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Parmesan crusted chicken breasts have a golden crust, juicy chicken, and all of the crunch without deep frying. Crispy and easy-cheesy, they really are oven-baked perfection.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Not to be confused with chicken parmesan, these breasts have a crunchy golden Parmesan crust and aren’t saucy.
- Recommended tools: A meat thermometer is the best way to tell if chicken is cooked through without overcooking it.
- Serving suggestions: Serve these chicken breasts as a meal on their own, as a crispy chicken sandwich, or over a salad.
Ingredient Tips For Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
- Chicken: Chicken cutlets, or 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 in this recipe. I prefer shredded.
- Seasoning: Add additional seasonings to your preferences. Italian seasoning, onion powder, and smoked paprika are all great options.
Quick Recipe Tips
- Be sure to pound the breasts to an even width so they cook evenly.
- Toasting the Panko is optional but adds extra crunch.
- Spritz with oil before baking. If you don’t have a spritzer or spray, stir a little bit of oil into the breadcrumb mixture before dipping the chicken.
Storing Leftovers
Keep leftover parmesan-crusted chicken in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More Crispy Chicken Recipes
Did you enjoy this Crispy Parmesan Chicken Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Crispy Parmesan chicken is golden and crunchy on the outside, tender inside, and so good no one will guess it's baked instead of fried.
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
- Optional: Add the Panko crumbs to a small dry skillet and cook over medium heat, while stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted. Cool.
- 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.
Notes
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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I made this along with the pickle pasta salad. It’s still baking but smells delicious. I’m always looking for healthy meals, especially low carb ones. I am at risk of becoming diabetic and fish and chicken are my main entrees along with salads.
Very tasty! This is the first well plated recipe that I have tried and I’m glad I did. Will be trying more recipes in the near future.
Excellent taste, loved the ease of making this recipe and family loved it! Definitely a keeper!
So happy you enjoyed it, Imsen!
Made this before and absolutely loved it! I’m going to make it tonight but I’m wondering if it freezes well as I want to make extra for a freezer meal if it does!
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.
Easily, simple, forgiving and delicious! Did this with drumsticks yesterday, so yummy!
Btw, thanks for all your delicious recipes, this is 1 of many that I’ve tried already.
I’m not sure if the lack of “cooking spray” ruined this for me but this did not turn out as planned. The panko bread crumb/flour/egg layer did not brown properly. It looked a little less appealing with the top layer not nicely browned. I hit the broiler for a few minutes just to give it a better appetizing color. Also, I did brush on some oil to the pan to prevent sticking, which worked for the most part, but the bottom part of the panko layer dislodged and was not browned at all either. The chicken juices may be to blame. I’m sure I screwed this up myself, but outside of the lack of cooking spray, I pretty much followed everything to a T.
Oh no, sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you Angela!
I have fixed this recipe at least three times in the last couple months, and everyone always loves it! Do you have any suggestions for how to reheat and have it 1) maintain the wonderful crispiness and 2) not get too dry? I was thinking this would be a perfect chicken to make in a larger batch, then use diced up in a salad or served on parmesan chicken sliders later in the week, but I worry about how well it would reheat.
So happy you love them, Beth! To reheat I would suggest an oven or toaster oven so the outside stays crisp.
Using a baking stone absorbs the moisture keeping food crisp.
My family really enjoyed this. Delicious!
It came out perfect. I wanted you to know that you are appreciated.
Excellent! And I was thrilled to see that your site has a servings algorithm built into the print function. All I had to do was change the number of servings from 6 to 2, and the site recalculated the ingredient amounts for me before I printed it. Very nice. Thank you again
Too much not needed info @ the beginning. I just wanted the recipe.
Hi Michelle, recipes are written answering as many questions as possible prior to the recipe. We have many levels of cooks and want to ensure success for our readers. As with most blogs, there will always be writing before the recipe. If you prefer to skip the narrative, you can click on the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of each post and it will direct you to the recipe card.
Um, no need to be nasty Michelle. Just READ the recipe part and ignore the rest. This wasn’t written only for YOU, you know. Others may have found it interesting or helpful.
Chill out and relax a little. Cooking should be fun.
Thank you so much Lisa for saying what I always feel when I see ungrateful posts like these. I love reading the narratives TOO!
You can just go to the spot where it says “jump to the recipe” and print it from there. Save it to a PDF if you want, or copy and paste into a word document. All you will have is the recipes.
Hi, my husband surprised me with this tonight for our healthy dinner (diet time :/ ) and it was very good.
I read the nutrition and it says 157 mg cholesterol, is this right?? My favorite chicken wings are only 30mg… is this accurate?
Nutrition information is an estimate, and the cholesterol includes 1 chicken breast and part of the egg. One chicken wing has approximately 28 grams of cholesterol. Hope that helps Taylor!
It’s the eggs and parmesan cheese that give it added cholesterol.
Really good recipe, but I think the panko AND the flour mixture both need a little more salt. Other than that, I cooked the cutlets on a wire rack pan, and they turned out very crispy! The mix of panko and corn flakes is great.
Delicious! Made this tonight. We put some duck sauce on the side which enhanced the flavors.
thanks holly i love chiken
You’re welcome Jush!
I love this chef’s recipes! I just this easy chicken parm recipe exactly as written
and it was a big hit! Definitely a keeper.
Always looking for new easy recipes for dinner,and this one sounded easy and delicious.
Thank you for your “Crispy Baked Parmesan Chicken recipe! It was amazing. Can’t wait to marinate it in buttermilk next time.
Maybe I did something wrong, but there was almost no flavor. I triple checked the recipe after I made it because I thought I had to have made a grave mistake and left something big out. It looked beautiful and the texture was nice, but was very bland.
Delicious!! Love the cornflakes, adds a nice crunch. Was wondering if these could be air fried? If so how would the temp and time vary?
This was very good.
The whole family loved it!!
No left overs