Baked Parmesan Chicken has a wonderful crispy Parmesan crust full of great flavor over moist and tender chicken. So easy and so good.
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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 flavors.
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.
Serve with Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, and Easy Yeast Dinner Rolls.
For other oven-based chicken recipes you will like, see Parmesan Mayonnaise Baked Chicken Breast, Baked Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven, Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast, Oven Fried Chicken with Gravy, and Oven Fried Chicken - Is it KFC?.
Based on an allrecipe.com recipe. I added some panko bread crumbs and garlic since all chicken must have garlic at our house.
🐓Ingredients
- Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Egg
- Parmesan cheese—grated - fresh if possible
- Panko bread crumbs
- Pantry ingredients—all-purpose flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper
👨🍳How to Bake Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
- Trim and pat dry chicken breasts. Thin if needed.
- Prepare a baking pan with a rack.
- Set up a dredge line with whipped egg in pan one. Then add Panko breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in pan two.
- Coat dried chicken breasts with the egg, then the bread crumb mixture.
- Place on the prepared baking tray and rack and let them rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven until an internal temperature of 165°—about 35 minutes
✔️Tips and Options
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 ¾ 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+—freshly grated is preferred for a much better taste.
- The Panko bread crumbs add a great texture but come in flavors—pick what you like.
- Add a bit 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 (375° 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 165° and rest the chicken for 5 minutes before serving.
❓FAQs
Chicken needs to reach 165° 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 ¾ 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 165° internal temperature.
No. Not if there is skin or a coat that needs to crisp.
🍽️Serving and leftovers.
Serving: Serve with rice, potatoes, or noodles as a starch—hot vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, or asparagus. A side salad and some crusty bread will round out a complete meal.
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 300° for 15-20 minutes until hot.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° 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 ½ 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 ¼ cup AP flour, ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika, and ½ 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 165°—about 35 minutes. Rest for a few minutes before cutting.
Recipe
Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts - trimmed
Coating - enough for 4 breasts
- 1 egg
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese - grated - fresh if possible
- ¼ cup AP flour
- ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° convection or 375° 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 ½ 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 ¼ cup AP flour, ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika, and ½ 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 165°—about 35 minutes. Rest for a few minutes before cutting.
Your Own Private Notes
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 ¾ inches by using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pan. Please cover the chicken to prevent splatter—I 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.
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
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Editor's Note: Originally Published January 26, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Patty Z
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.
Deborah J Lecuyer
Why no measurements? And states one ingredient is flour, but no idea when/how to use it.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
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 locations— 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
Carolyn S.
My question, too. What is the flour for?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
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