This Parmesan Crusted Chicken is made with thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets that are dredged in a delicious parmesan and panko bread crumb coating and pan-fried until perfectly crisp and golden brown. Easy to prepare and full of flavor, the whole family will love this amazing low-carb chicken recipe.
If you’re tired of boring and overcooked chicken breasts then you are going to absolutely love what I have for you today. Super easy to prepare, chicken breasts are thinly sliced and coated in cheesy, melty parmesan cheese and crispy panko breadcrumbs to create a super flavorful crust.
Loved by kids and adults of all ages, this parmesan crusted chicken is like fried chicken tenders – but so much better (and better for you)!
Like something you would order from your favorite Italian restaurant, it can even be modified to be gluten-free.
Serve it with pasta or mashed potatoes, or keep it low-carb with your favorite roasted veggies.
What You Need For Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Chicken breasts
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Flour
- Eggs
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Italian seasoning
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter + Olive oil
Making this recipe gluten-free: To make your parmesan crusted chicken breasts gluten-free, you will need to replace the regular all-purpose flour with a gluten-free alternative like almond flour, rice flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Additionally, regular panko breadcrumbs will need to be swapped for a gluten-free version. Fortunately, most supermarkets sell at least one alternative to regular panko breadcrumbs.
How to Make Parmesan Crusted Chicken
1. Thinly slice and pound your chicken. This is arguably the most important step in the whole recipe.
We are looking to butterfly each chicken breast so that you end up with a total of 4 thinly sliced pieces of chicken. To ensure that each piece of chicken is equal thickness, pound each piece of chicken using a meat tenderizer until they are all 1/4-inch thick.
Thinner chicken breasts cook faster which means that they are less likely to dry out or burn as they cook.
2. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
4. Preheat your pan or skillet. Over medium to medium-high heat. Feel free to use just oil or a mixture of oil and butter (as I’ve instructed in the recipe card below).
5. Coat and cook: One at a time, dredge both sides of the chicken with flour, then dip to coat in the eggs. After the eggs, transfer to the panko mixture, pressing gently to ensure that both sides are coated well.
Transfer to your skillet and repeat with a second (or third) chicken breast (or as many as will fit comfortably in your skillet without overcrowding).
Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cook through (always remember to cook chicken until its internal temperature registers 160°F).
Repeat until all chicken has been cooked.
Can you bake this parmesan crusted chicken?
Yes. I will argue that the flavor may not be as rich since you’re not pan-frying in butter and oil, but it will still be delicious and even healthier.
To bake in the oven, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare the chicken through the dredging and breading step and transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Spray with a light coat of olive oil cooking spray. Bake until the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees (about 10-15 minutes.
How to Serve
- Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe
- Roasted Asparagus
- Easy Tomato Salad Recipe with Homemade Vinaigrette
- The Best Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Pesto Gnocchi
Looking for more easy chicken recipes? Try these reader favorites:
- Rosemary Garlic Chicken Recipe
- Arroz con Pollo
- Bruschetta Chicken Recipe
- Hungarian Chicken Paprikash Recipe
- Santa Fe Chicken Recipe
- Easy Baked Pesto Mozzarella Chicken
Have you tried making this Parmesan Crusted Chicken?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
RECIPE CARD
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts - at least 8-10 ounces each
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt - divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs - whisked
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup parmesan cheese - grated
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- Lemon wedges and fresh parsley - for serving
Instructions
- Butterfly each chicken breast so that you have a total of four thinly-sliced chicken breast halves. Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound each piece to an equal thickness of approximately 1/4-inch using a meat mallet.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- In one shallow bowl add the flour and the remaining teaspoon of salt. In a second bowl, add the eggs and whisk well until fully blended. Finally, in a third bowl, mix together the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil with one tablespoon of butter.
- Meanwhile, working one at a time, dredge both sides of the chicken breasts with flour, followed by the eggs, allowing any excess egg to drip off. From the egg, transfer to the panko mixture, pressing gently to ensure that both sides are coated well.
- Once the chicken has been coated, transfer to your heated skillet with olive oil and melted butter. You will probably need to cook the chicken in two separate batches.
- Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until golden brown on the bottom (about 4-5 minutes). Flip and continue to cook until the internal temperature registers 160°F as measured by a digital meat thermometer.
- Transfer to a plate to cool and repeat until all the chicken breasts have been cooked.
- Serve garnished with lemon slices and chopped parsley.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Hi instead of regular flour can I use almond flour?
I haven’t tried that substitution on this recipe, so I am sure how it will turn out to be honest 🙂
I would love to try this! Can it be cooked in an air fryer?
While I have not tried cooking this in an Air Fryer before, I think it should work out well 🙂