Baked Homemade Chicken Parmesan

Now I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a good chicken parm.  If I’m out and about and nothing on the menu appeals to me, this is my go to dish to order (it also happens to be one of my husbands)! And really, it’s not that hard to make!  My chicken parm varies from many chicken parms because, I bake mine, add a lot more spices then most, BUT I also use almond flour in my breading.  I think the baking helps really crisp up everything (with help from a little olive oil drizzle) and the almond flour helps gives my chicken parm just a hint of toasted almonds which pairs really, really well with parmesan.  While it is a little messy to do the breading yourself, it really goes quickly and this is a great meal to make for a crowd!  When I have company over, this is one of my go-to recipes that always has rave reviews!  But here are a few tips and tricks I’ve found over the years that really make my chicken parm perfect!

A few tips for the perfect chicken parmesan:

• Bake your chicken on a cooling or roasting rack over a baking sheet.  This ensures that you don’t get that gross ‘soggy-wet bottom’ you typically get with baking.  It makes the chicken perfectly crispy all around!
• Use grated and not shredded parmesan cheese.  Grated parm sticks better to the chicken coating!
• Drizzle you chicken parm with olive oil!  That fat combined with a little from the parmesan and almond flour ensures a delicious crispy crust!
• Don’t add a lot of marinara sauce!  Many people make this mistake when making chicken parm!  You just need a tablespoon or two of sauce, if you add more it will make that perfect crispy crust soggy!
• Don’t add your cheese and sauce until the very end of baking!  You just need a minute or two until the cheese is melted!  You don’t want either to absorb into the crust!
• Use deli sliced pieces of mozzarella instead of shredded or fresh.  Shredded and fresh mozzarella contain more moisture and will release more liquid during cooking (again, you don’t want soggy chicken!).
• When breading, have a ‘wet’ hand and a ‘dry’ hand.  Only use the wet hand for the egg/milk mixture and the dry hand for the breading and flour mixtures.  This will make your hands a lot less prone to becoming breaded themselves!
• Not ‘carb’ friendly, but I believe the most perfect side for chicken parm is homemade fettuccine alfredo.  The flavors marry very, very well!  On your fork, put a little pasta and a little chicken and you’ve created the perfect little bite!
• Make sure to salt (or garlic salt lol) and pepper each step of breading, milk/eggs, flour, and bread crumbs.  This ensures great flavor at each level!

Now you’re ready to cook the perfect chicken parm and trust me, your family will thank you for this delicious dish!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half (should have 6 half breasts in total)
• 1/2 cup of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 6 slices of deli sliced mozzarella cut in half
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 and 1/2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup of almond flour
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp of garlic salt – I prefer Lawry’s
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes – optional, can use more/less depending on spice preference
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°.Carefully cut your chicken breasts in half (remove any excess fat).  Lightly salt and pepper each side. Prepare a baking sheet, place a cooling rack and spray with non-stick spray. Get out three bowls or high rimmed plates.  In one bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  In second bowl, mix together flour, salt, and pepper.  In last bowl, mix together bread crumbs, almond flour, grated parmesan cheese, garlic salt, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.  Using one hand for wet and one hand for dry, take chicken and coat in egg/milk mixture, coat in flour mixture, then place chicken back in egg/milk mixture and coat. Last but not least, place chicken in breading, flipping both sides and pressing down to ensure both sides are coated well with breading.    Place chicken pieces on prepared cooling rack/baking sheet.  Repeat breading steps with all pieces of chicken.  Once done, place in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and cooked to internal temperature of 165°.  Quickly remove chicken from oven and evenly spread spoonfuls of sauce on all pieces of chicken.  Place two halves of mozzarella on each chicken piece.  Place chicken back in oven for 2-3 minutes or until mozzarella has melted.  Serve immediately and enjoy! Since this is also a more complicated recipe, I’ve created this little stop motion video to help with prep!