Chicken Parmigiana
Pounded cutlets, breaded with Parmigiano in the crumbs, browned in a skillet and finished in a hot oven under mozzarella and sauce. The short bake is what keeps the breading crisp.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise to make 6 cutlets
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Breadcrumbs
- 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs
- ½ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend (thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the topping
- 6 slices mozzarella
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Put the cutlets in a large zip-top bag or between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them to an even ½ inch with a rolling pin or the smooth side of a meat hammer. Pat dry with paper towels.
Mix all the breadcrumb ingredients together in a shallow dish.
Set up an assembly line of shallow dishes: flour, whisked eggs, breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt to both the flour and the eggs.
Coat a cutlet on both sides in flour and shake off what does not stick. Dip both sides in the egg, then into the breadcrumbs, packing the crumbs on with your hands. Move it to a parchment-lined sheet pan and repeat with the rest.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over low to medium heat and add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Brown the cutlets 2 to 3 minutes per side, until the breading is golden. Work in batches, adding more oil as needed.
Arrange the browned cutlets in a large metal baking dish or on a sheet pan. Top each with a slice of mozzarella, a spoonful of sauce, and a generous dusting of grated Parmigiano. Bake uncovered 10 to 14 minutes — 10 for thin cutlets, 14 for thick. Broil the last minute to melt the cheese and brown the top.
Finish with chopped fresh basil.
Notes
Baked instead of fried, if you want less oil: heat the oven to 450°F, bread the cutlets as in steps 2 through 5, lay them on a parchment-lined pan, and spray or brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, flipping halfway if the bottoms are running ahead. Top with mozzarella, sauce, and Parmigiano and bake 5 minutes more, then broil on high for the last minute. Nearly the same result as pan-frying.
Serve with pasta of any shape, an Italian salad, or crusty bread.
Nutrition
- Serving size
- 1 cutlet
- Calories
- 454 kcal
- Fat
- 21.3 g
- Cholesterol
- 145 mg
- Sodium
- 495 mg
- Potassium
- 281 mg
- Carbohydrates
- 31.7 g
- Fiber
- 2.1 g
- Sugar
- 3 g