Baked Parmesan Chicken has a wonderful crispy Parmesan crust full of great flavor over moist and tender chicken. So easy and so good.
You can never have too many great chicken recipes. This is one of my best. It has a crispy, crunchy crust loaded with paprika, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
๐Ingredients
Chickenโskinless boneless chicken breasts
Egg
Parmesan cheeseโgrated - fresh if possible
Panko bread crumbs
Pantry ingredientsโall-purpose flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper
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Featured Comment from KK Taylor:
"5 starsโWe love this recipe. So easy and always delicious."
Quick enough for an easy weeknight dinner or impress everybody at fancier meals. It uses common pantry ingredients and has simple step-by-step photo instructions.
๐จโ๐ณHow to Bake Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
Preheat the oven to 350ยฐ convection or 375ยฐ conventional oven.
Trim and pat dry 3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts.
Prep a baking pan. Aluminum foil for easy cleanup, a rack to help crisp all sides, and a good spray of PAM. If you don't have the rack, spray or oil the foil.
Grate ยฝ cup of fresh Parmesan. Fresh is better, but use pre-grated if necessary. Set up a dredge line with one egg whipped in pan one. In pan two, add ยผ cup AP flour, ยผ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ยฝ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika, and ยฝ teaspoon of each salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Dip the chicken breast in the egg, coat well, and shank off excess.
Dip the chicken in the breading mixture and pat it on. Shake off the excess. Place on the prepared rack
Add a little extra topping to each breast. Give them a light spray of PAM. Let them rest for about 5 minutes before cooking to help the coating stick better.
Bake until an internal temp of 165ยฐโabout 35 minutes. Rest for a few minutes before cutting.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
โ๏ธTips and options to make it right every time
The chicken
- Try to use chicken breasts that are all about the same size. The results overall will be better since they will cook more evenly.
- Pat dry, and do not rinse. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for a safety discussion about rinsing.
- Some breasts are just too thick to cook well. Thin those fatter chicken breasts to about ยพ inches in the thickest parts. You can use a meat mallet or even the bottom of a heavy pan. Please be sure to cover the breasts while doing this to prevent unsafe splatter. I like to use a freezer bag for safety.
The coating
- This recipe requires grated Parmesan cheese+โfreshly grated is preferred for a much better taste.
- The Panko bread crumbs add a great texture but come in flavorsโpick what you like.
- Add more coating to the top before going into the oven to thicken the crust.
- A light spray of PAM (oil) will prevent dried bread crumbs that can happen in the oven.
- Letting the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes after coating before cooking will help the coating to stick better.
Cooking method
- This recipe uses a 350* convection oven temperature (375ยฐ conventional) for about 35 minutes. That is lower and a little longer than many chicken breast recipes. This allows the center to cook to a safe temperature while not overcooking the crust.
- Always place the thicker part of the breast towards the outside of the tray when baking chicken breasts.
- Cook the chicken on a rack if you have one. You will get airflow under the chicken and better crispier results.
- Be sure to reach an internal temperature of 165ยฐ and rest the chicken for 5 minutes before serving.
Serving
Serve with rice, potatoes, or noodles as a starchโhot vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, or asparagus. A side salad and some crusty bread will round out a complete meal.
Check out these recipes for ideas: Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, and Easy Dinner Rolls.
Baked Chicken Recipes
For other oven-based chicken recipes you will like, see Melt in Your Mouth Chicken, Roasting Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven, Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast, Oven Fried Chicken with Gravy, and Oven Fried Chicken - Is it KFC?.
๐ฝ๏ธStoring leftovers.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or frozen for 3 months.
Reheating: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in an air fryer or an oven on a baking sheet with a tray, if available, at about 300ยฐ for 15-20 minutes until hot.
โFAQs
Chicken needs to reach 165ยฐ to be safe to eat, according to the USDA
The three steps you can take to prevent dry chicken breast are:
1) Don't try to cook chicken breasts that are thicker than ยพ inch. Thin them with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the bottom of a heavy pan.
