Parmesan Crusted Chicken

It's no wonder that home cooks are always looking for different ways to serve chicken. Since 1996 chicken has been the most popular meat in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chicken can be cooked in almost every way imaginable, and we firmly believe there can never be too many crunchy breaded chicken recipes. Similar to schnitzel or Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets, Parmesan Crusted Chicken consists of thin chicken breasts, coated with a crumb mixture and fried in a skillet until crisp.

If you're craving crunchy chicken and don't want to bother with deep frying, this is the perfect recipe, popular with both kids and adults.

What Is Parmesan Crusted Chicken?

Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a type of breaded chicken cutlet. What makes this recipe different from other breaded chicken cutlet recipes is the use of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs and the addition of Parmesan cheese to the breading.

Pan frying flattened chicken cutlets is a quick and easy way to cook chicken evenly, and breaded fried cutlets are found in many cuisines, including Japanese tonkotsu, Italian Milanese, and South American milanesa. It is also less messy and uses less oil than deep frying.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Ingredients

To make Parmesan Crusted Chicken you will need mostly pantry staple items—Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, dried oregano, black pepper, flour for dredging, eggs, chicken breasts, and oil and butter for frying.

Lemon wedges are recommended for squeezing over the fried cutlets. Lemon adds brightness and freshness to the dish.

How to Make Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Making Parmesan Crusted Chicken requires several steps: The first is to pound chicken breasts. Coating your cutting board or counter with plastic wrap or parchment paper can make for easy clean up. If you don't have a meat mallet, you can use a rolling pin to pound the cutlets.

To bread the cutlets set up a station with a bowl of flour, another bowl with beaten and seasoned egg, and a final bowl with grated Parmesan cheese and Italian breadcrumbs. Cutlets are dipped successively in the flour, then the egg, then crumbs and finally pan fried in a mixture of oil and butter in a non-stick skillet.

Frying in a combination of butter and oil ensures good flavor but is easier than frying in just butter because the oil raises the smoke point so it's less likely to burn.

What To Serve With Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Crispy chicken cutlets can be served with potato salad, green salad, coleslaw or Italian style—topped with a handful of fresh arugula. You can also serve the cutlets in a sandwich.