Parmesan crusted chicken breasts are coated in a crisp, cheesy crust and baked until juicy and golden for an easy dinner everyone loves.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Why Make It: Baked instead of fried for less mess and cleanup.
- Flavor: Crispy, cheesy, savory crust with juicy chicken inside, not to be confused with saucy chicken parmesan!
- Recommended Tools: A meat thermometer prevents overcooking.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve as a main, as a crispy chicken sandwich, or over salad.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Chicken cutlets, skinless boneless chicken breasts, or boneless chicken thighs all work in this recipe. Adjust the cooking time as needed for different cuts of chicken.
- Coating: Panko breadcrumbs add a lighter, crispy texture while cornflake crumbs add crunch and a subtle sweetness.
- Parmesan Cheese: You can use either shredded or grated Parmesan cheese in this recipe. I prefer shredded.
- Seasoning: Add additional seasonings to your preference. Italian seasoning, onion powder, and smoked paprika are all great options.
How To Make Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Set up three bowls for flour, egg, and the Parmesan crumb mixture.
- Pound and season the chicken (full recipe below).
- Coat each piece in flour, egg, and crumbs, pressing gently so the coating sticks.
- Bake until cooked through, then broil briefly for a crisp golden finish.
Crispy Chicken Success
- Pound the Chicken: Pound the thicker ends of the chicken so every breast is the same thickness and cooks evenly.
- Dry the Chicken: Pat the chicken dry before breading so the flour sticks better.
- Keep Hands Cleaner: Use one hand for dry ingredients and one for eggs to keep the breading process less messy.
- For Perfect Coating: Press the crumb mixture onto the chicken instead of just rolling it around, so more coating stays in place.
- Use a Rack: A rack gives the bottom better airflow, but a well-sprayed pan still works.
- For Juicy Chicken: Check the chicken early with an instant-read thermometer if using thin cutlets, so it doesn’t dry out.
- To Reheat Leftovers: Use the oven or air fryer instead of the microwave for the best texture.
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftover parmesan-crusted chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
Crispy Chicken Dinner Favorites
Did you enjoy this Crispy Parmesan Chicken Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 ounces each
- 2 eggs beaten, more if needed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt divided
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper divided
- 1 ¾ cups Panko bread crumbs
- ¾ cup cornflake crumbs
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. If you have one, place a metal rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. If not, spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Beat the egg in a shallow bowl and set aside. In a separate shallow dish, combine flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- In a third shallow dish or plate, combine Panko bread crumbs, cornflake crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound each chicken breast to ½-inch thickness. Season the chicken with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Dip chicken in flour first and then egg and finally in the crumb mixture, gently pressing the crumbs to adhere.
- Add the chicken to the rack or pan and spray each chicken breast with cooking spray.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes until crispy and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Video
Notes
Optional: Before beginning, add the Panko crumbs to a small dry skillet and cook over medium heat, while stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted. Cool.
Larger chicken breasts will need additional cooking time. Cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Nutritional information includes ⅔ of the crumb mixture, as I always have some leftover. Discard leftover crumbs.
Keep leftover Parmesan-crusted chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 281 | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 355mg | Potassium: 515mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 2.3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Course
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To marinate, do you just use buttermilk? Or do you add spices along with it. And how much buttermilk would you ideally use?
You can add spices to the buttermilk if you prefer Melissa, but we just marinate them in buttermilk. Add enough to cover your chicken breasts :)
Hi! Do I need to flip the chicken breasts halfway through?
Thank you for your time!
I don’t usually flip them. Enjoy the recipe!
Made it for the hubby tonight & he loved it! Chicken came out so crispy & juicy. Easy to make & very tasty!
I made this recipe and it was a success!!
The chicken was juicy and crispy! I marinated the chicken in buttermilk as recommended.
I will be making this again soon!
Making this tomorrow night but was wondering if you could tell me how much ingredients would be needed for 1 instead of 6 breasts? I’m just now learning how to cook & i want to see how it goes before i make it for my in-laws.
Hi Lauren, we have only made the full recipe but if using one chicken breasts (2 halves) I would reduce the recipe ingredients to a ⅓ of what is listed to test it out.
My family loves this recipe. Add homemade marinara and it’s always a hit.
This looks really good
I’m so going to try this can’t wait
do you think a pork loin chop would work with this as well? any adjustments I should make?
I bet that would be delicious! Depending on the thickness of the chops, you may need to adjust cook time slightly (so they reach 145°F) but aside from that, it should work just fine.
This was easy and delicious and i didn’t use the corn flakes. Don’t forget to spritz the top of the chicken with the oil or cooking spray though. It doesn’t really brown if you don’t !
Good tip! I always brown my bread crumbs in a frying pan first which helps too
These look ~amazing~. I’ve never been a big fan of fried chicken and always peeled off the skin… but I love chicken sandwiches from fast food joints! Weird, right? So I was trying to figure out how to make healthy version at home and found this, and it looks like this’ll be the ticket. Thank you so much for sharing this, I’m going to give it a try tomorrow! :)
Hi,
Just made this and have some left over. Have you frozen them?
I would love to freeze and reheat them.
I haven’t tried freezing these but I do think it would work. To reheat I would suggest an oven or toaster oven so the outside crisps.
It’s a good starter recipe. I’d double the salt, pepper, and garlic powder, maybe add a little paprika or cayenne to add flavor, and/or marinade the chicken. Probably could have used a cup less of bread crumbs, flour, and one less egg as well. I used a cup of ground oatmeal instead of cornflake crumbs, and generic bread crumbs from Aldi because that’s what I had.
Delicious and so easy – especially compared to the way I used to make them in a frying pan. These were raved about by my picky eaters! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. The cooked chicken cutlets freeze well. The crust adheres very well. I decided to spray both sides lightly with canola oil spray. After removing them from the oven and cooling in the pan for 5 minutes, I continued to cool them on a rack to allow the crust to set before putting them in freezer bags and freezing them. Also, I used a silicone liner sheet on top of the aluminum foil in the pan for absolutely no sticking and very easy clean up.
I made this with pesto one night and the used the leftovers to make chicken parmesan. All in All it was delicious.
Mmmm…definitely delicious Lauren!
Hi! If I don’t have corn flakes could I substitute with more Panko Bread Crumbs?
Sure you can. It will change the flavor/texture slightly but still be delicious I’m sure!
I substituted potato chips for corn flakes because that’s what I had, and used fresh grated aged parmesan. Served with linguini and veggie heavy vodka sauce. Super good.
Sounds delicious Shay, so glad you loved it!
My family loves this flavorful crispy chicken, it will be going into our regular rotation.
So glad your family loves this chicken. We sure do too!
Thank you for offering your view on Holly’s recipe. All those reviews on how it came out after making changes to it (some of which I am sure I wouldn’t like) aren’t of much help. *This* makes me want to give it a try.
Love most of your recipes!!Keep them coming!!!
Thank you Pam :)
Hi there. If you marinate in buttermilk, do you rinse it off before the egg Panko step? Thanks so much. Making tonight.
You don’t need to rinse it, just let it drip off. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for the response.
How long do you marinate in the buttermilk?
For at least 30 minutes but you can do it as long as overnight if time allows.
Thanks Holly! Can’t wait to try it!
This was easy and great tasting, but I cannot find the nutritional values.
I made this recipe tonight but it needed more salt and pepper – are the salt and pepper amounts correct?
They are correct as written. You can certainly add more if you prefer.