Chicken Parmesan is one of our all-time favorite dishes. This version is lightened up by substituting panko for heavier Italian breadcrumbs and baking it in the oven. Enjoy!
For my job, I have to watch the news. I have to scrape and analyze data from the news. The only time I really get to tune it out and refill my tank is when I’m cooking, when I’m running, or when I’m out in the garden with my little munchkin, who is quite excited about being a gardener.
So let’s talk about a really delicious and really easy recipe here and refill our collective tanks together, okay? Because this recipe is super easy, super delicious, and will let you make up six servings out of three chicken breasts and a third of a box of pasta.
That’s part of the beauty of traditional chicken parmesan. The chicken breasts you use are thin sliced and pounded flat. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t eat a whole chicken breast myself these days. Maybe when I was running in college, but there’s a lot of sitting that goes on when you’re teleworking and while I’m trying to run as much as I can, I don’t need the extra calories.
There are a couple of other ways this dish cuts down on the extras as well. It isn’t fried, but baked in the oven instead! It still comes out deliciously brown and crispy, but there’s no oil to contend with. And then there’s the use of panko instead of bread crumbs.
Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb that has a flakier and lighter texture than breadcrumbs. They absorb seasoning better, they get that nice crispy crunchiness faster, and you don’t have to use nearly as much of them to get the crunchiness we all love.
You can serve this up with the sides of your choice, but I like to serve mine up with buttery angel hair pasta very lightly seasoned with pepper.
[lt_recipe name=”Panko-Breaded Chicken Parmesan” summary=”With its panko breading and oven-baked crispiness, this dish is every bit as delicious as the traditional Italian chicken parmesan, but a lot easier on the calorie count.” servings=”4-6″ total_time=”1H” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Chicken-Parm-Marinara-0361-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”1 1/2 cups panko;1/2 cup all purpose flour;1/2 cup parmesan cheese + more for sprinkling;1 tsp salt;1 tsp garlic powder;1/2 tsp black pepper;1 egg;3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half;1/2 cup mozzarella cheese;1/2 cup tomato sauce;1 tsp dried basil;parsley for garnish {optional};;” ]Preheat your oven to 450F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place down a wire rack.;Slice the chicken breasts in half on a plastic cutting board, cover the cutting board and chicken breast cutlets with plastic wrap, and gently pound them flat with a heavy skillet.;Arrange three dishes side by side. Place the all-purpose flour in one, beat the egg and pour it into the next, and in the third, mix together the panko, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and parmesan.;Pat dry each of the chicken cutlets with a paper towel. Then, one by one, dredge them through the flour, dip into the eggs, and then press into the panko mixture to coat the chicken with bread crumbs.;Place each chicken cutlet on the wire rack. Sprinkle with additional panko mixture as needed until all are nicely coated.;Place the rimmed baking tray in the oven and bake at 450F for 15-20 minutes.;Remove the tray from the oven. Place two tablespoons of tomato sauce on each cutlet and top with mozzarella cheese and additional parmesan as desired. Place the tray back in the oven and cook an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese and heat the sauce.;When you’re done, check the chicken temperature – chicken should be at 165F to be considered fully done.;Serve and enjoy![/lt_recipe]
Again, we like serving ours up with buttery and peppery angel hair pasta, which you can cook while the chicken is in the oven.
For the tomato sauce we use, come on over here. It’s as delicious as fresh – but it totally comes from cans and pantry items.
Oh, and I definitely stole and sliced up a couple of the cheese sticks my son and my husband love to snack on for this dish, since we were out of mozzarella and nothing is worth an emergency run to the store anymore {with the possible exception of my son’s apple juice}. Hey, mozzarella is mozzarella, people.
Have a great day, friends, and stay safe!
