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Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a quick, easy, and delicious recipe to make for dinner. Thin chicken cutlets are coated in parmesan, egg, and panko bread crumbs, and pan fried until crispy!

Odds are you’re familiar with parmesan crusted chicken as a dish, and maybe it’s even something you already make.

What is parmesan crusted chicken?

It’s simply a chicken cutlet (a very thinly cut chicken breast) that’s breaded in parmesan cheese and crispy bread crumbs, and pan fried until crispy and golden.

It’s certainly one of those classic staple recipes that I find myself making all the time.

It’s major merit is that it’s one of the fastest meals you can prepare, because the thinly cut chicken breasts (aka chicken cutlets) cook up lightning fast.

But it also goes with just about everything. You can serve it with crispy smashed potatoes or a salad, or you can use the crispy chicken in a sandwich like these Chicken Cordon Bleu Paninis.

I’ve made it so many times that I have a few tricks I want to share below for how to make it extra delicious, with a breading that sticks quite easily to the chicken.

That’s our real goal here, is to have a breading that’s thick enough that it coats all sides of the chicken and doesn’t fall off.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tip #1: Zest your cheese

The first thing I like to do is whip out a zester, instead of a grater, to break down the parmesan cheese:

By zesting instead of grating, it gives you a texture that’s lighter than snow, so it sticks to the bare chicken cutlets very well. The parmesan cheese is the first layer to the breading, and the zested cheese adheres well to get the coating started.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tip #2: Get any flavorings or herbs in with the egg wash

If you’d like to add some chopped herbs to the chicken, the egg wash is where to add it.

I love adding fresh minced rosemary, but fresh thyme and oregano are also fantastic.

Since there are so few ingredients in this dish, adding a fresh herb like rosemary or thyme makes a HUGE difference in flavor and really makes the recipe pop:

Once you have the zested cheese in one bowl and the herbed egg in another bowl, add panko breadcrumbs to a third bowl and get ready to dip.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tip #3: Shake off excess to prevent breading from falling off

Every step of the way, always shake off the excess ingredients before dipping the chicken into the next bowl. This will prevent the breading from falling off.

First dip a seasoned chicken cutlet in the zested parmesan:

Then into the rosemary egg wash:

And finally, into some crispy Panko bread crumbs:

Once your chicken cutlets are breaded, you can pan fry them in olive oil in a single layer, for about 4-5 minutes each side:

Once they’re crispy and golden, you can zest a little more parmesan on top, and serve!

You can also make this with pork: Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tips:

• What goes with Parmesan Crusted Chicken? You can serve it with Red Potato Salad, Steak Fries, Roasted Parsnips, Caprese Pasta Salad, or many more potato, vegetable, and salad based sides.
• How to bake Parmesan Crusted Chicken: It won’t be as crispy, but you can bake these instead. Spray with cooking spray and bake in a 425F oven for about 10 minutes, until they measure 165F in the center with a thermometer.
• How to fry Parmesan Crusted Chicken: This recipe calls for pan-frying, but you could also deep fry these if you prefer. They should only need 3-4 minutes in 375F oil.
• How to reheat: I recommend re-warming in a 300F oven for about 10 minutes, until crispy again.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 mins

Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a quick, easy, and delicious recipe to make for dinner. Thin chicken cutlets are coated in parmesan, egg, and panko bread crumbs, and pan fried until crispy!

4.6666666666667 15

15 reviews

Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs chicken cutlets (I had 4)
• salt and pepper
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 cup grated or zested parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup olive oil, for frying, and more as needed

Instructions

1. Lay the chicken breasts out on a cutting board and season them generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Next it’s time to set up your breading station. Set out three bowls, and in the first bowl add the zested parmesan cheese, then the eggs in the second bowl, and the panko bread crumbs in the third. Strip the leaves from the fresh rosemary sprig and mince them finely with a knife. Add the minced rosemary to the egg bowl, then whisk the eggs and rosemary together until combined.
3. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat, and let it heat up while you bread the chicken.
4. First dip each chicken cutlet into the parmesan, shake off the excess, then dip into the egg, then let the excess drip off, then finally dip into the panko bread crumbs (by the way, the reason we shake off the excess during each step is to prevent our breading from falling off later).
5. When the pan is nice and hot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, about 2-3 tbsp. Add 2 or 3 chicken cutlets to the hot oil (do not crowd the chicken cutlets), and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. If the bread crumbs are browning too quickly, you can turn the heat down. Repeat with the remaining cutlets, and enjoy!

by Joanne Ozug

Recipe Notes

 

Nutrition Information Serves 4     adjust servings

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 560kcal Calories from fat 329
% Daily Value
Total Fat 37g	57%
Saturated Fat 11g	55%
Transfat 0g
Cholesterol 190mg	63%
Sodium 531mg	22%
Carbohydrate 12g	4%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Sugars 1g
Protein 44g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g

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