Due to the rising cost of meat, I don’t make large cuts of meat as often as I used to (I’m more of a casserole, soup, stew, pasta person). However, my recipe for Chicken Parmesan uses chicken breasts that are cut in half crosswise so they are very thin.
Because of this, I can get 6 good-size servings from 3 chicken breasts AND the thin cuts cook faster so the crispy coating doesn’t burn before the insides are fully cooked.
Oh, and it’s a one-skillet meal, meaning less dishes to wash and no oven required.
If you’re look for a relatively simple, yet very hearty meal, add this Chicken Parmesan to your upcoming meal plan!
Recipe for One-Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Serves 6 adults.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 egg
- 1 c. bread crumbs
- 1 c. Italian blend or parmesan cheese
- Italian herbs and seasonings** (I used 1 t. basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion flakes)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; sliced crosswise (to make 6 thin cuts of meat)
- 3 T. cooking oil
** Note: if you use Italian bread crumbs, you probably don’t need the seasonings.
DIRECTIONS:
- In a shallow dish, beat one egg
- In another shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, cheese, seasonings, salt, and pepper
- Slice chicken breast in half crosswise so you end up with 6 thin breasts instead of 3 thick breasts
- Dip both sides of each breast in egg wash, then in bread crumbs, and lay on a large cutting board or platter
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat
- When oil is hot, place 6 breasts in oil and cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes
- Flip and cook uncovered another 3-5 minutes
- Make a small cut in the center of one breast to see if it’s cooked through. If so, you’re ready to eat. If not, continue cooking (uncovered) and flipping until the chicken is no longer pink
- Top each breast with another Tablespoon of cheese.
TO SERVE:
I’ve seen Chicken Parmesan served with pasta, rice, potatoes, or just veggies and a salad — so whatever you prefer.
I made one 16 oz box of Angel Hair pasta and this pasta sauce (with added canned tomatoes). We also had broccoli, applesauce, and garlic bread to round out the meal.
Any type of chicken and any type of pasta are always BIG “winners” in our house — which is probably why this is one of our favorite meals.
Oh, and I should mention that although almost all the recipes I’ve seen for Chicken Parmesan involve simmering the already cooked chicken in pasta sauce, I purposely do NOT do that as it makes the crispy chicken breading super soggy.
Plus, if you’re going to eat it with rice or potatoes (which we do at times) I feel like the pasta sauce is a weird addition. So, I just make the chicken and then pasta + sauce separately — we enjoy the crispy coated chicken on the side 🙂
What are your favorite chicken recipes?
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Carle says
I made a version of this for dinner the other night despite not having parmesan cheese…used shredded cheese instead and it was easy and yummy!
Thank you!
Andrea says
yay — glad you guys liked it too!
Liane says
Hi Andrea,
I have a version where you line a baking pan (like a 13×11) with foil and bake in a hot oven – say 400 or even 450 and turn the breasts after ten minutes, then continue to cook on the second side for ten more. The last side up is the pretty side.
I totally fail at slicing breasts that way so I pound them to about 1/2 inch and then cut them in two. They cook a lot faster that thin, which is how I get away with the ten min. per side.
I also do the same with McCormick’s Mexican seasoning – coat the smashed breasts in a generous amount of oil, then sprinkle the seasonin on and cook as above. No eggwash or crumbs involved.
I make bread crumbs from stale gluten free bread, since we are a wheat free home, and I use either coconut oil (the extra refined version with no taste) or palm oil, since we are a seed oil free home. I don’t use olive oil at high temps – smokes too much. I also make my own mayo with olive oil and sometimes roll the chicken in mayo (which basically is egg plus olive oil with some lemon and vinegar added) and then roll in cheese.
I love these super easy suppers that take no time at all to cook and clean up.
BTW – we use spaghetti squash or zoodles instead of pasta. You cannot tell its not pasta, seriously and even if I were tempted to eat wheat the after effects would have me regretting it immediately.
Andrea says
Sounds yummy Liane! And I totally need to try spaghetti squash. I know it’s so much healthier than eating pasta (and I love my pasta). I think making that one switch in my diet could save me hundreds of calories!
judy says
I would like to print out this recipe without all the pictures, but it is not in your recipe box. Will it be there after this post? I thought the recipe box might just have the recipe and not all the pictures of the steps. Thanks! It sounds scrumptious!
Judy
Andrea says
Hi Judy, All you need to do to print any of my recipes without the pictures is to click on the “print recipe” link right below the recipe title. That should open a Google doc. that will be easy for printing!
Debby says
I make an almost identical chicken parm. My family loves it and it so quick and little clean up. Great recipe. My daughter got it in high school home ec about 4 years ago.
Andrea says
well, if it’s the same as a high school home ec class, it MUST be simple ๐
Meg says
I’m so hungry right now and this looks SO good! I love that it’s so easy
Abbie says
I can’t wait to try this one. I love when you do recipes!
Andrea says
Thanks Abbie — hope you love it!
Debbie says
I can’t wait to try this! I always thought this was a hard and complicated dish to make.
It seemed like to many steps. Reading this one dish version was exciting! Lol!
Thanks for all your super simple recipes!
Andrea says
As with all recipe — it definitely COULD be hard and complicated. I’ve seen recipe for chicken parmesan that have mile-long ingredients lists, but I tried to keep this one as simple as possible. ๐
Shelly says
Are you using fresh Parmesan cheese or the kind that’s in the shaker? I made it (another recipe) with “shaker cheese” and we didn’t like it. I’m thinking that’s what I did wrong. Can’t wait to try this again! ๐
Andrea says
Shelly, I usually use Italian blend cheese, which has fresh parmesan in it. I like the taste of this and I ALWAYS have this cheese in the freezer. I rarely ever have the powdered shaker parmesan in the house — so I guess I don’t ever use that kind. I will say that although the fresh parmesan is more expensive — it really does taste A LOT better ๐ Maybe try the Italian blend cheese as a cheaper alternative first???
Good luck!
Garnet says
This is so simple and perfect. I want sauce on the chicken too while my wife wants it only on the pasta. I like rich, bold sauce. She likes her pasta sauce so sweet I gag on it. I don’t mind the chicken being mushy from the sauce. Her motto is: crunchy is crunchy is crunchy. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of separating it like this before. Thanks for the breakdown, easy-to-follow images and alternative way of thinking. This is dinner as soon as we aren’t sick (flu: bleh). ๐
Andrea says
No problem Garnet — and sorry you guys have the flu over there. Maybe you can make “two skillet chicken parmesan” with one pan for her and one pan for you — yours with sauce in the pan, her’s with her sweet sauce on the side ๐
Emily says
Love your recipe posts!! This looks so yummy and easy. I appreciate the simplicity of your recipes. We tried the bacon, pesto pasta last week and my family LOVED it!! ๐
Andrea says
Thanks Emily! The bacon, pesto pasta is on our meal plan for Friday night! I’m already looking forward to it again ๐