Name: Easy Chicken Parmesan
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4 (4- to 6-oz.) dds; 1/2 cup (about 2 1/8-oz.) all-purpose flour; 1 large egg, lightly beaten; 1 Tbsp. water; 1 tsp. kosher salt; 1/2 tsp. black pepper; 2 3/4 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely shredded (about 1 1/4 cups); 1 cup panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs); 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, divided; 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided; Cooking Spray; 1 (32-oz.) jar marinara sauce (such as Rao’s); 8 (1-oz.) fresh mozzarella cheese slices; 1 (16-oz.) pkg. spaghetti, cooked according to pkg. directions; Roughly torn or sliced fresh basil

Easy Chicken Parmesan — Photo:
Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood

Active Time:

30 mins

Total Time:

35 mins

Servings:

Chicken Parmesan may seem like a restaurant-only kind of menu item—it is a favorite at many Italian places—but it's actually so easy you can make it on a weeknight. We'll show you how.

Crispy chicken cutlets are full of flavor and have great texture. They're cloaked in a perfect-from-the-jar marinara sauce and topped with thick slices of mozzarella cheese, which turns golden and bubbly under the oven's broiler. We love the combination of spaghetti, marinara sauce, and juicy, crispy chicken in this recipe. You could use any pasta you prefer, like corkscrew or ziti. Just make sure it's tossed in lots of marinara.

This is a perfect meal for big eaters and large families, too, as you can scale up for feeding a crowd. Just coat more chicken cutlets and pan-fry them, then top with marinara and cheese and broil.

Can't find chicken cutlets? You can cut your own by slicing through the middle of a larger chicken breast. It's important you use cutlets for this recipe, not larger breasts. The meat will only cook through if each cut it no more than one-inch thick.

Another important note from the Test Kitchen: Getting your chicken cutlets golden browned and crispy is essential for a great textural element in this dish. The addition of Parmesan to the panko breading helps with this, as does not adding the crispy cutlets to a dish full of sauce. Instead, we top the cutlets with sauce and cheese and broil, which allows the sauce and cheese to accentuate the chicken rather than making it soggy.

Ingredients

4 (4- to 6-oz.) chicken breast cutlets, patted dry
1/2 cup (about 2 1/8-oz.) all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 3/4 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely shredded (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup panko (Japanese-style breadcrumbs)
2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, divided
4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
1 (32-oz.) jar marinara sauce (such as Rao’s)
8 (1-oz.) fresh mozzarella cheese slices
1 (16-oz.) pkg. spaghetti, cooked according to pkg. directions
Roughly torn or sliced fresh basil

Directions

Warm up oven, and prepare chicken:

Preheat oven to broil with rack about 6 inches from heat source. Place flour in a wide shallow dish, and set aside. Stir together egg, water, salt, and pepper in a separate shallow dish, and set aside. Stir together Parmesan, panko, and 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning in a separate shallow dish. Working in batches, place chicken cutlets in flour, turning to coat, and shake off any excess. Place in egg mixture, turning to coat, and allow any excess to drip off. Place in panko mixture, turning until fully coated, pressing to adhere; place breaded chicken on a plate. Repeat process with remaining chicken.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
Cook chicken cutlets until crispy:

Working in 2 batches, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add 2 chicken cutlets to skillet, and cook, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and repeat process with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 2 chicken cutlets.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
Top chicken cutlets, and broil:

Heat marinara sauce in a small saucepan over medium, stirring often, until warm, about 5 minutes.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood

Spoon about 2 tablespoons marinara on each chicken cutlet; top each with 2 slices of mozzarella, and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood

Broil in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of chicken registers at least 165°F, 3 to 4 minutes.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
Prepare servings:

Divide spaghetti evenly among 4 plates, and top with warmed marinara (about 3/4 cup each) and chicken cutlets. Garnish with basil.

Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood