The BEST Recipe for Chicken Parmesan

Even though I love dump recipes and my two other chicken parmesan recipes, this one is till my absolute favorite.  It is a classic recipe that we make for almost every single one of our dinner guests.

Oh – here are my other two recipes before I forget:

• Crockpot Chicken Parmesan
• Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Casserole

As a perfect compliment to Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe, this recipe for Chicken Parmesan is as good as any you'll find in an Italian restaurant.  And it's easy, too!  I've been making this for my wife for years, and she loves it. When she had to change her diet to eating gluten-free, I adjusted a few ingredients to accommodate her.  Fortunately, this recipe can be easily made gluten-free (details below).

Here is how to create the ultimate chicken parmesan recipe:

It starts with whole chicken breasts, trimmed.  Place them in a plastic freezer bag and pound them to about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thickness using the flat side of the tenderizer.  I can usually get three good portions of chicken from a normal-sized chicken breast after pounding.

Season with some kosher salt and black pepper, and then prepare to coat them.  I use a three-step process: flour, eggs and breadcrumbs.

First, drench in flour and shake off the excess.

Then drop the chicken into the beaten egg mixture.

Once totally covered, shake off the excess and place onto the breadcrumbs.

Press the chicken into the breadcrumbs deeply on both sides, flipping a few times. This helps the coating stick really well, and completely cover every square inch of the chicken.

Now it's ready for frying. Make sure that the oil is hot but not smoking. Place the chicken in the oil, and fry for five minutes total, flipping halfway through. Remove from the pan and blot excess oil with paper towels (this keeps the chicken nice and crispy, not oily and greasy!).

Place on a cookie sheet and apply a generous amount of whole milk mozzarella cheese. Many recipes apply sauce first and then cheese, and I used to do this too. But I found that the coating underneath the sauce would get soggy, and the cheese would slide off when slicing into the chicken. Melting the cheese directly on the chicken solves these problems… the chicken stays crispy and the cheese doesn't move.

Place under the broiler for just a few minutes until the cheese gets bubbly.  Add sauce and parmesan cheese and serve!

Here is a printable version of the recipe so that you can add it to your cookbook.

And if you like this one, you might be interested in my 40 other slow cooker dump recipes!  They are seriously amazing!

Have you grabbed my freezer meal plans, yet? I might be biased but I think they are pretty amazing! They have saved our dinner hour for years now. Check them out!