You can't have enough great chicken recipes, and this quick and easy recipe uses only a few ingredients and goes in the oven in about 10 minutes. Also known as Melt in Your Mouth Chicken (MIYM), it makes a moist and delicious easy dinner.
Introduction
This recipe has everything. It's extraordinarily moist, has a great taste of Parmesan, and a slight crunchiness. Plus, it has a skill level of 2/10. Anybody can handle this easy dinner recipe.
This is a baked chicken recipe using an easy, tasty coating. The "inspired by" for today goes to Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast at Food.com.
While it is a top-rate recipe, I thought it needed a little crunch and some other small touches. But otherwise, a wonderful recipe.
The recipe starts with a base of some mayonnaise. Add some Parmesan and seasoning. Then coat some well-trimmed skinless boneless chicken breasts.
To add crunch, sprinkle all sides with some Italian bread crumbs. Bake and you're in chicken heaven.
My Rating
The wife started chanting 5 and then changed Christmas dinner to this. I think she liked it. And so did I.
🐓What Is Melt in Your Mouth Chicken?
Melt in your mouth chicken has become an internet classic and is generally made with skinless boneless chicken breast coated with spiced mayonnaise and some parmesan cheese.
Substitutes are allowed, and I add a touch of bread crumbs for some crunch.
🐓Ingredients for Melt in Your Mouth Chicken
Chicken
This recipe uses skinless boneless chicken breasts, which have "grown" in my lifetime. Once upon a time, we were talking 6-8 oz. Now mostly about 10-12 oz and occasionally a full pound.
Try to pick chicken that is all about the same size. The results overall will be better since they will cook more evenly. If you are cooking more than two, the larger breast should be to the outside of the pan.
If the chicken is thicker than ¾ inch, flatten some with a meat mallet.
Mayonnaise
A good quality mayonnaise is an excellent choice, and you may use a lower fat version. People worry about the taste, but even the "mayo haters" love it in this recipe—see the comments.
Miracle Whip will work nicely but will add a bit of a different taste.
Other possible bases for the coating are Greek yogurt, sour cream, or even cream cheese.
Some cheaper mayonnaise or another base will have more fluid and may not stick well. Also, applying it too thick will lead to the coating not sticking well.
Cheese
Parmesan cheese is the most commonly recommended cheese—usually grated, but I prefer shredded.
Other cheeses like cheddar or Asiago can be used.
Bread Crumbs
Panko-type bread crumbs will add some crunch. I prefer the Italian spiced bread crumbs but use what you want.
It is always tempting to add more of something you like. I like Panko breadcrumbs. But a LIGHT sprinkle. If you do more, you will have a "Panko Chicken," so let's be careful.
Seasoning
Seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper, but modify to your taste.
👨🍳How To Cook Melt in Your Mouth Chicken
- Preheat oven
- Trim and pat dry 3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts. If thick, thin to ¾ inch thick with a meat mallet.
- Mix mayonnaise, Parmesan and other ingredients for topping.
- Prepare cooking sheet with foil and a rack.
- Dry the chicken with paper towels and cover the chicken with a light coating of the topping.
- Give the chicken a light sprinkle of Panko bread crumbs.
- Bake for about 45 minutes until internal temperature is 165° but filp gentley with a fork at 20 minutes.
❓FAQs
You can cook directly on PAM-covered foil, but it will have a soggy bottom. A rack will help prevent this.
I love cooking my chicken on a rack. You really need to get a rack. For a few dollars, you will become a much better cook. But get one that is "oven-safe." Some racks are cooling racks only and have a coating.
If your local store does not have them, Amazon will. I list a few in Cooking for Two Shop, but others will work.
If you have time, brining it will make the chicken more moist and tender.
The ratio for a brine is 2 cups of water and one tablespoon of table salt. Some people will add some brown sugar equal to the salt. Remember that all salt is not identical, and 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
As little as 15 minutes makes a big difference. But you can brine for up to 2 hours if you want. This is a "heavy brine" in the amount of salt and matches the Cooks Illustrated suggestions. You may see longer brine times suggested, but please limit it to 2 hours maximum.
If you brine, be sure to gently wash off the salt. Also, instead of seasoning salt, use paprika in the coating.
