Parmesan Crusted Chicken
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Crispy, flavorful Parmesan Crusted Chicken is an easy weeknight meal that everyone is sure to love! This tested and perfected recipe is made in just 20 minutes. You can pan fry the chicken in a skillet on the stove, or cook it in an air fryer. Both options will result in an impressive chicken dish!
Table of contents
There’s nothing I love more than a really crispy chicken dish, that’s also incredibly flavorful! That’s why I’m obsessed with this Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe. It’s perfectly seasoned, perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and so easy to make!
It only takes 20 minutes to make this recipe on the stovetop, or in an air fryer. This makes it the perfect weeknight meal! It’s delicious served with pasta, mashed potatoes, or roasted vegetables. You can add it into your weekly meal rotation, and serve it a different way every week!
This parmesan crusted chicken is versatile, and better than any restaurant chicken dish, not to mention much more budget-friendly! Be sure to save this recipe, because I guarantee you’ll want to make it over and over again.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts – you’ll need two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise through the middle, so you’re left with four pieces of chicken.
- All-purpose flour – to bread the chicken.
- Salt + black pepper – to season the chicken.
- Eggs – you’ll need two large eggs to make the egg wash to bread the chicken.
- Panko breadcrumbs – to bread the chicken breasts and give them an extra crispy texture!
- Parmesan cheese – for this recipe I recommend grated parmesan cheese from a shaker can, like Kraft. This cheese will blend well with the breadcrumbs and adhere nicely on the outside of the chicken.
- Italian seasoning – I always prefer to use my own homemade seasoning mix. It has the best flavor from herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary, and it’s easy to mix up in just 5 minutes! Click the link for the recipe, or purchase pre-made Italian seasoning at the grocery store.
- Unsalted butter – this allows you better control over the saltiness of the recipe. The amount of salt in salted butter varies brand to brand so it is best to use unsalted butter in this recipe.
- Olive oil – extra virgin olive oil has a great neutral flavor that works perfectly along with everything else. You can use other mild tasting vegetable oils as well.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this parmesan crusted chicken recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Pound the chicken. After slicing the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise through the middle, so that you have four pieces of chicken, place the chicken breasts on a cutting board under a piece of plastic wrap. Use a meat tenderizer, or rolling pin, to pound the chicken breasts to ¼ inch thickness.
- Set up a breading station. Grab three shallow bowls. In one of the bowls, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Add the flour to another bowl, and whisk the eggs together in the third bowl.
- Season and bread the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over each piece of chicken. Add a piece of chicken to the bowl of flour and coat on all sides. Transfer the chicken to the bowl of whisked eggs. Once it’s covered, let any excess egg drip off the chicken, then transfer it to the bowl of breadcrumbs. Gently press on all sides of the chicken to make sure that it’s completely coated in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with each piece of chicken, transferring the chicken to a cutting board after it’s breaded.
- Cook the chicken. Heat olive oil and melt butter in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the butter and oil are hot, add the breaded chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a wire rack to cool before serving. Placing it on a wire rack will keep it crispy. If you stack the chicken up on a plate or cutting board, the bottom of the chicken will get soggy.
How to make it in an air fryer
Follow the instructions above for breading the chicken, then add the breaded chicken to an air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray the chicken with cooking spray, then air fry at 400°F for 12 minutes.
I do not recommend flipping the chicken in the air fryer. If you try to flip the chicken in the middle of the cook time, you risk the breading falling off of the chicken as you’re flipping it. Trust me on this one, I speak from experience.
As long as there’s room around each piece of chicken for the air to move, it will still get crispy on all sides without flipping. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you might have to cook the chicken in two batches.
Recipe notes
- Make sure that the butter and oil in the pan are hot before adding the chicken. This will give you a golden brown, crispy crust on the outside of the chicken. If you add the chicken before the oil is hot, the outside crust of the chicken will be soggy. You can test the heat of the oil by adding a couple drops of water to the pan. If it immediately bubbles, the oil is hot and ready to cook the chicken.
- When breading chicken, always use one hand for the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ingredients. This will prevent clumping, keep your hands from becoming coated in the breading, and it will help keep the breading ingredients separated. My Dad taught me this trick growing up, making his famous Captain Crunch Fried Chicken together!
