How to Make Chicken Parmesan
This delicious low calorie chicken parmesan is a healthy and satisfying meal that’s easy to prepare and packed with flavor.
This dish is perfect for anyone who is looking for a healthier version of that classic Italian favorite comfort food. Your whole family will love it!
We made this dish with boneless, skinless chicken breast.
By using lean chicken and reducing the amount of cheese and breadcrumbs, you can significantly reduce the calorie count without sacrificing taste. Seriously! Just wait until you taste it!
Chicken is so versatile, we’re always trying something new, like this Skillet Chicken Thighs recipe. It’s heavenly!
For a wonderful appetizer before dinner, try this bruschetta recipe or something from this list of Italian appetizers.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Key ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts: four pieces, about one pound.
Pasta sauce: your homemade sauce or favorite marina sauce from the store.
Cheeses: both shredded parmesan cheese and grated parmesan.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly spray pan with olive oil spray or your favorite cooking spray.
Pour egg whites into a shallow bowl.
On a large plate, mix Panko bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and salt and black pepper.
Dip chicken in egg whites, coating both sides.
Dip chicken in bread crumbs, coating each side.
Add oil to oven safe skillet and heat over medium high.
Once pan is hot, sauté chicken until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Once skillet is cool, wipe it out with a clean paper towel.
Spray skillet with olive oil spray.
Pour about a half cup of tomato sauce in skillet.
Add cooked chicken to skillet in a single layer
Top with the rest of the tomato sauce.
Distribute the cheeses evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with basil.
Place chicken in 375° oven for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. If using a thermometer, the internal temperature of chicken should be 165º.
Garnish with a snip of fresh basil, if desired. I have an Aerogarden and love adding fresh herbs to everything!
Serve over a mound of freshly prepared spaghetti squash as we did or choose your favorite side.
Makes 4 servings with 4 Weight Watchers Points each for those on the Weight Watchers Plan.
This dish was adapted from the Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan recipe with a few changes. If you happen to be on the Weight Watchers program, check out these Weight Watchers Italian recipes.
Variations
You can add all kinds of different seasonings to the bread crumb mixture for this chicken parmagiana. Try garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, or even red pepper flakes to spice it up.
You could also buy chicken cutlets. You will still want to buy a one pound package unless you want to cut down on the size of the servings. This is a filling meal and less might not be enough. You don’t want to be hungry an hour later.
You could also reduce the calories further by using fat-free cheese, but I honestly wouldn’t. This is already a low calorie meal and I don’t like the flavor or texture of fat free cheese.
In fact, if you change the cheese at all, try fresh mozzarella instead. It tastes so much better and is actually fewer calories! It’s more expensive, but worth it!
A store bought marinara sauce would be good with this recipe. Making your own marinara sauce is another healthy way to improve on this dish.
You could also air fry the chicken for really crispy chicken breasts. The recipe is the same, but you would cook the chicken in your air fryer basket and then transfer to a lined baking sheet or oven safe frying pan to heat sauce and melt cheeses.
This easy chicken parmesan could also be served with whole wheat pasta. For another delicious Italian dish, try this Chicken Bolognese. It’s so much healthier than the traditional Bolognese recipe and easy to make.
Frequently Asked Questions
You could use them, but it is a little difficult to eat that way. You could cut the chicken off the bone before cooking, or just plan to cut around the bone when eating.
You would want to eat this within a couple of days. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Yes! I’ve done it many times when we were in the school-age days. I’ve even doubled the batch so I’d have some in the freezer. It makes great leftovers.
Top Tips
Don’t overcook the chicken. Remember, you are only browning it on both sides and finishing it in the oven.
Don’t skimp on the cheeses. Good cheese makes all the difference.
More Italian Recipes
Have leftover tomatoes you want to use up? I had a garden full one year when I over planted! Try a few of these tomato recipes. I hope you find a couple of favorites!
If you make this recipe and love it, please give it a 5 star rating! It helps so much!
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- olive oil spray
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about 1 pound
- 2 egg whites
- ½ cup Bread Crumbs Panko Italian Style
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ ground pepper
- 1½ cups tomato sauce
- ½ cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly spray pan with olive oil spray.
- Pour egg whites into a shallow bowl.
- On a large plate, mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.
- Dip chicken in egg whites, coating both sides.
- Dip chicken in bread crumbs, coating each side.
- Add oil to oven safe skillet and heat over medium high.
- Once pan is hot, sauté chicken until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
- Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Once skillet is cool, wipe it out with a clean paper towel.
- Spray skillet with olive oil spray.
- Pour about a half cup of tomato sauce in skillet.
- Add cooked chicken to skillet along with the rest of the tomato sauce.
- Distribute the cheeses evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with basil.
- Place chicken in 375° oven for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Serve over a mound of freshly prepared spaghetti squash or as is with your favorite vegetable or salad
