This Easy Chicken Parmesan recipe is your next date night at home meal! Crispy chicken breasts topped with tangy tomato sauce and cheese baked until golden and bubbly. It's your favorite restaurant dish, made at home in simple steps. Use the how to video below to help you!
Hello, Friday date night! I'm a big proponent of the at-home date night. You can spend a ridiculous amount of time on the first bottle of wine while leisurely cooking for each other. I love to divide and conquer the chopping of vegetables or the steps of a recipe. Easy chicken parmesan is a great meal to cook together with your partner.
I don't know a single person that doesn't love chicken Parmesan. Crispy chicken topped with a tangy tomato sauce and creamy cheese is just something that can't be beat. It's heaven on a plate, if you ask me.
Easy Chicken Parmesan method:
I've made a lot of chicken Parmesan in my day. I've tried all sorts of coatings (fresh bread crumbs, stale/toasted bread crumbs, onion focaccia), and I've opened a jar of store-bought marinara more times than I've made a sauce from scratch. It's one of those dishes that almost doesn't require a recipe once you know the method. But, when you follow a recipe that works, you'll get great results every time.
This easy chicken parmesan recipe below is meant to be a starting place if you've never made the dish before. Once you've nailed it, feel free to make substitutions. You can double or triple this recipe to feed a crowd.
Whatever you do, do not skip the step of adding Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs! This gives the chicken crust a crisp, cheesy flavor that makes this recipe better than any other recipe!
How to make Chicken Parmesan:
- First, we're going to make a simple tomato sauce that will top our chicken cutlets and our pasta. It's simply a can of tomatoes pureed and sauteed with spices, but you are definitely welcome to open a jar of your favorite sauce instead! You'll save a few steps and a few dishes. I would recommend a canned pasta sauce that is tangy and vibrant with fresh tomatoes instead of loaded with sugar, because it compliments the chicken so much better.
- One secret for getting a thick, crispy crust on chicken Parmesan is to dust the chicken breasts in a light coating of flour. This gives the eggs something to stick to on the chicken, which then enables more breadcrumbs to stick, too!
- So, take two chicken breasts that are a similar size and thickness, and coat them lightly in flour.
- Dunk the chicken breasts in egg, followed by the breadcrumbs mixed with the Parmesan cheese.
- After sautéeing the chicken in a skillet to make a golden brown crust, simply place them on a pan, top with a dollop of tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. A few minutes under the broiler will make everything come together!
- There's nothing better than a crispy chicken cutlet topped with tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella all on top of spaghetti.
More chicken dinners for two you might like:
Dinner for Two: Easy Chicken Parmesan
Easy chicken parmesan recipe for two with an extra cheesy crust.
Ingredients
Quick tomato sauce:
- 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- salt to taste
For the chicken and spaghetti:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 ounces whole-milk fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
- 4 ounces uncooked spaghetti
Instructions
- First, make the sauce: pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until coarsely ground, 6-8 pulses. Next, saute the garlic in the 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet until fragrant but not burned, about 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the tomatoes, then bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until slightly thickened. Off heat, stir in the basil, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.
- For the chicken and spaghetti: adjust an oven rack to be 4 inches from the broiling element. Turn the broiler to high.
- Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Beat the egg in a second shallow dish. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan in a third shallow dish. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken breaset in the flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.
- Heat the oil in a 10" large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Gently lay the chicken in the oil, and cook until golden brown on each side and the chicken registers 160 degrees (about 4-6 minutes per side). Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet.
- Divide the cheese over the chicken, and broil until the cheese melts. Serve with the tomato sauce.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in ample boiling water, and toss with tomato sauce before serving on the side.
Notes
You can skip the quick tomato sauce and use a jar of your favorite pasta sauce instead!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1509Total Fat: 76gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 58gCholesterol: 311mgSodium: 1290mgCarbohydrates: 104gFiber: 9gSugar: 17gProtein: 99g
Jessica says
Pasta is such a fabulous choice for at-home date night! I definitely agree that at home dates beat going out dates :) This chicken parmesan looks very tasty too.
Stephanie says
Don't be hasty with the one cookbook in/one out rule. I did it for a while and I still mourn the loss of my Green and Blacks Chocolate recipe book, the lemon tart with dark chocolate crust comes to mind every time I need a dinner party dessert, I might scour the charity shops and re-buy it. I know what you mean though, I recently went to the book store and flicked through some of the recipe books I'd been lusting after only to see the recipes were for 6-8 people or too difficult/wasteful to get down to two servings. I think I'll have to resort to mexican/lebanese/arabian being food we eat out only, or have lots of dinner parties!
So happy to find another dinner recipe that serves too, my boyfriend is going to be over the moon when I make this and even more happy when he realises he doesn't have to reheat the leftovers at work the next day.
The question is, when is your 'for two' cookbook coming out ;) I'll adapt the British edition for you ;)
Stephanie x
Christina Lane says
Thanks for the advice, Stephanie. There are some cookbooks that I just like to look at, even though I don't cook a lot from them. They'll have to pry them from my cold dead fingers :) I think you should buy back that Green&Blacks cookbook. If I come across it, I'll let you know :)
Thanks so much for all the kind words. My cookbook comes out Feb 2015 :)
Happy baking,
Christina
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
Love how classic this recipe is! Totally perfect for date night!
Lisa @ Garnish with Lemon says
Chicken Parm is always a favorite in our house! Hmmm, might be dinner tonight! Pinned.
janelle says
I love ATK, and that book looks good! I will put this on the to make list for next week! Thanks for sharing
Lindsay @ The Live-In Kitchen says
You're making me wish I still ate chicken! Chicken Parmesan has always been one of my favorites. I think I ate it every day on our honeymoon!
Louise says
Made this last night and it was delicious! My husband devoured it! Thanks for your great recipes!
Meg @ The Housewife in training files says
Whenever I use to go to Houlihan's, I would order their Chicken Parm. It's so delish. So thank you for sharing a classic dish for one...oops. I mean two :)
Maggie says
Hi Christina!
I'm planning on making this for my boyfriend. He always does the cooking, so I thought I'd give him a break even though I'm more of a baker.
I don't have a food processor on hand — is there a different way you recommend making the sauce or should I just use sauce from a jar? Thank you; I can't wait to make this!
Christina Lane says
Use it from a jar ;) Easy peasy! :) Best of luck!