Parmesan Crusted Chicken that’s a kid friendly, healthy easy weeknight meal with a crispy cheesy crust in 45 minutes and only 1 pan and 1 bowl to clean up!
Cheese crusted main courses seem like a winning dinner to me (this could be why our Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops are one of our favorite dinners) and the fact the recipe is so easy only makes this dish even more amazing.
PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN
Parmesan Crusted Chicken is an easier, healthier version of baked chicken than Easy Chicken Parmesan since we have less breading on the chicken. We love easy baked chicken recipes because they’re healthy, cook quickly and are family friendly and this recipe is no exception to that rule!
We love serving this Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Garlic Bread, pasta and a side salad topped with Olive Garden Italian Dressing.
BAKED CHICKEN
Baked Chicken is a delicious option when you’re not making a Perfect Simple Roast Chicken or Easy Grilled Chicken.
Generally when working with breading you can either bake or fry. In this recipe with the addition of the Parmesan cheese and olive oil you’ll have enough fat to help brown the breading.
When baking the chicken be sure to give each piece of chicken some space apart from the next piece of chicken. This prevents the chicken from steaming as it cooks and helps the crust brown evenly.
We also flip the chicken halfway through the cooking time (this is the hardest part of the recipe). Because we have a breading and we are flipping the chicken we have to be careful to avoid any of the breading coming off.
Ingredients:
Chicken:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast is the choice of meat for this recipe. Make sure the chicken is even in thickness and about 6 ounces in weight. The easiest way to trim a standard boneless skinless chicken breast is to remove the tenderloin under the breast. If you still need to cut down on the size of the chicken I suggest trimming around the longest widest side of the chicken.
Breadcrumbs:
We use panko breadcrumbs in this recipe because they stay crispier longer than most breadcrumbs but you can use traditional bread crumbs in their place if you’d like. If you’re using standard breadcrumbs you may want to dredge your chicken in one large egg before breading to help your breading adhere.
Cheese:
We use Parmesan Cheese in this recipe because it is a hard cheese that doesn’t melt completely and easily. You don’t want to swap this cheese for a different one like mozzarella or cheddar but using a similar hard cheese like Romano cheese would work.
If you use grated Parmesan cheese I’d again recommend using an egg to dredge your chicken first to help the breading adhere first.
Additions:
- Lemon Zest: This adds a fresh flavor and the lemon juice from the lemon can be squeezed over the dish after the cooking is done.
- Garlic: Either fresh garlic or garlic powder would be an easy addition to this recipe.
- Seasoning mixes: Cajun, creole, jerk or other mixes like Italian seasoning add an easy new dimension of flavor.
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How to Make Parmesan Crusted Chicken:
- Season Chicken with oil, salt and pepper.
- Press into breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Place gently onto baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Carefully flip chicken and bake an additional 15-20 minutes.
MORE EASY DINNER RECIPES:
- Oven Baked Chicken and Rice – Crispy chicken and perfectly seasoned rice in one pan.
- Smothered Pork Chops – pan fried pork chops with a creamy sauce.
- Classic Beef Meatloaf – This recipe is a client favorite
- Ultimate Sloppy Joes – One of the most popular recipes on the site, and in 20 minutes!
- Ultimate Pot Roast – The most popular the on the site and a dinner in one slow cooker, it is PERFECTION.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts tenderloin removed (6 ounce pieces)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and olive oil, rubbing it on until evenly covered.
- Mix the Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl before pressing the chicken into the mixture until well covered.
Add it to a baking pan and cooking for 30-35 minutes, flipping them over halfway through cooking very carefully with a spatula.
I don’t know what I did wrong – but it didn’t crisp up AT all. The coating was dry and falling off. I followed directions to a T. ?
If it fell off the chicken wasn’t moist enough for the breading. Were the chicken breasts coated in enough oil? Or maybe were they too large and in the cooking time it just got too dry? This recipe calls for shredded Parmesan vs the grated type. The moisture difference between the two is significant too and the shredded variety melts vs the grated variety which doesn’t. Would love to troubleshoot!
I made this too and it also did not look like the pictures. I realized that if you look at her photos, the chicken was pan fried on the stove, not the oven.
I used a cast iron skillet that can be used in the oven.
This was very good, but I also did not get the same crisp on the outside. I broiled it a bit at the end, but that only crisped the very top. What kind of baking pan do you recommend? I tried it with an 8″ x 11″ glass dish, but perhaps the sides were too high? There was at least an inch between each piece of chicken. Please help! 🙂
Were you able to flip it halfway through the cooking? I find this helps get it crispy on all sides.
I really want to love this. I’ve tried it twice but it doesn’t seem to be coming out as beautifully crispy as pictured.
Can I use Parmesan in the shake container or does it need to be shredded Parmesan like in the bag?
That would work in a pinch.
Can this meal be prepped and frozen for later?
Yes 🙂
This was another hit recipe! Everyone in my family absolutely loved this one. I haven’t found one recipe on your site that people have complained, and more times than not they are heaping complements my way. Thanks again!
That’s so sweet of you to say Dave! I’m happy that you’re enjoying all of the recipes.
Yet another hit! Every time I make one of your recipes I get such high praise. I can’t thank you enough – I love this site. Keep on passing along winners like this.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes and the site!
What do you normally serve this with? It looks amazing!
Thank you! We usually serve this with pasta, a side salad and garlic bread. Such a delicious meal, enjoy!
I made this for last night’s dinner. I was disappointed it did not turn out crispy. The only change I made was I used parmesan in a ready shake container. Could that have my downfall? It had great taste just not crispy.
Oh no! It sounds like you need to keep a bit more space in between your chicken pieces while baking. If it’s too close, it will steam vs getting it crispy. Hope this helps for next time.
Mine also didn’t turn out melted crispy like the picture. They were very spaced out and I used fresh Parmesan cheese that I grated finely. ????? Is there a certain kind of breadcrumbs that should be used? They seemed more dry / breadcrumb than crispy cheese.
Oh no! I used Panko breadcrumbs for this recipe. I hope this helps for next time.
Do you think this would work as a keto recipe by leaving out the breadcrumbs and just using Parmesan cheese to coat the chicken?
Sure 🙂
I loved that this only took a few simple ingredients to make it!
Easy peasy!
I know that my kids will love this cheesy chicken dish!
It’s so nice to have those meals that you just know everyone loves!
This chicken was soooo good!!!! I couldn’t stop cutting off just another little piece! Thank you!
Oh yes, I’ve been there! Haha! So glad you enjoyed it.
Mmmm!! Love crispy chicken! This would be great alone or in so many other recipes!!
Definitely! Thanks for the 5 stars.
This chicken looks so juicy and perfect – YUM!
Thanks, Courtney!
What do you mean by “tenderloin removed”, describing the chicken breasts? Thank you!
The tenderloin, is a strip of breast meat, that is part of the breast but that is not really connected so that it can be separated. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Hi Sabrina. Can you use Parmesan cheese that is in the grocery store in the prefab kind?
Sure 🙂
That looks like a frying pan, not a baking sheet. Was the chicken fried first?
The chicken isn’t fried before placing it in the oven sorry for the confusion. I used a baking dish. 🙂
I thought it was pan fried also by the looks of the picture. The oil drippings around it even look like it was pan fried. The chicken looks oily as if it was fried. Looks gooood though 🙂 Glad you clarified.