This Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a simple and delicious recipe to add to your chicken repertoire! In this easy chicken recipe, thin chicken breasts are are coated in Parmesan, egg, and bread crumbs, and pan fried until crispy! Kids love it and so do the adults.
Pan fry or bake this Parmesan Crusted Chicken!
These Parmesan crusted chicken breasts are pan fried on the stove top, but can they be baked? Yes. Simply bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes on a baking sheet or in a baking dish.
How to make this Parmesan Crusted Chicken so flavorful
When I make this Parmesan Crusted Chicken I usually add dried Italian seasoning, which is a mixture of basil, thyme and oregano, to the dipping mixture. However, when I have fresh herbs available, such as rosemary or thyme – I often use them instead or along with the Italian seasoning.
What kind of chicken to use for Parmesan Crusted Chicken
The chicken that works best thin, flat and even. If the chicken you bought is thick as it usually is, make sure to butterfly it or flatten by pounding with a meat tenderizer.
What’s in the Breading Mixture
Bread Crumbs, plain or flavored. I used plain.
Flour
Parmesan cheese (finely grated or shredded)
Italian Seasoning and salt
2 eggs
What cheese to use for Parmesan Crusted Chicken
The finer your Parmesan cheese is shredded or grated, the better.
I used store bought shredded Parmesan cheese that was available on the shelf that day, but the best bet is to use the fine shredded cheese or grated cheese.
You can even shred your own, especially if you happen to own one of those lemon zesters at home – you can use that to get a nice fine shredded texture from your Parmesan cheese block:
Thinner texture of the Parmesan cheese will also help it stick and stay on the chicken better.
To get started on your Parmesan Crusted Chicken, prepare two bowls.
One is for the eggs, and the other – for the breading mixture. Whisk the eggs slightly.
Start working between the two bowls: Dip the chicken breasts in the bowl with the flour-Parmesan mixture first. Shake off the excess, then dip into the egg bowl, shake off the excess once again and dip into the flour mixture the second time, shake off the excess again to prevent the breading from falling off later.
Place the coated chicken onto a plate while coating the rest; do not stack too much. If you have clumping, it’s OK.
This juicy and easy chicken recipe is ready in 10 minutes with only 15 minutes of hands-on prep time! Since it takes less than half an hour to prepare it from start to finish, it is a great option for a weeknight dinner.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken pairs up very well with pasta, cooked spinach or roasted vegetables. It’s a perfectly easy chicken recipe for a quick week night dinner. So delicious and simple!
And I usually eat this chicken salad or cooked vegetables, such as spinach or broccoli. If using this Parmesan crusted chicken in a salad, make sure to cut it in slices.
Recommendations on how to reheat Parmesan Crusted Chicken
I recommend eating this chicken fresh out of the skillet, but if you have leftovers or making it ahead, heat it up in the oven or toaster oven to get the coating crispy once again. I wouldn’t suggest microwaving it – it will put too much moisture and the coating won’t be so crispy any more.
Tools you will need:
Large skillet – this stainless steel skillet is oven safe, well priced and has a helper handle which comes handy when carrying it with food.
Spatula – I love this “pancake turner” for its length and use it for flipping not only pancakes, but parmesan crusted chickens too! It’s stainless steel and has a wooden handle!
2 bowls: one for eggs, the other for the flour mixture
I love having a salad with this Parmesan Crusted Chicken. You can slice it up and serve it along this healthy salad Cranberry, Spinach and Walnut Salad in Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, or this warm salad: Warm Quinoa and Brussels Sprout Salad.
You can also serve Parmesan Crusted Chicken with pasta: Creamy Pasta in White Wine Parmesan Sauce.
And if you enjoyed this easy chicken recipe, check out some other ways you can prepare chicken: Easy Pan-Seared Chicken, Chicken in Mustard and Wine Sauce and Skillet Chicken in Mushroom Sauce.
This Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a simple and delicious recipe to add to your chicken repertoire! Thin chicken breasts are are coated in Parmesan, egg, and bread crumbs, and pan fried until crispy! Kids love it and so do the adults.
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1.5 lb chicken breasts thin (4 to 5 pieces)
- 2 tbsp olive oil for cooking chicken
TO MAKE BREADING MIXTURE: In a shallow dish mix ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/3 cup flour, ½ tsp salt and 2 tsp Italian Seasoning and set aside. Add 2 eggs into another dish or a bowl and whisk them until mixed.
MAKE SURE TO USE THIN CHICKEN BREASTS: If your chicken breasts are not thin, butterfly them, or flatten them by pounding with a meat tenderizer. The thinner the chicken breasts the better.
DIPPING CHICKEN INTO THE BATTER: Take a chicken and dip in breading mixture first, then into the egg bowl, then back into the breading mixture. Shake off the excess each time to prevent the breading from falling off later. I went from one bowl to the other until I liked how much stuff I had on the chicken. Repeat with each chicken breast and set them aside on a plate.
PAN FRYING CHICKEN: Heat olive oil on medium high in the stainless steel skillet and cook on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes on each side (total of 6-8 minutes) – just set the timer and flip when it beeps. Check to make sure the chicken is fully cooked an not pink. If not, lower the heat and cook for a couple more minutes.
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Can a cast iron skillet be used?
Yes, absolutely!
Wonderful! Our meal was fabulous. The chicken was so tender and flavorful. The directions were clear and easy. I made a lemon sauce as an added treat. I ran out of the breading with a piece of chicken on covered but other than that not one issue. Will definitely make this again. Thanks
That’s so great to hear Moe! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it!
It came out great . Thanks for sharing the recipe
I’ve been looking for a chicken recipe unlike anything I’ve had. This recipe did it for me. It was easy to make. The chicken was moist and tender and the flavors were out of this world. My husband even raved about it and he doesn’t care for chicken. It’s a must try!
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’g glad you liked it.
Please forgive me if I’m correcting you on the instructions. But I think you meant to first dread the chicken into flour then egg and then the breadcrumbs and repeat to dip again in egg and then the breadcrumbs to get a crunchier coating.
Yes, I’ve seen this method of dredging as well, but here I added flour into the breading mixture and just worked between the two bowls: dredging mixture and eggs.
I find that if you dredge the chicken in flour first, then the egg, and then bread crumb mixture, it stays on better.
Soo good! I’m not a big fan of plain chicken breasts so this is perfect. Tasty and best of all easy !
So simple and ready in a jiff. My husband loved it. It is crunchy and moist. Will make over and over again
I’m glad you loved it! My family loves it too.
My breading never wants to stick to the chicken after cooked….why is this?
What kind of pan did you use?
Why does my breading not want to stick to the chicken after cooked? I have tried making sure the oil was hot enough when placing chicken in pan but that didn’t really seem to help.