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This chicken Parmesan recipe pairs juicy, golden-crisp chicken with melted cheese and marinara, with a simple technique that keeps the breading from getting soggy.
Chicken parm is always a hit with my family, but the traditional recipe can be a production. Between making tomato sauce, pounding and breading the chicken, frying it, and then baking it with sauce and cheese, you can easily end up spending over an hour in the kitchen with a sinkful of dishes. My version takes a few smart shortcuts, using quick-to-flatten chicken tenderloins and good-quality jarred marinara to make it much more manageable for a weeknight.
The other thing I do differently is resist the urge to smother the chicken with sauce and cheese. I use panko for an extra-crisp crust, add the cheese mostly to the center, and spoon the warm marinara over the top after broiling, leaving those crunchy edges exposed. You can always serve more sauce on the side. The result is everything I want in chicken Parmesan: juicy chicken, a crisp golden crust, gooey cheese, and plenty of marinara—without all the fuss.
“Huge hit with the family! Seasoning, moisture, crispness all on point…This is some really great chicken.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Tenderloins: I prefer tenderloins to boneless, skinless chicken breasts here because they’re naturally tender and juicy and can be quickly flattened with the palm of your hand—no slicing or serious pounding required. They also stay moister than store-bought thin chicken cutlets.
- Marinara Sauce: A good-quality jarred marinara is one of the shortcuts that makes this chicken Parmesan weeknight-friendly. Since you only need a modest amount, there’s no need to make a sauce from scratch. Rao’s and Victoria are both good options.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: Their coarse, airy texture creates an especially crisp crust—and helps it stay crisp even if you bread the chicken ahead of time.
- Dried Oregano & Thyme: Season the breading with classic Italian flavor.
- Flour & Eggs: These make up the first two layers of the breading station: the flour gives the egg something to cling to, and the egg helps the panko coating adhere.
- Olive Oil: Used for pan-frying the chicken until the coating is crisp and golden.
- Fontina Cheese: I prefer fontina to mozzarella here because it has a buttery, nutty flavor and melts beautifully without becoming rubbery. Look for Swedish or Danish fontina with a red wax rind; mozzarella works well if you can’t find it.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds salty, nutty flavor to both the breading and the cheesy topping.
- Fresh Basil: Adds freshness and a pop of color to the finished dish.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Chicken Parmesan
Prep the chicken: Trim away any visible tendon, then gently flatten the tenderloins with your palm so they’re an even thickness. This ensures they cook quickly and evenly.
Bread the chicken: Set up a breading station with flour, beaten eggs, and the seasoned panko-Parmesan mixture. Coat each piece in flour, then egg, letting the excess drip off, and finally the panko mixture. Press the coating on gently so it adheres well. At this point, the breaded chicken can be covered and refrigerated (or frozen) until you’re ready to cook.
Pan-fry the chicken: Heat the oil until it shimmers before adding the chicken; if the oil isn’t hot enough, the breading will absorb oil rather than turning crisp. Work in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, and cook until the coating is deeply golden and the chicken is cooked through. Add more oil between batches as needed, allowing it to heat before adding more chicken.
Add the cheese and broil: Arrange the cooked chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet and add the cheeses mainly to the center of each piece, leaving the breaded edges exposed. Broil just until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Keeping those edges uncovered is one of the keys to preserving the crisp crust.
Finish with the marinara: Warm the marinara separately, tasting it before serving; a little fresh basil can perk up a jarred sauce. Spoon the warm sauce over the melted cheese rather than covering the entire piece of chicken, again leaving the crisp edges exposed. Finish with fresh basil and serve extra marinara on the side.
What To Serve with Chicken Parmesan
Chicken Parmesan is delicious with pasta or creamy polenta to catch the extra marinara. For something lighter alongside, try an arugula salad or roasted broccoli.
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Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenderloins
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- ¾ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1½ cups panko
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup flour
- 3 large eggs
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 1½ cups homemade or store-bought marinara sauce, best quality such as Rao’s or Victoria
- 6 oz fontina, shredded (about 1½ cups)
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
Instructions
- Using kitchen shears, trim off any white tendons at the ends of the tenderloins. Using the palm of your hand, gently flatten the tenderloins so that they are an even ¼-in (6-mm) thickness. Season the chicken all over with 1¼ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper.
- In a large shallow bowl, combine the panko, ¾ cup (75 g) of the Parmigiano Reggiano, the oregano, the thyme, the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix well, making sure there are no clumps of cheese.
- Place the flour in another shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a third bowl. Set up a breading station in this order: flour, eggs, panko. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up. Dredge the chicken in the flour, coating evenly; dip in the eggs, letting any excess drip off; then dredge in the panko mixture, turning and patting to adhere. Place the breaded chicken on the prepared baking sheet. (The recipe can be prepared up to this point, covered, and refrigerated up to 8 hours ahead of time.)
