Crispy Chicken Parmigiana

Today I share an absolute family favourite, Chicken Parmigiana. This is one of our dinner staples that gets a lot of ‘ummmms’ while being eaten.

The crispy and crunchy outside with the melted cheese is just drool worthy. For some reason, I had not made this for quite a while and have in recent months rediscovered this recipe and it has since become a regular in our family dinner rotation.

Usually, chicken parmigiana will have some grated parmesean cheese when coating the crust but I skipped that part because I wanted to restrict the amount of cheese to just the top coating. Honestly, we all liked it just as much.

For that amazing crust, I use Panko bread crumbs, they are the best to give that crunch when needed. It is a Japanese breadcrumb found in any supermarket or grocery store. They are dryer than regular breadcrumbs, they absorb less oil producing a crispy and crunchier crumb.

I used chicken breast here that I cut it into the size and thickness that would best suit your preference. The chicken in this prep does not get dry and that is a big plus.

For the tomato sauce topping, you can use a store bought marinara sauce or you can use a homemade one of that is what you prefer.

This oven baked goodness with the tomato and cheese topping is simple to make and worth it.

I usually serve this with some steamed veggies and couscous.

Let’s get to the recipe

Ingredients

For coating the chicken:

Eggs- 2 large

Chicken breast – 3 fillets cut according to size and thickness of personal preference

Flour – ½ cup

Panko bread crumbs -1 cup

Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper

For the Topping:

Marinara sauce -store bought or homemade/1 cup

Cheese – tasty cheese (this is a type of cheddar cheese)

Method

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Pour oil in a pan and heat.
3. Before coating and crusting the chicken, season it with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. First coat the chicken in the flour (to which salt, pepper and some Italian herbs are added)
5. Then dunk the flour coated chicken in the egg which has been whisked and seasoned with salt and pepper.
6. Then coat generously with panko breadcrumbs (to which salt, pepper and Italian herbs have been added).
7. Then shallow fry the chicken, approximately 5-6 minutes on each side depending on the size and thickness.
8. Place them in the lined baking tray as they get done.
9. Generously pour the marinara sauce on top (this not only adds flavour to the finished product but also keeps the chicken moist), so ensure that the sauce covers most of the top surface.
10. Top with the cheese of your choice, I have used tasty cheese which is a type of Cheddar cheese.
11. Bake in the oven at 180 deg C for about 20-25 mins, till the cheese has beautifully melted and chicken cooked through and they are ready to eat.

Enjoy!!!!