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I’ve teamed up with Ragรบยฎ Old World Styleยฎ for this recipe and post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Baked chicken parmesan is one of the easiest dinner ideas you’ll ever try!! It’s covered with melted cheese and great served over pasta!
This chicken parmesan dish is one of our new favorite dinner recipes. This recipe is the most classic version, but we also love Chicken Parmigiana and this lighter Skinny Chicken Parmesan.
A Dinner Recipe Everyone Loves
I LOVE chicken recipes! I’m sure you could have guessed that if you’ve been to the site before and have tried one of the many chicken dinner recipes I have on the blog.
Chicken is something we have every week, so I like to change things up a bit and keep it interesting. One of our favorites that we’ve tried recently is baked chicken parmesan.
Let me tell youโit was SO easy and SO delicious!! We’ve actually had it twice since then because my family loved it so much. The best part? It takes just a few minutes of prep time!! I think I can speak for everyone when I say that delicious recipes that require little work are always the best.
How to make chicken parmesan
As I mentioned, this baked chicken parmesan recipe is very simple, AND not too many ingredients are needed here. Just a few steps are required to make this delicious dish.
PREP. Preheat oven to 400ยฐF.
Place panko, parmesan, and salt in a gallon-size Ziploc bag or in a small pan. Set aside.
COAT. Melt butter in a medium bowl. Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter until well coated and place in Ziploc bag. Shake until coated and place in a greased 9×13 pan. Repeat this process for each chicken breast.
BAKE. Spray chicken lightly with olive oil spray and bake for 25-30 minutes.
PASTA. While chicken is baking, cook pasta as directed on box.
COOK. When chicken is done, pour about ยผ cup of Ragรบ Sauce onto each chicken breast along with ยผ cup shredded mozzarella cheese and a little bit of basil.
Cook an additional 4-6 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Serve over warm pasta.
Using an Air Fryer
You can use an air fryer if you like, however, the air fryer basket isn’t very large and you’ll have to fry the chicken in batches.
PREP. Heat your air fryer to 400ยฐF. Spray the basket and chicken with cooking spray and place the chicken in a single layer in the basket. Make sure the chicken is not touching.
BAKE. Fry for 12 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ยฐF. Sprinkle on some cheese, and fry for a few seconds until melted. Top with warm Ragu sauce.
Recipe Tips
Chicken parm is a simple dish. Just be sure to prep to make it run smoothly.
Prepping the chicken. You will want to use tender chicken cutlets to make chicken parmesan. You can often find them precut at the grocery store or you can use 2 larger chicken breasts and cut them in half.
- Lay the larger chicken breast flat on the cutting board.
- Use one hand to gently hold down the chicken while using a chef knife or boning knife cut horizontally through the center of the chicken. Start on the thicker side and avoid sawing as it can cause jagged edges.
- Place the cutlet in between two pieces of plastic and using a meat mallet gently but firmly pound the cutlet to an even ยผ inch thickness throughout. If you pound too vigorously it will cause the chicken to shred.
Breadcrumb mixture. I like the crispy texture of Panko bread crumbs, but regular breadcrumbs and even gluten-free crumbs can also be used. For added flavor, you can season the panko with salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.
Other toppings. Once the sauce and cheese have been added, you can also add a layer of cooked bacon bits or ham. You can also change things up by replacing the mozzarella with provolone cheese. Fresh basil would make a great topping!
Serving + Storage Info
Easy baked chicken parmesan is hearty and delicious, but here are some tasty ideas for pairing with your main dish!
Serving suggestions:
STORE. Keep leftover easy chicken parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FREEZE. To freeze, place completely cooled crispy chicken parmesan in a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
To reheat chicken parmesan, preheat the oven to 350ยฐF, place the chicken in an oven-safe baking dish, and cover. Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 5 minutes to crisp up the coating.
Making a freezer meal. Coat the chicken pieces as directed, but do not bake. Instead, place them all on a baking sheet and then into the freezer. Once solid place the amount of chicken for the different meals in different freezer Ziploc bags. Measure out 1 cup of sauce and pour it into its own freezer bag and then insert it in the same bag as the chicken pieces.
Label and freeze for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to bake place the frozen pieces of chicken on a baking dish and place the Ragu sauce on the counter and let them thaw for 1-2 hours before baking.
Recipe FAQ
I love when I come across a recipe that can be used as a freezer meal and this is one of them. Youโll want to double or triple the ingredients needed that way you can create 2-3 freezer meals in one sitting. See above for more details.
The thickness of the chicken pieces can affect the baking time. Be sure that you are using 4 thinly sliced pieces of chicken otherwise thicker pieces will not be cooked all the way through (see above for chicken tips). You also want to make sure that your oven temperature is accurate.
My recipe serves each piece of chicken on top of a bed of Orzo pasta, but you can choose other types of pasta. You can even use zucchini noodles or Spaghetti Squash.
For More Baked Chicken Recipes, Try:
- Baked Chicken Fingers
- Ritz Cracker Chicken
- Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake
- Baked Pesto Chicken
- Baked BBQ Chicken
Baked Chicken Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts thin
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- ยผ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt (with parsley flakes)
- ยฝ cup butter
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup Traditional Ragรน Sauce (divided)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
- basil
- orzo pasta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ยฐF.
- Place panko, parmesan, and salt in a gallon-size Ziploc bag or in a small pan. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium bowl. Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter until well coated and place in Ziploc bag. Shake until coated and place in a greased 9×13 pan. Repeat this process for each chicken breast.
- Spray chicken lightly with olive oil spray and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- While chicken is baking, cook pasta as directed on box.
- When chicken is done, pour about ยผ cup of Ragรบ Sauce onto each chicken breast along with ยผ cup shredded mozzarella cheese and a little bit of basil.
- Cook an additional 4-6 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve over warm pasta.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How fun to use orzo pasta instead of traditional spaghetti! I usually use angel hair with this dish, but now you’ve got me thinking…maybe I’ll change it up and use orechetti! Perfect chicken! Wonderfully tender and crispy all at the same time!
This looks so delicious and perfect for my family! I can’t wait to give this a try! So excited!
A staple in our house, this is in our dinner rotation menu!
I make a lot of chIcken dishEs for myself My wife And my two boys but this was the first time that i made chicken parm without egg or flour. Dipping the cutlets in butter made All the differEncE. The chickEn came out perfect and the kids Ate it wll up. No leftoverS. Awesome and easy!
I am so happy you tried this recipe! Thank you so much for letting me know what you thought!
This chicken parm is so easy and it was a huge hit with all the members of my family! It has made its way into my menu rotation! Definitely a keeper!
DELICIOUS and very easy!!
I am so glad you think so ๐ Thank you for letting me know!
Oh my goodness, this sounds great and so easy to make. I love chicken parm. I’m adding this to my dinner lineup. I also like the idea of adding other things on top. Bacon!
It was terrific. My husband and I loved it.
So glad you both liked it! Thank you so much for letting me know!
THESE LOOK SO GOOD, I HAVE TO TRY NOT TO DROOL. I AM DEFINITELY MAKING THESE ASAP- MAYBE TONIGHT IF I GET STARTED SOON!
LOL!! I hope you do try this recipe..it’s so good! Thank you!
this makes the perfect dinner recipe! my family loves it!
We make a lot of pasta dishes in our home. We donโt typically go out and eat Italian food. So a lot of it is done in house. Which makes this a favorite. When I have the time I like to make my own sauce.
I’m always looking for more ways to serve chicken. This was an easy recipe and my 4 kids + my hubby loved it.