- Transfer your fried filets to a large sheet pan.
- Top each fried chicken breast with slices of provolone cheese
- Bake the chicken filets in your preheated oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and your chicken registers 165° Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer.
- Top with your favorite red sauce and serve immediately!!
3 Step Chicken Parmesan
This is my take on a classic Italian restaurant dish. My method ensures a crispy exterior that will not fall off while still retaining a succulent chicken interior! The recipe below is for one WHOLE chicken breast split into two filets. Scale up or down as needed.
Equipment
- 1 Meat Mallet
- 1 Cooling Rack
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken Breast sliced horizontally into filets
- 1 tbsp AP Flour
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Ground Pepper
- 1 Egg whisked well
- 2 tbsp Prepared Bread Crumbs
- 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Vegetable Oil enough for a 1/4 inch layer in a pan
- 3 slices Provolone Cheese 2 or 3 ounces
Instructions
Prepping the Chicken
- Thoroughly dry your chicken breasts with paper towels
- Slice your chicken breasts horizontally into filets
- Place a chicken filet in a gallon size zip top bag and pound until you achieve an even thickness. Place aside and repeat with remaining filets.
Breading
- In a large bowl or deep plate, whisk together your flour and spices. In another bowl, whisk your egg until no white remains. In a third bowl or plate, thoroughly mix the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
- Dredge each chicken filet in the flour until coated on both sides
- Quickly dip in the egg on both sides
- Drain any excess egg and place in the breadcrumb mix. Press breading into both sides of the chicken filet. Place on a large sheet pan.
Frying
- Add enough vegetable oil to a deep skillet so that the oil is approximately 1/4 inch deep, about 1 cup
- Heat oil over medium high heat until a toothpick inserted into the oil sizzles immediately. Preheat your oven to 400â
- While oil is heating up, place a wire cooling rack on a paper towel lined sheet pan close to the frying pan
- Once oil is hot, carefully fry each chicken breast on each side for about 45 seconds or until golden brown
- Remove from oil and place on the wire rack to cool
Baking and Serving
- Arrange all chicken filets on a large rimmed baking sheet
- Cover each fried chicken filet with about 1 to 1 1/2 slices of provolone
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken registers 165â
- Serve immediately with your favorite red sauce!!
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