I'm adding a suggested flip of the chicken halfway through the cooking. Some (not me nor many others) have problems with a soggy bottom.
A couple of possibilities occur to me. First, previously frozen chicken or older chicken can release more fluid. Also, too much or thinner mayo could contribute. Or nothing they did.
Either way, the flip should help those cases and won't hurt. Use a fork for the flip. Tongs may remove some coating.
Nothing sticks well to wet chicken, so be sure to dry the chicken before coating.
The mayonnaise needs to be of good quality. Cheap mayo will have more liquid.
The mayonnaise coating needs to be thin—too heavy will just melt off the chicken.
If the chicken is still partly frozen, it will release fluid.
Never pick up a coated or breaded meat with tongs—it will rip off the coating.
Food Safety Tips
Chicken should not be rinsed for food safety. It will splatter germs over your kitchen. For more details, please see Chicken… To Rinse or Not To Rinse?
❄️Storage
Storage for 3-4 days refrigerated or 3-4 months frozen, but the crunchiness will suffer.
📖Chicken Recipes
Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts
How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven
Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° regular oven. Trim and pat dry 3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts. If thick, thin to ¾ inch thick with a meat mallet.
Mix in a medium bowl ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded or grated preferred), ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lawry's), ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Prepare a cooking sheet with aluminum foil (to help clean up) and a rack. The rack will help crispness all around. You can do without the rack, but the bottom will not be crispy. Give the rack a good spray of PAM. If you don't have a rack, they can go directly on PAM sprayed foil.
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Dip the chicken in the mayonnaise Parmesan mixture. Be sure to get all surfaces coated. Finger use is allowed, but be sure to wash well after. Note: keep the coating light.
Lightly sprinkle with some Italian bread crumbs on both sides. You are not coating them but just adding some crispy and flavor—about ½ cup for four breasts.
Bake until an internal temp of 165°. This will vary by oven but mainly by the size of the chicken. At 20 minutes into baking, flip the breasts with a fork. The total cooking time of about 40 minutes for medium to large. 45 minutes for huge. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
📖Recipe
Mayo Parmesan Chicken AKA Melt in Your Mouth Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts trimmed
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - grated - fresh preferred
- ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt - Lawry’s
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup Italian Panko bread crumbs - Very light coat
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° convection or 400° regular oven. Trim and pat dry 3-4 skinless boneless chicken breasts. If thick, thin to ¾ inch thick with a meat mallet.
- Mix in a medium bowl ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded or grated preferred), ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lawry's), ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Prepare a cooking sheet with aluminum foil (to help clean up) and a rack. The rack will help crispness all around. You can do without the rack, but the bottom will not be crispy. Give the rack a good spray of PAM. If you don't have a rack, they can go directly on PAM sprayed foil.
- Dry the chicken with paper towels. Dip the chicken in the mayonnaise Parmesan mixture. Be sure to get all surfaces coated. Finger use is allowed, but be sure to wash well after. Note: keep the coating light.
- Lightly sprinkle with some Italian bread crumbs on both sides. You are not coating them but just adding some crispy and flavor—about ½ cup for four breasts
- Bake until an internal temp of 165°. This will vary by oven but mostly by the size of the chicken. At 20 minutes into baking, flip the breasts with a fork.
- The total cooking time of about 40 minutes for medium to large. 45 minutes for huge. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Try to use chicken of about the same size. If over ¾ inch thick, flatten it out a bit with a meat mallet.
- Be sure to pat dry the chicken. Very dry. The coating will stick better.
- Keep the coating light and bread crumbs light. You may not need all the coating.
- I added a flip in the middle of the recipes. Some appear to need it. Use a fork, please. Not mandatory.
- Miracle Whip, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or even cream cheese can be used.
- Obviously, an easy recipe to adjust.
- Common problems: Not drying enough, too much coating, too many bread crumbs, cheap mayonnaise, previously frozen chicken will release more fluid.
- Be sure to cook to the final internal temperature of 165°.
- Storage for 3-4 days refrigerated or 3-4 months frozen but the crunchiness will suffer.
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
© 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.
Editors Note: Originally Published December 12, 2012, It has been buried on the blog for a while and needed to see the light of day. The pictures are re-edited. The text is re-written and buffed up.
