Baked Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan is one recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation in my Italian-American family. I love our traditional family recipe prepared with fried chicken cutlets and layers of homemade marinara sauce and melty mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. 

But, the truth is, if I’m going to make chicken Parmesan at home, I bake it 99% of the time. It’s faster to make it this way. Plus, it’s also much lighter. This baked chicken Parmesan will hit the spot every time! 

• Prepare the panko coating. Toast the panko until deep golden brown in the oven with salt and olive oil, and then toss with parsley, Parmesan, and garlic powder. 
• Bread the cutlets. Arrange three shallow bowls: one with the flour mixture, another with beaten eggs, and a third with your prepared panko mixture. Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper. Then, dip the seasoned cutlets to coat completely in the flour, then in the egg mixture (letting any extra egg drip back into the bowl), and finally into the panko mixture, patting the mixture into the chicken to make sure it adheres. 
• Bake the cutlets. Arrange the breaded cutlets in a single layer on two oiled rimmed baking sheets, and bake until the chicken is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. 
• Layer the marinara and cheese on and broil. Remove the chicken from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Arrange all of the chicken cutlets onto one of the baking sheets and spoon marinara over each cutlet. Top with mozzarella and more Parmesan, and broil until the cheese is melted and just starting to turn golden, about 5 more minutes. 
• Garnish with basil: Sprinkle with sliced fresh basil leaves and red pepper flakes, if you like and serve warm! 

Baked chicken Parmesan cooks so fast! Factor in about 10 more minutes to toast the panko before breading the chicken. Then, it only takes 12 to 15 minutes to bake the chicken cutlets, and an additional 5 minutes or so to melt the cheese on top. 

• Don’t skip toasting the panko. The key to crisp baked chicken Parmesan is toasting the panko until it’s deep golden brown before breading the chicken. It ensures a crunchy golden colored coating that won’t get soggy.
• If you can’t find pre-cut chicken cutlets at the grocery store, make your own. Start with chicken breasts that are about 8 ounces each. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally (this is also known as butterflying). For each chicken breast, you should end up with 2 thin pieces of chicken that weigh about 4 ounces each.
• Season the breading. Flavor starts in the crispy breading. Make your own homemade seasoned breading by tossing the toasted panko with olive oil, salt, parsley, garlic powder, and Parmesan.
• Use a delicious marinara sauce. Store-bought marinara sauce is acceptable, but not all brands are created equally. Growing up, we were not allowed to have jarred marinara sauce in the house — we only had homemade marinara sauce (yes, we were spoiled in this department!). Now the only jarred sauce we allow in our house is Rao’s Homemade, and I always have a jar on hand. Try this brand or pick what suits your taste buds best.
• Use quality mozzarella and Parmesan. There aren’t that many ingredients in this dish, so you want them all to be in their best form. Select a high-quality, freshly grated Parmesan in the cheese department or grate it by hand. Buy fresh mozzarella that is not packed in brine or water, which might make it too wet. 

If I am serving baked chicken Parmesan, I’ll serve it as-is with a side of roasted broccoli and garlic bread. Or, I bulk it up with spaghetti or another shape of pasta and more marinara sauce (this is the way to go if you want to serve a crowd). The dish makes 8 pieces of chicken Parmesan, which feeds 4 to 8 people, depending on how hungry everyone is and what you serve it with.