- To make gluten free air fryer chicken tenders, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend, or rice flour. Use gluten-free panko bread crumbs, instead of traditional panko.
- You can also bake this recipe in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. If your oven has a convection setting, I recommend using that. Place the breaded chicken on a wire rack, on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown on the outside.
Storage and reheating
This recipe makes 4 pieces of chicken. If you’d like to double the recipe and freeze some for later, simply click the 2X button in the recipe card below. The ingredient amounts will automatically update for the new serving size. Store uncooked, parmesan crusted chicken in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can cook the chicken directly from frozen in an air fryer by adding 4 minutes to the cooking time. So the chicken will need to cook for 16 minutes at 400°F. You can also thaw the chicken overnight in the refrigerator, then pan fry the chicken on the stove as instructed in the recipe.
Store cooked parmesan crusted chicken leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Reheat the chicken in an air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes to keep it crispy. You can also reheat it on a wire rack, on top of a baking sheet, in the oven at 400°F for 6-8 minutes.
Ways to serve it
When serving the parmesan crusted chicken, feel free to serve it with lemon wedges on the side so you can squeeze fresh lemon juice over the chicken. To garnish the dish, top it with fresh herbs, like chopped parsley or basil.
This recipe is so versatile you can pair it with so many different side dishes and sauces! Here are a few ideas to start with.
- With pasta – boil your favorite pasta on the stove while you’re cooking the chicken. Toss the pasta with marinara sauce or garlic parmesan sauce to pair with the chicken. You could also serve it with this easy stovetop mac and cheese, or creamy cavatappi recipe.
- With mashed potatoes – pairing this chicken with loaded mashed potatoes or Instant Pot mashed potatoes will give you the ultimate comfort food meal! I love this pairing in the fall and winter months, with bacon green beans.
- With roasted vegetables – get your veggies roasting in the oven, then prepare the chicken, and you’ll have a great, healthy meal in 30 minutes! I like to serve the chicken with roasted zucchini or roasted asparagus in the summer months. And in the fall and winter, I like to pair it with roasted baby potatoes, smashed broccoli, or roasted carrots.
- On a salad – another healthy option is to slice up this chicken and serve it on top of a salad. Try it on this grilled caesar salad, Italian salad, or spinach strawberry salad.
More chicken recipes
Try these other popular chicken recipes for dinner this week!
Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise through the middle into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, click link for the recipe
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts in half, lengthwise through the middle, so that you have four pieces of chicken. Place the pieces of chicken on a cutting board under a piece of plastic wrap. Use a meat tenderizer, or rolling pin, to pound each piece of chicken to ¼ inch thickness.
- Season the pieces of chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Prepare three separate shallow bowls, one with the flour, one with the whisked eggs, and the other one with the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Add a piece of chicken to the bowl of flour and coat on all sides. Transfer the chicken to the bowl of whisked eggs. Once it’s covered, let any excess egg drip off the chicken, then transfer it to the bowl of breadcrumbs. Gently press on all sides of the chicken to make sure that it’s completely coated in the breadcrumbs.
- Repeat with each piece of chicken, transferring the chicken to a cutting board after it’s breaded.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once the butter has melted, and the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.
Notes
- To cook the chicken in an air fryer, place the breaded chicken in an air fryer basket in a single layer (you might have to cook it in two batches). Spray the chicken with cooking spray, then air fry at 400°F for 12 minutes.
- If cooking the chicken on the stove, make sure that the butter and oil in the pan are hot before adding the chicken. This will give you a golden brown, crispy crust on the outside of the chicken. If you add the chicken before the oil is hot, the outside crust of the chicken will be soggy. You can test the heat of the oil by adding a couple drops of water to the pan. If it immediately bubbles, the oil is hot and ready to cook the chicken.
- You can also bake this recipe in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. If your oven has a convection setting, I recommend using that. Place the breaded chicken on a wire rack, on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown on the outside.
- Store cooked parmesan crusted chicken leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Reheat the chicken in an air fryer at 400°F for 5 minutes to keep it crispy. You can also reheat it on a wire rack, on top of a baking sheet, in the oven at 400°F for 6-8 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
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