Our family’s favorite chicken parmesan recipe guarantees crispy, golden chicken topped with melty cheese and served over a rich garlic marinara sauce.
We are incredibly picky when it comes to chicken parmesan, and this easy recipe gets it exactly right. The chicken turns out beautifully golden brown and crisp, with a generous amount of cheese on top and the perfect balance of marinara sauce. So often, the breading on chicken parm turns out mushy, but our method ensures it stays perfectly crunchy.
With this easy recipe, you can make a classic chicken parmesan that is even better than your favorite Italian restaurant. Sitting right alongside our cheese lasagna and our spaghetti with meat sauce, it has become one of our absolute favorite Italian dinners to make at home. We love serving it with a simple salad on the side, over a bed of pasta, or even tucked into a sandwich. To swap the chicken for eggplant, see our eggplant parmesan recipe. Or, for a similar approach with crispy breaded chicken cutlets, try our chicken Milanese.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: We prefer chicken breasts for our chicken parmesan, but feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you want something a bit more tender. Both are absolutely delicious! For the absolute best texture, we quickly pound the chicken to an even thickness before breading. Watch our video to see how we do it.
- Breading: Our perfect breading is flavorful, light, and turns out crunchy. You will need salt, pepper, flour, eggs, milk, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese to create the ultimate crispy coating.
- Tomato Sauce: We prefer a lighter tomato sauce for this dish. You can use your favorite high-quality store-bought marinara sauce or make your own from scratch. Two homemade sauces we use a lot for this are this garlicky marinara sauce and this classic red pasta sauce.
- Basil: Before baking, tuck a few fresh basil leaves underneath the cheese. It’s simple, but adds so much flavor to the dish as it bakes.
- Cheese: Parmesan is a must-have, but we also love adding a slice of provolone on top of the crispy, breaded chicken for that perfect melty finish. Mozzarella is a fantastic alternative if you do not have provolone on hand.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan
Making our favorite chicken parmesan is straightforward. Here is a quick overview so you know exactly what you will be doing:
- Set up a simple three-step breading station.
- Coat the chicken cutlets in flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs.
- Pan-fry the chicken until perfectly golden and crisp.
- Assemble the chicken on a bed of marinara sauce, top with cheese, and bake until the cheese melts.
Our Tips for Making Chicken Parmesan
Tip 1: How to set up a breading station. To get the perfect crispy crust, you will need to bread and pan-fry the chicken first. Get three shallow bowls ready (small baking dishes or pie dishes are great). In the first one, mix flour with a good pinch of salt and pepper; in the second, whisk eggs and milk together; and finally, in the third, stir the breadcrumbs, finely grated parmesan, a pinch of salt, and pepper.
Tip 2: How to bread the chicken. Coat one piece of chicken at a time. First, lightly pat it into the flour mixture, then swipe it through the egg wash, and finally, press it into the breadcrumb mixture. You can either transfer it directly to your pan or place it on a baking sheet while you finish breading the remaining pieces.
Tip 3: Pan-fry the chicken in batches. Unless you have small chicken cutlets, you will likely need to cook the chicken in two batches. Heat a wide skillet over medium heat, add some oil, and then when the oil shimmers, carefully place two pieces of breaded chicken. Leave them undisturbed until they turn golden brown on one side. Flip and cook until golden on the second side. If the breading is browning too quickly, reduce the heat a little. When you move onto the second batch, add a little more oil to the pan.
Tip 4: Do not cover your chicken in sauce. Now that you have a beautiful, crispy crust, do not cover it in sauce! Instead, serve the chicken on a bed of sauce. Then, add a little sauce on top, some basil, and the cheese.
Tip 5: Bake to finish. We always like to finish this in the oven to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through, and the cheese gets beautifully bubbly and melted. Baked chicken parmesan is the way to go!
What to Serve with Chicken Parmesan
We love serving chicken parmesan with buttered noodles or pasta (homemade pasta would be epic!). For a lower-carb option, try zucchini noodles or sautéed zucchini. A fresh salad is always lovely, and we especially love salad greens tossed with our favorite balsamic vinaigrette.
Instead of a salad, try adding roasted vegetables to the side. We love pairing this with our roasted broccolini, roasted cabbage, or garlic roasted asparagus. Our son always requests a side of garlic bread, so we frequently make our roasted garlic bread or classic garlic bread to go with it. And, if you want to make sandwiches, this is amazing on a slice of homemade focaccia bread!
More Chicken Recipes
Easy Chicken Parmesan
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We love this easy chicken parmesan! The secret is to bread and pan-fry the chicken, then add sauce only to the bottom of your baking dish so the top stays crisp and does not turn into a soggy mess. We highly recommend our homemade marinara sauce, but to make this easier, use your favorite store-bought brand.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds)
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup (110 g) breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs
1 ½ ounces (42 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about ¾ cup)
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
3 cups marinara sauce, warmed (from one 24-ounce jar)
½ bunch fresh basil leaves
4 slices provolone
Directions
1Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Set a baking sheet and a 9-by-13-inch baking dish aside. Line a large plate with paper towels.
2Place a chicken breast on a cutting board and cover it with parchment paper. Pound to an even ½-inch thickness. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
3Set up a breading station with three shallow dishes. In the first dish, combine the flour and ¼ teaspoon of salt. In the second dish, whisk the eggs and milk. In the third dish, mix the breadcrumbs, half of the Parmesan, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
4One by one, dip each chicken breast into the flour, then swipe it through the egg, and finally press it into the breadcrumbs to coat. Place the breaded chicken on the baking sheet.
5Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat until it is shimmering. Carefully add the chicken and cook until golden brown and crispy, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Work in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan. Transfer the cooked chicken to the paper towel-lined plate to drain.