Micki
We made this last night. I was suprised it was so easy. We loved them. Just perfect for two. Thank you for the recipe, its a keeper.
Lorraine
I have two bone in chicken breast with skin removed can I still make and how much ingredients for two
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Lorraine,
Welcome to the blog.
The main issue will be the thickness of the breasts. You will notice in the recipe, I suggest flattening to 3/4 inch max. Thicker will tend to burn (or at least overcooked) the outside before the center of the meat reaches the minimum safe internal temperature of 165°.
So if they are thinner, yes you can use this, you won't need as much coating and no flip. The bone-in meat usually takes a bit longer to cook but as always, always use a meat thermometer to be sure you get to a safe internal temperature.
Dan
Janet
Hi, I made this with previously frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. The taste was really good, but maybe I didn't put enough breadcrumbs? (I don't think it was too much of the mayo mixture,) The outside didn't get crispy. You had mentioned maybe the culprit was the previously frozen chicken having too much moisture. And all I have is a broiler type rack. Do you have any suggestions for making it better next time? Also, would this coating be good on baked pork chops? Ty! I love 101 cooking for two!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Janet,
Previous frozen chicken does release more fluid and coating tends not to stick as well. But overall, they are dryer due to freezing and benefit more from brining.
Too much mayo will tend just not stick or brown as well.
Now to the most probable, the oven. I have two large convection ovens, both are right on with temperature confirmed with oven thermometer but one will brown much better but is slower to reheat so I use it less. I use it more when I will be doing browning pictures like this. It seems to reflect infrared more and brown better. It is the walls (my guess). To "fix" that, convection will brown a bit more and a bit higher temperature will also brown more. Both will cook the outside faster and brown more. The other way is a bit of broiler near the end.
A rack will help the bottom cook better and the chicken will cook more even.
About the pork chops, it would probably be fine but try https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/breaded-pork-chops/ which is one of our favorites.
Dan
K
How many pounds of chicken is this for and how many oz is a serving?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Most skinless boneless chicken breast run 10-12 oz. In the "good old days" it was about 8 oz and you will still find those at meat markets. So the recipe is written for 3-4 so 2-3 pounds.
You can use the 8 oz ones if you have them. We are cooking to a final internal temperature so use what you have.
Don't over do the coating. Try to cook breasts of about the same size and thickness. If they are really thick, pound them down a little.
Dan
Viviana
Thank you for this recipe. I was looking for an easy recipe and to bread chicken without using eggs. I found a few, but this one really caught my attention and I will be making it soon. Just one question. If I do not own a rack, will turning on the broiler for a bit at the end be okay or will it burn breadcrumbs?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Viviana,
Welcome to the blog.
You can do this without the rack but the bottom gets a bit slimy since there is a bit of fluid drainage but flipping will help that some. Your assumption about a touch of broiler is correct, you will burn the bread crumbs before significant browning.
Dan
Susan A
I really enjoyed this recipe tonight. My husband and I both thought it was moist, well seasoned, and tender. Super!!!
KatherineK
I've been making this for years now, following your original recipe. It turns out great every time. I never use a rack anymore as first couple tries using one a lot of the mayo mixture fell through it. I'm not looking for crispness, but moist chicken & it comes out soooo moist! Thank you for all your recipes.
Suze
I made this for dinner tonight. The flavor was fabulous, but the bread crumbs stuffed off when I turned the pieces over. Also, how thick should the mayo coating be? Thanks for a delicious dish!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Suze,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you liked it but sorry you had issues.
Comments:
The flip is optional especially if you use a rack.
Be sure the surface of the pan or rack have a nice spray of PAM.
The coating should be thin and the mayonnaise a good quality. Too much or generic will become watery and not thicken and crust.
Be sure to dry the chicken breast as much as possible before starting.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Dale
Well done sir loved it very much and will be making it regularly. I opted to use my air fryer and it turned out great in less cooking time. Thanks for sharing.
Susan Hamilton
What temp did you use , & for how long?
Jerri
I like to make this by putting the chicken and mayo in a gallon bag and squishing it around. Then I dredge both sides in a mix of Parmesan with a little panko. i guess it’s the mayo that gives this its wonderful moistness. Never any leftovers!
