Easy Chicken Parmesan

Chicken parmesan is a favorite dish of both mine and David’s. When we go out to eat at Italian restaurants, we are both usually choosing between the chicken parmesan and the lasagna. Ohh life’s battles… But there’s just something about the crispy chicken combined with flavorful sauce, melty cheese, and tender pasta that is good for the soul.

Even though chicken parmesan is a favorite of ours, I’ve never actually attempted to make it at home. Truthfully, I was too intimidated. I felt like it would take too much time and skill to execute well. But yesterday, in a fit of domestic motivation, I decided to surprise David by making chicken parmesan for dinner when he got home from work! I ended up being the one surprised because of how easy my version is to make! It did not take as much time as I anticipated, and the end result was even more delicious than what we eat out (isn’t that just how homemade dinners work? always better.).

And can I just say something about the cost? I was nervous that this would be a meal that would blow the monthly food budget, so I was extra careful to pay attention to the cost of ingredients I needed to buy. The good news is that we had most of the ingredients on hand already. The chicken breasts I used were on sale at Kroger and I was able to snag 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts for just under $5. All together, my grocery bill for this meal was only $12. Now, this recipe serves four people. A single chicken parmesan meal at a restaurant would cost at least $12 alone. What a steal!

Ok, enough about how good it is — check out the recipe, make it for dinner, and then see for yourself 😉

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup organic all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs (you can use Italian or regular and then season accordingly)
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (I like to use freshly grated)
1/3 cup coconut oil or olive oil
4 slices provolone cheese
1 jar pasta sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning (or oregano, whatever you have on hand)
Basil (fresh or dried will work – but obviously fresh is better)
Pasta of choice (I used whole wheat linguine)

Supplies Needed:

Cutting board
Wax paper
Meat mallet, rolling pin, heavy skillet, strong fist… anything to pound the chicken out
3 shallow dishes for dredging
Frying pan
9×13 baking dish
Pasta pot

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using the cutting board as a platform, place a chicken breast in between wax paper and pound it out to about 1/2 thick (a great stress reliever!). Do this with the rest of the chicken. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper.
Prepare three dredging stations. (1) Combine flour with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper; (2) Combine eggs and milk and whisk to mix; (3) Combine breadcrumbs, Panko, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, another pinch of salt and pepper, and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning.
Put each chicken breast through the dredging process in the order mentioned above. Be sure to shake off excess egg mixture.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium for a few minutes so it gets hot. During this time, I recommend preparing a plate with a paper towel on top to place the chicken after it cooks in order to drain the excess oil.
When the oil is hot (it will look shiny!), add the chicken and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side (or until it becomes golden brown… yum).
When chicken is finished frying, let it drain and prep the baking dish — Ladle a enough marinara sauce on the bottom of the baking dish in order to cover the base. Then, place the chicken on top of the sauce. Top the chicken with a generous tablespoon of marinara sauce. Then, divide the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan cheese among the four chicken breasts. Next, place a slice of provolone cheese on top of each piece of chicken. Finally, top the beautiful birds with dried or fresh basil.
Bake those babies in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. The cheese will start to bubble and brown.
While the chicken is baking, prepare the pasta according to the instructions. (Hint: be sure to salt the boiling water before you cook the pasta in it – it is your only chance to really flavor the pasta!). Once the pasta is finished, mix with remainder of pasta sauce.
Once the chicken has finished cooking, serve with the pasta and stuff your face.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite chicken parmesan recipe? Will you try this one? Let me know!

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