You’ll love these crispy baked parmesan crusted chicken cutlets! Crunchy, browned coating and tender meat without all the grease of pan frying. Perfect for a light dinner or as an addition to your favorite salad.
Hello, all.
Today I have for you a recipe I’ve been making for a while. Tweaking, altering, improving over time, because there are just so many nights when crispy chicken sounds like dinner and I want to have the best.
Though as a frequent recipe, I need the best without frying in oil. Fried cutlets are awesome and yummy (and honestly my favorite!), but not something I can make often. So that means baking.
Then the question is how to make them browned and flavorful and juicy in the oven! While also breading without make a huge mess.
The best crispy cutlets
- Brown the Crumbs. The oven just doesn’t get hot enough to brown the crumbs before the chicken is done so brown them first!
- Use a Mix. Panko is light and crunchy, while breadcrumbs are fine and crispy. Using a mix gives you the best of both.
- Forks. Use one fork per bowl for the breading. You’ll use them to move your cutlets about and flip them over without getting your fingers all breaded too.
- Pound Them Thin. You want the pieces thin and even! Use a mallet with plenty of surface area (like an old rolling pin) to flatten the cutlets without mangling them. Yes, even thin sliced breast can use a quick flattening.
- Check the Temperature. With light meat there isn’t much room between juicy and dry so check with a thermometer starting at 12 minutes to make sure you take them out at the right moment.
What do you need?
- Chicken – Either whole breasts you cut in half or thin sliced.
- Breadcrumbs – A mix of dry crumbs and panko is my favorite.
- Parmesan – Freshly shredded and a fair amount of it.
- Flour – Basic flour. Enough to coat the chicken.
- Egg – Two eggs plus a little water makes for a good wash.
- Spray Oil – I use an olive oil spray. This gives you an even coating of oil without there being too much.
How to make this
To make baked parmesan chicken coat cutlets in a bound breading using toasted breadcrumbs and shredded parmesan then cook in the oven until done.
1. Toast the crumbs
Since these need to cool before you use them (so they don’t melt the cheese), get this done now. Toss the crumbs with some olive oil and bake until browned. Try to keep an even layer since thinner spots will brown faster.
2. Prep the Chicken
Either use thin sliced or slice each breast in half. Then cover each with some plastic wrap (or similar cover) and gently pound them even and thin. This doesn’t require much force. Just work out from the middle and use a mallet with plenty of surface area.
Then sprinkle each cutlet with salt and pepper to season them. If you like any other spices, sprinkle those on now too!
3. Bread
Now set up your three bowls – one with flour, one with eggs/water, and one with crumbs/cheese. Using a fork, pick up one cutlet and coat it with flour. Then transfer to the egg and coat, and finally to the crumbs and press on.
4. Bake
Pretty simple – put them in the oven and bake through. The only tricky bit is to take them out at the right time! Depending on how thin I’ve pounded them, they may take anywhere from 12-16 minutes. I usually check at 12 and give them a couple more minutes if needed.
Tips and Tricks
- Toasting the breadcrumbs is great to do for make ahead dinner prep! Toast up enough for a few dinners and keep the crumbs in the pantry until you need them. (I have some in mine right now.)
- I love using an old rolling pin to flatten any meat. I keep one marked just for meat.
- Use one fork for each bowl and use them to move the chicken and coat it. This will keep your hands clean.
- To really adhere the breading to the meat, let it all rest for 20-30 minutes on the counter before you bake.
- For checking the temp – put your thermometer horizontally into the chicken.
What to serve alongside
While you can use this recipe as the protein in many different meals, my favorites are to serve with tomato sauce or over salad. Here are a few ideas!
If you try my recipe for Baked Parmesan Chicken, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
– Stay Safe, Annemarie
Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, half dry breadcrumbs - half panko
- spray olive oil
- 3 large chicken breasts, or 6 thin cutlets
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F. Put a rack in the middle position.
- Spray and toss breadcrumbs with olive oil until lightly coated. Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, stirring two or three times. When medium brown, remove from oven and transfer to a shallow bowl. Let cool and set the sheet aside for the chicken.
- If using large breasts, cut each into 2 cutlets. Take each cutlet and pound gently until it is even and between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick (about 1 centimeter). Season with salt and pepper.
- Set out three wide bowls: one with flour, one with eggs whisked with water, and one with breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan.
- Dip each cutlet in the flour, shaking to remove excess. Then in egg, letting it drip off. And then in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Move each cutlet to your baking sheet.
- Lightly spray both sides of each cutlet with oil.
- Bake chicken for 12-16 minutes, or until it reaches 165F on a thermometer. Remove from oven and move chicken to a rack so it doesn't get soggy.
Notes
- Breadcrumbs: A mix creates a coating both crispy and crunchy. You can use all plain dry crumbs or all panko.
- Flattening: Cover each cutlet with a piece of plastic wrap and pound with a wide mallet or a rolling pin (I have an old one for this purpose).
- Breading: Avoid messy fingers by using the 'three fork' method. One to move the cutlet into the flour. The next for the egg. And the last for the crumbs.
- Rack: You can elevate the chicken on a rack set over your baking sheet for maximum crispiness.
- Serving: Enjoy sliced over a salad, in a sandwich, or broil a slice of cheese on top until melted and serve with tomato sauce.
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