Kathy
Can I use the Parmesan in the green container (the one that’s more like powdered Parmesan)?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kathy
Welcome to the blog.
The "green container" Parmesan will have less taste. Having said that, it will still have a nice taste. Try fresh sometime and you will appreciate the difference.
Dan
Michelle
I have made this recipe several times now and have shared it a lot as well. So amazing! Best way to cook chicken breasts. My husband dislikes mayonaise so I didn't tell him the first time I cooked it otherwise he wouldn't have tried it. He loved it and still eats it even though he now knows it has mayonaise.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad that everybody is enjoying this chicken. You may notice that I have cut back the volume of the mayonnaise coating being made since about half was not being used and people were tending to try to use all of it leading to the coating falling off.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Kristina
I'm giving this 5 stars cause it was delicious.. i dont know what I did wrong.. it was soggy.. it did not ruin it it was still super yummy! But I'd appreciate a pointer to make it more crispy 😁 I did light on the mayo sauce and the breading.. i thought about broiling for a min but didn't want to over cook it.. idk
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Kristina,
Welcome to the blog.
A couple of comments. There may be an issue with the chicken or the oven. Ovens that run cool will not brown well so you might want to check the oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Thinner chicken will cook faster and not brown as much. And previously frozen chicken will release more fluid making the coating run.
Lastly, it is always ok to turn a broiler on for a few minutes to finish browning if the internal temperature is good.
Hope that helps. Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Dan
Linda
I am curious Why you use more products than you need for this recipe. Seem like a Waste of both mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Both expensive. I use about 1/2 of what you have suggested. I'm not much on wasting food. I make this all the time. Great taste 👌
Lauren Kelly
Hello,
Just looking to see if I could sub sour cream for half the mayo?
Thanks,
Lauren
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Lauren,
Welcome to the blog.
I have doubts if the coating would hang in there. They are so totally different. I think it will just fall off the chicken.
Dan
Sue
Hi, I’ve made this several times, as I am tonight, actually almost done. I’m adding 1 ingredient tonight (not that it needs it) but I’m adding Marinara sauce on the side. Thanks for this great recipe, it’s a favorite!!! Sue
Katherine
I've been making this for years since you first posted it, Dr. D! Absolutely wonderful, so moist & tender & juicy, amazing flavor. I leave out the seasoned salt as my husband has to watch his sodium, but make up for it with a lot more garlic & some white pepper. Also found that the Panko crumbs were tasteless, so use regular generic Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. Best chicken ever!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Katherine,
Welcome to the blog, I should say welcome to commenting... and sorry for the delayed reply.
This is a recipe I tend to do a lot, when I'm looking at those chicken breasts and just don't want to work. I do love the white pepper idea, I did it a few times and my wife loved it.
On a lot of recipes where I use seasoning salt, if I brine, then I just use some paprika and garlic powder.
Thanks for the note and rating. And again, sorry for the delayed response.
Dan
Maureen
This is my favorite recipe! So very good and so easy to make. Delicious.
Becky
I’m curious about the carb count. I’ve made without the breadcrumbs before and there’s not really any carbs in it. I don’t believe there’s 22 carbs in the full 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Becky,
Good eye. The nutrition calculations are done by a plugin and I just replaced it this morning (they calculate only once when published). I ran it again and go a more reasonable 13. About half from the bread crumbs and half from the mayo. And only a few from other things. A different brand mayo may be less. These are estimates based on all the ingredients being used. In reality only about half the mayo gets used and you control the bread crumbs.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for note.
Dan
Vickie Donovan
I have made this using Panko pork rind crumbs! Delicious!
Sybil
I made this tonight. I didn’t deviate from your recipe. It was moist and delicious! Thank you!
Jill M
Hi:
This turned out great; very juicy and tender. It didn’t have the nice golden brown volir but was pretty much perfect. Thanks.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jill,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I have two convection ovens. One will brown wonderfully, the other not nearly as good only on the browning. The cooking times are identical and both measure to be accurate on temperature. Guess which one I use for blog pictures.
Don't be afraid to hit something with a bit of broiler if your oven is like my #2.
Dan