Our Crispy Chicken Parmesan is way better than any restaurant! No one likes a soggy crust on a chicken cutlet, the crispier the better. Topped with marinara sauce and melty mozzarella cheese, this chicken dinner delivers restaurant quality meal right in your own kitchen!
Why We Love This Crispy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
Whether you’re craving a cozy, comfort food meal or just need a fast way to turn chicken cutlets into a whole new dinner, this crispy chicken parmesan is the answer.
- Mega Crispy Cutlets: Because we’re not baking our chicken parmesan in a dish of sauce, the chicken cutlets stay perfectly crispy with every bite.
- Extra Delicious Cutlets: Our chicken cutlets are a family/friend/neighbor/distant relative favorite. We make ours with a 50/50 ratio of breadcrumbs to cheese and a hint of spice that you’ll love.
- Versatile: You can serve this chicken over spaghetti, or any pasta like we’ve done here or you can slide it onto a roll for a chicken parmesan sub, or turn it into appetizers and use slider buns.
How To Make
We make chicken cutlets in large quantities for meal prepping. They freeze wonderfully, then you can pull them out for so many meals like this chicken parmesan dinner.
- Pound out the chicken: Whether you’re using thin cutlets or a thicker cutlet that’s been butterflied, you’ll need to pound out the chicken. We do this to create a thin chicken breast for ultimate crispiness, and also for even cooking.
- Bread the chicken and pan fry: Bread the cutlets using flour, a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and eggs beaten with a splash water. Pan fry in a skillet with a shallow layer of oil until crispy on both sides.
- Bake with sauce and cheese: Add a couple of spoons of marinara sauce to the top of the chicken cutlet then top with a few slices of fresh mozzarella cheese. We don’t use a lot of sauce because we want the cutlets to stay crispy, you can serve the chicken with extra, warm sauce on the side.
- Broil: Place the cutlets in under a broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. If a broiler isn’t an option, place the chicken in the oven at 450 degrees for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
How To Serve
We love serving this crispy chicken parmesan over a bed of spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce. Want to skip the pasta? Spoon warm marinara sauce onto a plate and serve the chicken parmesan on top. We love these plates for dinners like this!
You can make chicken parmesan subs by simply tucking the chicken into hoagie rolls. We love making sandwiches on ciabatta rolls, too, so really use whatever you like.
Tips For Success
To make sure that you get the best tasting, crispiest chicken parmesan ever, we have a few tips for you!
- Bread the chicken properly: Make sure that you’re breading the chicken properly. Tap the flour off so it’s covered in just a thin layer, let the excess egg mixture drip off and make sure to press the breadcrumbs onto the chicken so no chicken meat is exposed.
- Don’t over-sauce: Our sauce is actually hidden underneath the cheese because we don’t want sauce all over the chicken cutlet which is what causes a soggy texture. Instead, serve warm sauce on the side to spoon over right before eating, or spoon sauce on a plate with the chicken on top.
- Finish at the last minute: You can make the cutlets ahead of time, but finish the chicken at the last minute for ultimate crispiness.
Here’s Some More Chicken Parmesan Inspired Dishes
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Crispy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeUse this recipe only if you want the crispiest chicken parmesan ever! A restaurant-quality meal delivered right from your own kitchen. Serve on a bed of spaghetti or tuck into a roll for a hot sub sandwich!
Ingredients
- Canola or vegetable oil for frying
- 4 thin cut chicken breasts (or you can slice thicker chicken breasts in half lengthwise)
- 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 16 ounces fresh mozzarella (or 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
- Place a piece of plastic wrap over a chicken breast and pound out lightly until you have an even thickness, about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. You can also use our Famous Flat Chicken Recipe!)
- Mix the breadcrumbs together with the parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Add the flour to another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs together with 1 tablespoon of water in a third shallow bowl.
- Dip a chicken breast into the flour, tapping off the excess. Now dip into the eggs, coating the chicken breast completely, then letting the excess egg drip off. Finally, place the chicken into the breadcrumb mixture, pressing into the chicken breast to coat completely. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Pour a thin layer of oil into a skillet large enough to hold the chicken breasts. When the oil is warm, add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate to let any excess oil drip off.
- Preheat the broiler or the oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken cutlets on a baking sheet. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of marinara sauce to the top of each cutlet. This will depend on how big your cutlets are, but don’t add too much sauce at this point, you can add more when serving. Top with 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese on each cutlet and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
- Serve over a bed of spaghetti tossed with more sauce, or spoon warm sauce on a plate with the chicken cutlets on top.
Recipe Notes
To air fry the chicken cutlets – head to this post!
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top / Oven
- Cuisine: American
