An easy chicken parmigiana recipe with crispy panko-crumbed chicken, ham, marinara and melted mozzarella. On the table in 25 minutes - a family dinner winner.
Tender and crispy breaded chicken is topped with ham, marinara sauce and lashings of melted mozzarella. What's not to love?
This breaded chicken parm is a real favorite with my kids, so I hope your family will love it as much as mine do.
What is Chicken Parmigiana?
Chicken parmigiana, or chicken parmesan, is a popular pub dish that consists of crispy breaded chicken, topped with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella. You can also choose to add ham to the chicken too, as we do in this recipe.
Chicken parmigiana is often known by its more affectionate names of chicken parm, chicken parma, chicken parmy or even just parmy.
Ingredients: What Goes into This Easy Chicken Parmigiana
You'll need the following ingredients A full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken breasts
- Flour - to dredge the chicken before coating
- Eggs - to help the breadcrumbs stick
- Panko breadcrumbs - you can substitute with normal breadcrumbs but you get a crisper outside with panko.
- Parmesan - to flavour the breadcrumbs and help give a golden finish to the coating
- Garlic salt - to flavour the breadcrumbs
- Italian herbs - to flavour the breadcrumbs
- Olive oil and butter - for frying the chicken
- Marinara sauce - for spreading out over the chicken
- Ham - for layering on top of the ham
- Cheese - for that lovely cheesey finish
How to Make Chicken Parmigiana (Step-by-Step)
Making Chicken Parmigiana takes just a few simple steps.
- Step 1: Make a chicken schnitzel
- Step 2: Bread the chicken
- Step 3: Cook the chicken
- Step 4: Top the chicken with ham and marinara sauce
- Step 5: Grill the Parmigiana
Step 1: Making a Chicken Schnitzel
The first part to making a homemade chicken parmigiana is to make a chicken schnitzel.
To do this, you first need to tenderise and flatten the chicken.
Take a chicken breast, slice it in half length ways (so you have two long flat pieces of chicken). Place the chicken between plastic wrap and give it a good old bash with a mallet or rolling pin!
This not only flattens the chicken to make it cook quicker, but also tenderises the meat, to make it extra succulent and juicy. Aim to get the chicken to around ⅛ inch thick, and try to have an even thickness throughout.
Step 2: Crumbing the Chicken for Maximum Flavour
Next, you cover it in breadcrumbs. To do this, prepare three bowls: one with flour, one with beaten egg, and one with seasoned breadcrumbs.
For our schnitzel and chicken parmigiana recipes, we use panko breadcrumbs to give an even crispier finish, but any kind of breadcrumbs are fine. You could even use crushed up cornflakes like in our cornflake chicken nuggets recipe.
I also add in some grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs and some seasonings - I use Italian seasoning and garlic salt, but you can add whatever seasonings you like.
Things you may want to add to flavor the breadcrumbs:
- grated parmesan cheese
- garlic salt
- onion powder
- dried herbs
- paprika
- cayenne pepper or chili flakes
- salt & pepper
To crumb the chicken, first, dip the chicken into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs, ensuring that it is evenly coated. Then set it aside until you are ready to cook it.
Step 3: Cooking the Chicken for Maximum Crunch
First we need to get the chicken nice and crisp, and the best way to do this is to fry it. I like to use a combination of olive oil and butter for best results and flavor.
Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until it is bubbling hot, then add the chicken. It should sizzle as it hits the pan.
Some chicken schnitzel parmigiana recipes suggest you should fill the pan with oil so that it practically covers the chicken.
I prefer to add just a couple of tablespoons of oil and a tablespoon of butter, and as long as you have a good non-stick frying pan, this should be enough.
How long to cook the chicken for will partly depend on the thickness of your chicken and how hot your pan is, but I usually estimate around 4 minutes per side.
Step 4: Layering: Ham, Sauce, and Cheese (The Right Order)
Once the chicken is cooked, you need to transform it from a chicken schnitzel to a chicken parmigiana. To do this, top it with marinara sauce, a slice of ham (optional) and then sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese.