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack about 4 in (10 cm) from the heating element. Bring the marinara sauce to a simmer over low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking (with store-bought sauce, I find a generous pinch of sugar and fresh basil go a long way). Cover and keep warm.
- Line another baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment for easy clean up; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, heat about ⅛ in (3 mm) of oil over medium heat until shimmering. Place 5 or 6 tenders in the pan in a single layer and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Place the cooked chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Cook the remaining chicken in the same manner, adding additional oil only if necessary. You may need to lower the heat as you go, so that the chicken doesn't brown before it is cooked through.
- Sprinkle the fontina and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano over the center of the chicken tenderloins, leaving the sides bare so that they remain crispy. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon the marinara sauce over the cheese, again leaving the sides bare so that they stay crispy. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this Chicken Parmesan for dinner this evening and my husband LOVED it! He said “lets add this one to the recurring menu!” I did have the heat a little too high at first when frying the chicken, so I made sure to keep it turned down for the second batch. Thank you for another delish recipe, Jenn. You create marvelous recipes and my family and I appreciate it very much! It’s teaching me to be a better cook every day!
Hi Jennifer,
I’m looking for a nice veal parmigiana recipe. I have made your easy chicken Parmesan many times and love it. Do you think this would work well for veal?
Thank you.
Jan 🇨🇦
Sure, I think this would work with veal. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi! My family loves all your recipes! Where can I find the Japanese style breadcrumbs? I’m having trouble locating them. I’m in Chicago suburbs.
Thank you!
Hi Gina, so glad you like the recipes! You should be able to panko at most grocery stores near the traditional bread crumbs. If not, you could get away with using regular bread crumbs here.
Wanted to eat this but didn’t feel like cooking. Made it anyway for my husband and step son who is visiting. Served it with whole wheat spaghettini and the extra marinara. And your Caesar salad. They both had seconds. I’m a hero and in a much better mood. Thank you!!
Made this last night will definitely be adding this meal to our dinner rotation. Great for weeknight and special occasions. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Very tasty and simple. Reheated quite easily, even in the microwave. I love how you considered the integrity of the crust in this version; the sauce as a last step also makes this dish quite doable for to-go lunches–just reheat the chicken at work in the microwave and pour on some cold marinara sauce (sacrilege, I know, but it’s better this way). Good with a light side salad, as this is a very greasy dish. I’d like to try it in an air fryer to cut down on the oiliness.
Hi Jenn,
Do you have any suggestions for what to substitute for the egg if we have an egg allergy in the family? Do you think it would work if I used a vegan mayonnaise to coat the chicken prior to breading? Thank you in advance!
Hi Alex, I think vegan mayonnaise would work nicely here. And for future reference, two of the best substitutes I’ve heard about (I haven’t personally tried either of them) are a combination of water, oil, and baking powder, and carbonated water. Scroll down to the bottom of this article for more information about both. I would assume many recipes would also work with some kind of store-bought egg substitute. Hope that helps!
Thank you for your reply and for the link! I did use Vegenaise after flouring and before breading the chicken and worked great! Delicious!
Will this work for eggplant?
Hi Arvind, I haven’t tried it, but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
If you can get duck eggs, that might work. It does for my son. He can also eat quail eggs. Eggs from different animals have different proteins. My son’s problem is with the whites. Good luck!
Hi Jenn! This recipe sounds delicious! Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of tenderloins?
Hi Nicole, I think you could use thighs here but they’ll take a bit longer to cook. I’d brown them on the stove according to the recipe and before topping with sauce and cheese, finish cooking them in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes or so. Then top them with the sauce and cheese and broil to melt the cheese. (Please keep in mind I haven’t tried them this way.) I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Chicken tenders are hard to find where I am… Could I just halve a chicken breast instead?
Hi Donna, Yes that’s perfectly fine, but you’ll need to pound the breasts to an even 1/4-inch thickness.
Hi Jenn
I’m in the process of making this chicken parm. I want to serve it in 2 days. Can I complete the dish today? After I bread and fry the coated chicken, can I bake the chicken with the fontina instead of putting under the broiler? If so, at what temperature and for how long? My oven is small and there is no way I could get the baking sheet under the broiler? Thanks….
Hi Ellen, while the chicken can be fried up to several hours ahead and refrigerated, I’m not sure how well it would do being fried two days ahead. And if you can’t fit the pan under your broiler, I think you could bake it. I’d recommend an oven temp of 400°F and I put them in for about five minutes or until the cheese is melted. Hope that helps!
Loved, Loved, Loved this recipe!!!! By far the best chicken parmigiana ever. Can’t wait to cook it at our family dinner! ❤️👏