The Best Chicken Parmesan

I love chicken Parmesan. I mean really love it. Every time we go to an Italian restaurant, I order it. I don't really even look at the menu. There are places that have phenomenal chicken parm, and some that are only so so. I've tried to make it at home before, and while good, it just isn't the same as the restaurant style chicken Parmesan, until last night. Thank you Annie's Eats for the secret to great chicken Parmesan, Panko Breadcrumbs!! Oh how this chicken was so crunchy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. It was amazing. My husband raved and raved over it. I was so pleased to have found a great, and easy recipe for chicken Parmesan. And another great thing about this dish? The chicken isn't fried, at all. You bake it in a really hot oven. Genius! The original recipe even calls for egg whites, I chose to use whole eggs, because I don't like to waste things and I only had two eggs. When I was done preparing my 5 chicken breasts, I had a lot of breadcrumbs and egg left. So, you could probably decrease the amount of bread crumbs to one cup and egg to one egg if you're only making 4 chicken breasts. Let me note here that I usually use 5 ounce portions of chicken when I cook, I don't like the big chicken breasts much. OK, have I convinced you yet that you need to cook this tonight? You're husband, boyfriend, kids, whoever will definitely thank you. I PROMISE!

Chicken Parmesan

adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup  flour

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

2 eggs

1 tbsp. water

nonstick cooking spray

4-6  boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups marinara sauce, warmed (I used my spaghetti sauce recipe, but you could use Ragu if you wanted!)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Combine the breadcrumbs and oil in a 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat until golden, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Spread the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish and allow to cool slightly; when cool, stir in the Parmesan.

In a second dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper together. In a third bowl whisk together the eggs and water. (The original recipe calls for 3 egg whites. I never end up using my yolks for anything, so I opted to use 2 whole eggs here instead.)

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with non stick spray. Lightly dredge each chicken piece in the flour to coat completely, and then shake off the excess. Then dip into the egg mixture and finally coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Press on the breadcrumbs to make sure they adhere. Because I had so many bread crumbs left. I sprinkled some extra bread crumbs on top after I placed them on the baking sheet. Place the chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake chicken 15-20 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce (or more if you like things saucy) over the top of each piece of chicken and top with 2 tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella. Return the chicken to the oven and continue to bake until the cheese is melted, about 5-7 minutes. Serve with cooked spaghetti with marinara sauce, bread and a salad.