2) Don't cook at an oven temperature not recommended by the recipe.
3) Use an instant-read or meat thermometer and stop cooking at 165ยฐ internal temperature.
No. Not if there is skin or a coat that needs to crisp.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
๐จโ๐ณRecipe
Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
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Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts - trimmed
Coating - enough for 4 breasts
- 1 egg
- ยฝ cup Parmesan cheese - grated - fresh if possible
- ยผ cup AP flour
- ยผ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐ convection or 375ยฐ conventional oven.
- Trim and pat dry 3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Prep a baking pan. Aluminum foil for easy cleanup, a rack to help crisp all sides, and a good spray of PAM. If you don't have the rack, spray or oil the foil.
- Grate ยฝ cup of fresh Parmesan. Fresh is better, but use pre-grated if necessary. Set up a dredge line with one egg whipped in pan one. In pan two, add ยผ cup AP flour, ยผ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ยฝ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika, and ยฝ teaspoon of each salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Dip the chicken breast in the egg, coat well, and shank off excess.
- Dip the chicken in the breading mixture and pat it on. Shake off the excess. Place on the prepared rack
- Add a little extra topping to each breast. Give them a light spray of PAM. Let them rest for about 5 minutes before cooking to help the coating stick better.
- Bake until an internal temp of 165ยฐโabout 35 minutes. Rest for a few minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- An easy recipe to scale up or down.
- The quality of the cheese is very important for a great result.
- Use chicken breasts of about the same size. If needed, flatten them a bit to about ยพ inches by using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan. Please cover the chicken to prevent splatterโI like to use a freezer bag.
- Always place the thicker part of the breast towards the outside of the tray when baking chicken breasts.
- Always make sure the chicken is very dry before starting to coat. Nothing will stick to wet chicken.
- The rack helps with the underside crisping. If you don't have one, you can flip the chicken halfway through using a fork. You might want to flip anyway to be sure the bottom is crispy.
- If you let the chicken sit for 5-10 minutes after coating, before baking, the coating will stick better.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
ยฉ 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Based on an allrecipe.com recipe. I added some panko bread crumbs and garlic since all chicken must have garlic at our house.
Editor's Note: Originally Published January 26, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Patty Z says
Made this the other night and was very pleased. Quick and easy and very good. Followed recipe exactly. Made chicken parm out of the leftovers.
Carolyn S. says
My question, too. What is the flour for?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Carolyn,
Flour, especially when combined with egg, helps hold the topping together and attached to the meat. You will see some breading recipes that dry,flour,egg wash, then more flour but in the final topping. This recipe does not need the first coat of flour.
So think of the flour as glue.
Dan
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Deborah,
You seem to be looking at the initial list of ingredients which is near the top, so people can see if they have the things. The amounts are in three locationsโ with the step-by-step photos, in the recipe card ingredient list, and in the instructions.
If you are at the top of the post, all my recipes have a recipe button that will take you directly to the recipe card
Hope that helps.
Dan
Lauri Nooyen says
Looking for a good side dish for this.......Probably green beans but I need something else....Been using your Chicken for 100 recipe for our large club events - Get rave reviews all the time!!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Lauri,
Welcome to the blog. Glad that you are finding the chicken for a hundred post useful. I went back and forth about posting it on a "cooking for two" site but developing that recipe lead to most of my most popular chicken recipes.
For side dishes, I have them all in one place now โ https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/category/vegetable/ I would suggest the green beans with bacon or the roasted cauliflower. But the asparagus recipes are good. For a starch, the little red potatoes or the recently updated Parmasarn baked potato.
Dan
John R Sack says
Our household prefers thighs to breasts. Can thighs be substituted for breasts in this recipe?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi John,
Welcome to the blog.
Skinless thighs (with or without bone) should be fine. Cook to an internal temperature of about 180ยฐ instead of 165ยฐ. They will be safe at the lower temp but more tender if cooked longer. With bone will take a bit longer.
Dan