Chicken Parmesan. Chicken Parmigiana. Chicken Parm. Chicken P. I’m not really sure what the best name for the dish is (probably not Chicken P.), and heck even Tyler Florence calls it different things. He calls it chicken parmesan on Food 911 and then chicken parmigiana on Tyler’s Ultimate. Make up your mind T-man. As far as I can tell, they are the exact same. Whatever you call it, this Authentic Baked Chicken Parmesan is the real deal and definitely worth your time.

This is one of those dishes that has a reputation of taking a long time to make, but it’s not a terrible prep. Start to finish it takes me a little over an hour. The only shortcut I recommend is using a jarred marinara sauce over simmering tomatoes from scratch.

I realize there are a million Chicken Parmesan recipes on the Internet, but I resisted the Internet urge of finding too many shortcuts for this version. It is a purposefully NON-30 minute meal. It’s best made on a lazy fall Sunday when you have time to have a glass of wine, enjoy the process, and make one delicious Authentic Chicken Parmesan meal.

Chicken Parmesan

5 from 1 vote
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 4 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
This is an Authentic Chicken Parmesan version that is best version I’ve tried. Everything from scratch and WORTH the time! Classic Italian food at its best! Make this recipe for a special night in and you will love it!

Ingredients 

Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 28-ounce jar marinara sauce
  • ½ Cups basil, roughly torn
  • ½ Cup Kalamata Olives, pitted and halved
  • ½ Teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Breading:

  • cups all-purpose flour, seasoned well with salt and pepper
  • 2 large eggs, whisked
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 Teaspoons garlic powder

Other ingredients:

  • 10 ounces spaghetti
  • 4 chicken cutlets, 5 oz. each
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • ½ cup olive oil, for frying

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For sauce, chop onions and garlic. Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add onions, garlic and cook them until they are soft and translucent.
  • Add olives (halved and pitted) and basil. Stir it all together for just a minute or two. Add marinara. As it cooks, stir this all together and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so.
  • Add sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Keep warm on low heat while you prepare the rest of the meal.
  • Pound chicken if needed or make sure you have cutlets that are an even thickness.
  • Make a breading station next. You need three bowls: One with the seasoned flour mixture, one with the eggs, and one with the bread crumbs mixed with the grated parmesan, garlic powder, and dried parsley
  • Dip a chicken breast in the flour mixture. Hit off any extra. Move the chicken to the egg mixture and submerge it completely so it’s well coated. Move it to the breadcrumbs. Press down on the chicken breast to make sure the breadcrumbs really stick to it.
  • Move each chicken breast to a plate or rack while you prep the other breasts. Let the breasts sit for just a few minutes like this which will give the breading some time to dry out a bit and really stick to the chicken.
  • Heat up 1/4 inch olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat to 350 degrees or until a breadcrumb sizzles immediately when tossed in.
  • Add breaded cutlets in batches and cook them for about 4 minutes a side until they are golden brown. Once they are done, transfer them to a baking dish with a thin coat of marinara sauce in the bottom.
  • Layer all chicken cutlets on top of the sauce. Top the fried cutlets with all of the remaining sauce – the chicken will basically disappear in the sauce and that’s okay – then top that with sliced mozzarella and sprinkle the whole thing with some more Parmesan.
  • Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese is well-melted and bubbling.
  • Make your pasta while this bakes.
  • When chicken is done, let it cool for a few minutes and then serve it all together. Add some more chopped basil to top the dish.

Notes

Adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cutlet | Calories: 917kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 68g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 257mg | Sodium: 2441mg | Potassium: 1569mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1999IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 652mg | Iron: 6mg
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: Italian

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It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it’s pretty manageable. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Making the Chicken Parmesan sauce

It’s best to start your sauce first for this recipe. Then you can just let it simmer away on low while you do your other things. If it ever gets too thick, just add a bit of water to it.

This is a really easy sauce actually. Start by chopping your onions and garlic. Then add your olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once your oil is hot, add your onions and garlic and cook them until they are soft and translucent.

Sauce - Baked Chicken Parmesan

Next add your olives (halved and pitted) and basil. Stir it all together for just a minute or two.

Then add your marinara sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir this all together and let it simmer for 10 minutes or so. Next add your sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Keep this over very low heat and you are done with the sauce until you need it!

Sauce done - Baked Chicken Parmesan

Preparing the chicken

I think preparing the chicken is part of the chicken parmesan recipe that intimidates most people. Ideally, you want each breast to be an even thickness of about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch. The easiest way to do this is to trim off any huge bits of fat off of each breast and then very loosely place a breast between two pieces of plastic wrap.

Gently pound the chicken until it flattens out. There’s no need to hammer the bejesus out of it. Just a few mild whacks usually does the trick. You can use a rolling pin for this also.

You can also buy chicken cutlets that are close to an even thickness and that will work also. If you are making your own cutlets I try to get about 3 cutlets out of a large chicken breast. Each cutlet should be 4-5 ounces by weight.

Putting the breading together

Make a little breading station next. You need three bowls: One with the seasoned flour mixture, one with the eggs, and one with the bread crumbs mixed with the grated parmesan, garlic powder, and chopped parsley. The breadcrumb mixture is very important! Don’t skimp on the parmesan in it. It’s what gives the recipe it’s name!

Parmesan - Authentic Chicken Parmesan
Parm heavy.

Breading the chicken

First, dip a chicken breast in the flour mixture. Hit off any extra. You want a very light coating of flour. Basically, the flour just acts to dry out the chicken so the eggs will stick to it. Then move the chicken to the egg mixture and submerge it completely so it’s well coated. Then move it to the breadcrumbs. Press down on the chicken breast to make sure the breadcrumbs really stick to it.

Breaded - Chicken Parmesan
Breaded!

I like to then move each chicken breast to a wire rack or plate while I do all of them. Let the breasts sit for just a few minutes like this which will give the breading some time to dry out a bit and really stick to the chicken.

Frying the chicken Parmesan

Heat up a thin layer of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. You only need about 1/4 inch of oil in the pan. The oil should be about 350 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, just test it by tossing in a few breadcrumbs. The should bubble right away.

Add breaded cutlets a few at a time and cook them for about 4 minutes a side until they are golden brown.

Chicken frying - Authentic Chicken Parmesan
Fry time!

Once they are done, move the fried cutlets to a baking dish with a layer of the sauce in the bottom. Once you get all the chicken cutlets fried and in the baking dish, top with your remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese!

Ready to bake - Authentic Chicken Parmesan
Ready to bake!

Baking the Chicken Parmesan

This needs to bake for about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cheese is well-melted and bubbling.

While that bakes, make your pasta.

When your chicken is done, let it cool for a few minutes and then serve it all together. Add some more chopped basil to top the dish.

Finished Authentic Chicken Parmesan

You know what really made this dish for me actually? The olives. They add this really salty and delicious element to the sauce. While the cheese and everything is great, for me, the olives were the best part. Is that weird? Probably.

Slice - Chicken Parmesan
YES.

Anyway, this is the best chicken parmesan recipe I’ve ever had I think. I highly, highly recommend it.

Here are a few other great Italian Recipes!