Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Looking for some home-style comfort food in a hurry?  How about a one-pan Skillet Chicken Parmesan in about forty five minutes?  This dish has it all – moist, succulent chicken, a golden, crispy, fried coating, and a deep, flavourful tomato sauce.  Oh, and cheese too; lots of cheese!

I think everyone has a favourite Chicken Parmesan recipe, and this one is mine.  I love how easy it is to prepare and the fact that I can fry the chicken and finish the cooking process by baking it in the same pan.  And, if you haven’t heard by now, Dear Reader, everything tastes better in skillet.  Or is that just me?

I’ve been making Chicken Parmesan since I first moved into my own apartment back in 1995.  It’s always been a dish that I found easy to make, inexpensive, and always very delicious.  It’s a great dish for entertaining.  You can do all of the work ahead of time and just pop the chicken into the oven for about 30 minutes or so before you’re ready to eat.

Traditionally, Chicken Parmesan is served with a simple spaghetti.  It’s the perfect substitute for the meatballs in a spaghetti and meatball dish.  I tend to serve it mostly in this format, and I like the chicken to be the star of the dish, so I usually make a very basic tomato sauce for the spaghetti.  Another very common way to serve Chicken Parmesan – especially in North America – is in the form of a sandwich.  If I were to serve this dish in sandwich form, I would first pound the chicken flat before breading and frying.  The instructions in the recipe below will result in a chicken breast that is way too thick for a sandwich.  

I used to prepare this dish by spooning sauce into a baking dish, adding the fried chicken, and then spooning more sauce over top before adding the cheese.  But, I found the sauce on top always ruined the crust on the chicken from the frying process.  I tend to favour a non-soggy fried chicken!  So, once the final product comes out of the oven, I serve it up and spoon some of the sauce over the top at the table.  There’s no time for the chicken breading to get soggy, because I usually eat it up too quickly!

Skillet Chicken Parmesan is not a dish I prepare too often anymore; simply because I’m the only meat-eater in our home.  But, when I do, I tend to savour every single bite.  And, lastly, just before I go, I’m hoping my friend, Margaret, reads this post and provides some feedback, because she is the queen of Chicken Parmesan.  I swear; she makes it once a week at least!

Here’s the recipe – enjoy!

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Skillet Chicken Parmesan

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings 4

Author Lord Byron's Kitchen

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

• 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• vegetable oil

For the Sauce:

• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

For the Topping:

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, stir together the panko breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
• Next, in another bowl, whisk together the eggs.
• Over medium-high heat, fill your cast iron skillet just less than half full with vegetable oil. Allow to fully heat to frying temperature.
• In the meantime, dip each chicken breast in the egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture. Press gently on the chicken to get a good amount of the breadcrumbs to stick to each breast.
• Fry each chicken breast in the vegetable oil until golden brown. About five minutes per side.
• While the chicken is frying, whisk together sauce ingredients - tomato sauce, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, parmesan and parsley. Set aside.
• When the chicken has finished browning, drain each breast on paper towel. Pour the oil out of the skillet. Do not wipe the skillet dry!
• Pour the sauce into the skillet. Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the oven. Sprinkle over the mozzarella and the parmesan. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Garnish with fresh parsley and more parmesan if you wish.
• Serve immediately.