Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Parmigiana is often thought to be a complicated dish that takes a long time to prepare. However, I’m here to tell you that it’s pretty easy to make.

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Chicken Parmigiana is often thought to be a complicated dish that takes a long time to prepare. However, I’m here to tell you that it’s pretty easy to make, if you’ve planned ahead or don’t mind using pre-sliced cheeses and sauce from a jar.

In my case, I’m lucky enough to be married to an Italian woman who still makes her Sicilian Great Grandma’s sauce recipe every year around the holidays. She makes a massive pot of sauce — we invite friends and family over to have meatball sandwiches and/or spaghetti, and there’s always a ton of sauce left. We freeze it and use it throughout the year until annual sauce day comes back around. That sauce is perfect for this recipe.

If you are looking to keep it authentic, you should be using Romano cheese instead of Parmesan. Both are fine, but Romano gives it a richer flavor. I prefer to buy the block of Romano and either shave it or grate it in advance.

Likewise, you could simply use the pre-sliced Mozzarella to keep the process quick and easy. Not me, I like to complicate things, so I purchase a high-quality Mozzarella and then slice it myself. It makes a huge difference.

I don’t want to brag (okay, yeah I do), but my Italian wife has told me on numerous occasions that this is the best Chicken Parmigiana she’s ever had. Of course, she likes to credit herself because of the sauce, but my “assembly” of the remaining ingredients is apparently excellent.

Chicken Parmigiana

Course:
Cuisine:
Difficulty:
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
10
minutes
Cook time
30
minutes
Total time
40
minutes

Ingredients

  • 2
    lg
    chicken breasts
    boneless
  • 2
    tsp
    sea salt
    or to taste
  • 2
    tsp
    black pepper
    or to taste
  • 1
    lg
    egg
  • 0.75
    cup
    Italian-style breadcrumbs
  • 8
    oz
    angel hair pasta
    or pasta of your choice
  • 24
    oz
    marinara sauce
  • 4
    slices
    Mozzarella cheese
  • 0.25
    cup
    Romano cheese
    shaved or shredded
  • 8
    med
    fresh basil leaves

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

  • Lay the chicken breasts flat side down on a cutting board. Slice lengthwise to create 4 half-breasts of equal size. Season with salt and pepper. This is the first item in your assembly line. Break the egg into a large bowl and lightly beat. Place it after the chicken breasts in the assembly line. Place the breadcrumbs into another large bowl and place after the egg bowl. Grease or butter the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch glass baking dish and set it at the end. One at a time, dredge each half-breast in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, then into the baking dish. Be sure to keep them separated in the dish so that they can all receive good browning and crispiness.

  • Start the process of cooking your pasta of choice so it will be done at about the same time as the chicken.

  • Place the baking dish in the oven and let bake for 15-20 minutes. It’s okay if they aren’t completely cooked at this point, but they should be pretty close. Temporarily remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the sauce equally over the top of each half-breast. Drape the mozzarella slices over each one, then sprinkle the shaved Romano evenly over the top. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked, and the cheeses have developed a golden-brown surface.

  • Serve over pasta and garnish with basil leaves.