6Spread 2 ½ cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange the chicken on top. Top each piece of chicken with about 1 tablespoon of the remaining sauce, a few fresh basil leaves, the remaining Parmesan, and a slice of provolone.
7Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted and golden brown and the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed 6 servings.
This was a delicious recipe that my family devoured! I served it over thin spaghetti w/garlic bread. The recipe is easy to follow and the flavors are scrumptious. This summer I have followed so many recipes from Inspired Taste, and I am thrilled with my cooking progress. I keep joking to my family that I’m a “chef” now.
You made us smile 🙂 We are so happy that we could help you have a tasty summer 🙂
Such an easy and step by step recipe!!! Needed to make it for 50 so I appreciate the simplicity!!!!
I am so excited that I found your guy’s page. I am not the best cook, so I love that you have videos with your recipes; that helps me so much.I am so excited to start making these recipes!! Thank you guys so much 🙂 Misty
This was the first time I’ve made Chicken Parmesan and I read through three other recipes before finding this one online. I liked this one the best because it was very straight forward, detailed and easy to follow the step. I was cooking for my wife and two kids and wanted to make something more special then I usually make when I do pasta with a traditional ground beef or sausage and tomato sauce version. Anyways, it turned out amazing and it was a hit with my wife and kids! I served it with a traditional spaghetti and spinach garlic tomato sauce. Just remember to have some patience and trust the steps for an absolutely delicious outcome!
I found that I needed 2 9×13 pans to make this. Not sure if my breasts were especially large, I used Walmart brand boneless/skinless. I ended up needing 2 pans, and used excess sauce from filling the pan to put on top of the chicken
I made this recipe with ricotta and fresh mozzarella slices in the place of the provolone cheese. Seriously delicious, and the proportions are so perfect!
Can you bread chicken ahead and refrigerate and brown and bake next day?
Hi Kathy, I am worried this will make the breading mushy and make it difficult for you to crisp up on the second day. You could prepare all your breading bowls and refrigerate to get a ump on the prep, though.
Thanks for the short version steps for the chicken breast Parmesan. Was helpful in real time and now I will prepare this tonight. We appreciate you guys.
I’ve been making this recipe for over a year now and my family ALWAYS love it. I recommend anyone to make this at least once in their life!
This looks so delicious and yummy. And thanks for providing the in depth details for the recipe, which helped me very much.
Looking for easy dinners.
So easy and so delicious! And company worthy too! Definitely a keeper!
It was delicious. My whole family loved it.
I’d like to know if the browning of the chicken could be done in advance. I want to serve it at a dinner party and would prefer to have less work while my guests are there.
Hi Suzi, You can bread and pan-fry the chicken in advance. The breading might get a little soggy, but it should crisp back up when baked in the oven.
Love this recipe. We used panko instead of breadcrumbs and it turned out great. Can’t wait to make this for company.
Anybody have any suggestions on cooking this for 60 people ? Like keeping it warm without over cooking or drying out ?
Use a cookie sheet to bake it on so you could make on about 3-4 sheet pans!
Can this be prepared then put in the fridge to be baked a couple of hours later
Hi Carolyn, Yes. We’ve had leftovers of this and enjoyed it the next day. The chicken breading will get a little soggy in the fridge, but if you reheat them in the oven, they should crips up nicely.
Hi, Will definitely try this! Any alternatives to provolone cheese?
Sure, mozzarella is an excellent alternative. Any melting cheese will work, though.
Made this for my husband and it was the best chicken parmesan we’ve had. Better than Olive Garden and easy to make.
This looked so great going into the oven but unfortunately the bottom was very soggy. It was so crispy after frying, I would definitely not put any sauce on the bottom next time. It was great otherwise.
Yum! This was my first time making chicken parmesan. It has always been a favorite of my husbands so I figured I would give it a try to surprise him. It was pretty easy to make and didn’t take long. We will be having this more often!
I made the recipe for dinner last night it certainly was fast and easy I think I may have cut the chicken too many times I had a humongous breast and I cut it four times the breading was a little long getting out I’ll try and do better the next time the flavor was great! I will try it again and have fresh basil the next time
I made the recipe and it wasn’t bad at all it was quick however I serve and use marinara rather than the recommended. Now maybe I should have followed the recipe exactly but I didn’t want to go to the store. I’ll try it again doing it the exact way see what how it comes out I think maybe a little wine in that sauce might help.
I enjoyed this very much! As did my husband AND my kids. I used 3 rather large pieces of chicken which made it harder to keep the breading together throughout the process, so next time I will adjust. Other than that, yummy!
Hey! I will try it tonight! Any side-dish suggestions? Thanks 🙂
That is a tough question. My go to with this one would be roasted vegetables since you already have the oven on.
This recipe was super easy to follow and was delicious. My boyfriend loved it as well!
I must make this ASAP! Can you share the source for that white oven baking dish?
Let us know how it turns out for you. The dish we use came from Crate and Barrel.
Fantastic and easy to make!
Fantastic! Super easy too.
Was absolutely fabulous!!!
Great, bing took me stright here. thanks btw for this. Cheers!
Will be trying this tonight.
Can you do it without the basil leaves or is it an important ingredient??
Hi Danielle, The basil adds some green and freshness. If you do not have it, you can leave it out.
Have not made this but plan on going into the kitchen now to prepare for dinner. I have all the ingredients and looks too good to pass up. First time seeing your recipes and posts. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more.
This is excellent. I did adjust it the second time I made it. Didn’t fry. Breaded it, put it in the sauce, and baked for 15 minutes then broiled it to crisp the top for 5 min. Then, topped it with the basil and cheese and out back in the over for about 20minutes.
Love this recipe. Thank you.