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This “Skinny” healthy Chicken Parmesan has all the tasty goodness of the classic meal, without the extra calories!
Keep this on the light side by serving it up with Tomato mozzarella salad or Arugula Salad!!
A lighter version
Today, we are sharing one of my family’s favorite quick and easy dinners that’s lighter on the calories – Skinny Chicken Parmesan (similar to our Skinny Chicken Piccata).
The normal version of Chicken Parmesan (which we still love) is usually fried and topped with lots of sauce and cheese and served with spaghetti. This version of Chicken Parmesan uses lean chicken, pounded thin, and then coated with a light bread crumb mixture.
The chicken is then baked and topped with a little spaghetti sauce and cheese. It still has all the same great flavors, but it much healthier than the original!
How to Make Healthy Chicken Parmesan
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare a cookie sheet. Mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a medium sized bowl.
- COAT. Place chicken in between layers of plastic wrap and pound with mallet until about ¼” thick, or cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise so they are thinner. Beat egg in another medium sized bowl and dip each chicken breast in the egg and then dredge in bread crumbs.
- BAKE. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
- TOP + BAKE AGAIN. Top each chicken breast with about 2 Tbsp. marinara sauce and about 2 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is warmed up. And voila!
*Note* Follow our recipe here for homemade marinara sauce
AIR FRYER DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes on one side before flipping the chicken and cooking for another 5-6 minutes. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts it may take longer.
- Make sure that the breading is golden brown and that the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees.
Tips + SToring
Here are some ideas to keep chicken parmesan light:
- Instead of pasta, serve your chicken with spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
- Omit the noodles all together and opt for a side salad instead.
- Roast some veggies (like broccoli or brussel sprouts) to serve on the side.
If you want a lighter and crispier texture you can substitute the normal bread crumbs for panko crumbs.
FREEZE the breaded chicken before cooking, OR freeze the cooked chicken before topping it with sauce and cheese. Either way, wrap it in plastic wrap/tinfoil or seal in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to three months. If you freeze it uncooked, let it thaw in the fridge before cooking. Cook according to the recipe.
For even more baked chicken recipes:
- Bruschetta Chicken
- Baked BBQ Chicken
- Crispy Baked Ranch Chicken
- Baked Chicken Fingers
- Baked Pesto Chicken
Healthy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated, refrigerated
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- salt
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 egg beaten
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast filets
- your favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce
- mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- Mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning in a medium sized bowl.
- Beat egg in another medium sized bowl.
- Place chicken in between layers of plastic wrap and pound with mallet until about ¼” thick.
- Dip each chicken breast in egg and then dredge in bread crumbs. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
- Top each chicken breast with about 2 Tbsp. marinara sauce and about 2 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for about 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is warmed up.
- Serve with salad, spaghetti squash, or pasta. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for sharing Jen here from Yummy Healthy Easy.
Nutrition Facts to me seen a little to high…lol
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
Can’t wait for you to try it! Thank you so much!
This recipe is a keeper! I love having quick healthy dinners!!
I love lightened up recipes, and this one looks fantastic! Adding it to my ever growing list of recipes to try. 🙂
My family loved this! Definitely adding it to the regular dinner rotation.
We loved this. It’s so easy to make and is a step up from the regular spaghetti dinner but not much more work.
I am glad you did! Thank you for sharing that!
I am a little confused about the nutrition picture.. does that mean each piece of chicken is 1161 calories?
Very delicious anD simpl enough for my kids To make.
Totally is! Glad you think so!
This is delicious! It’s also very easy. I recommend saving time by buying chicken breasts that are already thinned. Paired it with parmesan couscous and it was a hit!
Perfect! I am glad you liked it 🙂 Thank you so much!
Gonna try this tonight with zucchini noodles instead of regular pasta 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Let me know how it goes – I think zucchini noodles would be great!