Baked Chicken Parmesan
Serves 4
Many chicken Parmesan recipes call for dredging the chicken in flour before you put it in the egg and frying before you put it in the oven which is fine. I found that if I omit that step I don’t miss it and I don’t have an extra bowl and fry pan to clean. And Mo does not have to clean the stove top!
Here is what you need:
2 TBS olive oil
4 chicken breast
1 egg
1 cup Italian bread crumbs (You can use panko or plane bread crumbs if you do that season them with 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper or add Italian seasoning to the crumbs)
½ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce ( I like Doris’ Sauce and I usually make my own but this one is really good)
1 cup shredded mozzarella or more if you like
2 TBS fresh chopped parsley (optional) or basil or both
red pepper flakes (optional) ( I add it to my marinara sauce)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Here is what you need to do:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil andbrush it with olive oil.
Slice open the chicken breast like a book (butterfly) and pound them out to even up the thickness. Blot the chicken dry with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper.
In a shallow dish, mix together I bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese.(If using plane bread crumbs add, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and black pepper. ) Taste the Italian bread crumbs and if it needs some salt and pepper add it in. In a second shallow dish, whisk one egg with about a TBS of water.
Dip one chicken breast into the egg, shaking off the excess then place it into the bread crumb mixture. Make sure the chicken breast is fully coated with the crumb mixture. Gently press with your hand do help the crumbs stick to the chicken. Place chicken breast on prepared baking sheet, repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. If you have any bread crumbs left, sprinkle on the top of the chicken.
Place chicken in the center rack and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until almost completely cooked. Take chicken out of oven, flip it and top it with ¼ cup of marinara sauce and then your cheese. Put chicken back in the oven and turn on broiler. Broil for 2-4 minutes, until cheese is melted.
I served mine on top of spaghetti and marinara sauce and sprinkled with fresh parsley.
Another way to serve this is with a side salad and some garlic bread or place in in a toasted sub roll for a delicious sandwich!
Let’s Eat!!
Photo: Getty Images