Step 5: Grilling Until Golden and Bubbly
Now you just need to pop it under the grill (broiler) and cook it until the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown. Delicious!
Alternative method: Some recipes for chicken parmigiana suggest you put the chicken in a deeper baking dish and pour in marinara sauce around the chicken and then sprinkle the whole dish with cheese and bake in the oven.
Personally, I find this makes the chicken too soggy and I prefer a nice crispy chicken parmy. But feel free to give this way a go too!
Chicken Parmigiana sauce
For the parmigiana sauce you can just use a jar of marinara sauce. You just need a tablespoonful for each piece of chicken.
Usually when I make chicken parmigiana at home, I make up my own sauce by combining two tablespoons of my hidden vegetable pasta sauce with two tablespoons of tomato paste. (This is the same sauce I use for homemade pizza too). It's a great way to sneak in some extra veggies and it tastes great too.
What to Serve with Chicken Parmigiana
In pubs and restaurants around the world, popular side dishes for chicken parmigiana include french fries and salad or vegetables.
My kids love to have their chicken parmigiana with pasta or buttered noodles. Here are some more suggestions:
- French Fries
- Mashed potato
- Buttered Noodles
- Green salad
- Steamed vegetables
- Cauliflower rice
Chicken Parmigiana Topping Ideas
The classic parma is marinara, ham and mozzarella over crispy crumbed chicken. But once you've nailed the base, the toppings are yours to play with! Here are a few ideas to change it up a bit:
- Meat Lovers: Layer spicy pepperoni or crispy bacon strips over the marinara before piling on the cheese.
- Hawaiian Twist: Add finely diced pineapple alongside the ham layer under bubbly mozzarella (a pub staple debate, but people love it!)
- Spicy Diavola: Spoon pickled jalapeños or calabrian chili flakes over the sauce with a sharper provolone or parmesan blend.
Chicken Parmigiana FAQs
I always do sauce first, then ham, then cheese! Spoon your marinara over the crispy crumbed chicken, lay the ham slice directly over the sauce to help trap the moisture, and finish with a generous blanket of grated cheese so it melts evenly over everything.
No, the ham is optional. It's the classic Aussie pub-style parma topping and adds a lovely salty edge, but the recipe works just as well with marinara and cheese alone if you'd rather keep it simple.
A simple marinara sauce is all you need. This recipe uses just a tablespoon spooned over each piece of chicken. You want a thin layer, not a pool, so the crumb underneath stays crisp.
Tomato paste on its own is too thick and concentrated to use straight from the tube. If it's all you have, loosen it with a splash of water and a pinch of dried Italian herbs before spooning it on (I sometimes mix it with my hidden vegetable sauce) - otherwise stick with marinara.
Grated mozzarella for the melt on top, plus a little grated parmesan mixed through the panko crumb. The parmesan in the crumb is what gives the coating its savoury depth before the cheese even goes on.
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Easy Chicken Parmigiana
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- ½ cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoon grated parmesan
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- salt & pepper
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 4 slices ham optional
- ¼ cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts horizontally lengthways so that you have four large flat pieces of chicken.
- Place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and, using a mallet or rolling pin, bash the chicken to flatten it, until it is around ⅛ inch thick. Try to ensure you have an even thickness throughout.
- Get three bowls. In one bowl, put the flour. In the second bowl, crack the eggs and whisk together with a fork until well mixed. In the third bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic salt, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Now crumb the chicken: with each chicken piece, first dredge it in flour until well coated, then dip in the egg until fully covered, and finally turn it over in the breadcrumbs until fully coated. Set aside until ready to cook.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. Once it is hot, place two of the chicken pieces into the pan. They should sizzle as they hit the pan. Cook until browned underneath - around 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook on the other side until cooked through - a further 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- Repeat step 5 with the remaining two pieces of chicken.
- Place all the chicken pieces onto a baking tray. Scoop one tablespoon of marinara sauce onto each piece of chicken and spread across the chicken.
- Top each piece of chicken with a slice of ham. Divide the cheese between the chicken pieces and spread out.
- Place the tray with the chicken under a pre-heated broiler and cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown,
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