Easy Chicken Parmesan

Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan is a classic Italian dish your family will love!

Oven baked chicken topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese is served over pasta for a family dinner that will certainly become a new favorite.

Breaded chicken parmesan on a plate with spaghetti

The Chicken For Easy Chicken Parmesan

I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this Easy Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken.

For this recipe I use 2 full chicken breasts, (about 1 1/2 pounds) that I pound out to an even thickness for cooking. Most chicken breast are thicker on one end, this makes it hard for the chicken to cook evenly and can leave you with dry chicken.

To pound out the chicken, I put some parchment paper over the chicken (plastic wrap works great too), and then I pound the heck out of it using my meat mallet (the flat side). A rolling pin, skillet or anything heavy works great too.

Pound the chicken breast until it is more even in thickness. You can see in my photos below, the chicken is pounded out so it is more even.

pounded out chicken breast to even thickness
chicken pounded out to even thickness

After pounding out the chicken, I cut each chicken breast half in half, giving me 2 pieces of chicken per chicken breast. I end up a total of 8 pieces, which is perfect for our family. If you don’t cut the chicken breasts in half you will have 4 larger pieces of chicken.

Chicken breast cut  in half

What breading is best for chicken in the oven?

When baking chicken I’m the oven, if you are breading it, you have a few options.

Typically breading is usually made with seasoned bread crumbs, panko crumbs, or cornflake crumbs. But many times crackers or even chips can be used. Really anything slightly crunchy and salty works great.

To get the breading to stick on the chicken you have options as well. An egg bath works great. Many recipes will even dredge the chicken in flour before dipping it in the egg bath and breading. Sour cream, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, butter or milk can also be used.

Try my Ritz Butter Cracker Chicken, Malibu Chicken or Ranch Chicken for some different variations on oven baked chicken.

How to bread chicken for Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

The breading on Chicken Parmesan is important! It can make or break the dish. My Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan has a delicious breading that is pretty darn simple.

Before breading your chicken, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease your baking sheet.

I use plain bread crumbs for the breading. Then, the chicken is dipped in flour, eggs and then the breading.

The plain bread crumbs need some seasoning. I love to use some seasoned salt, garlic powder, garlic salt and onion powder. Grated Parmesan cheese is also added to give it that classic Parmesan taste we love!

Just measure it all out, give the seasonings, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese a good mix and set it aside. You can season the bread crumbs to your liking. Just taste the bread crumbs and add more of anything you think it is lacking.

seasoned bread crumbs for oven baked breaded chicken

Beat 2 eggs and set it aside. I like to have my eggs in a shallow dish for breading, this makes it easier to dip the chicken in the egg bath.

beaten eggs for breading the chicken

Measure out 1 cup of flour and set it aside. I use a paper plate because it is shallow and easy to dip the chicken in, and it is easy cleanup!

flour for breading the oven baked chicken parmesan

To bread the chicken, take your chicken breasts one at a time and dip it in the flour. Make sure the chicken is fully and evenly covered in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.

dipping chicken in flour for breading

Next, take the flour coated chicken breast and dip it into the egg bath, making sure it is fully dipped and covered in egg.

dipping chicken breast in egg wash for breaded chicken

Lastly, take the chicken and dip it in the bread crumbs, making sure it is fully covered in the bread crumbs. Press on the bread crumbs and make sure they are stuck on good. Place the breaded chicken breast on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with all of your chicken breast pieces.

coating chicken breast pieces in breadcrumbs
breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet for easy oven baked chicken Parmesan

The Marinara/Spaghetti Sauce

I love easy recipes. Because it takes time to bread the chicken I love to use store bought Marinara/spaghetti sauce to keep the recipe easy. You can use Homemade Spaghetti Sauce if you want.

Heat the Marinara/spaghetti sauce in a sauce pan while the chicken is cooking.

Marinara pasta sauce heating in a saucepan for Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

What is the best type of pasta for chicken parmesan?

Traditionally Chicken Parmesan is served with spaghetti. If you are not a spaghetti fan, you can use any type of pasta. Bowtie and penne pasta are great to use for this recipe too.

I cook my spaghetti ahead of time and then set it aside. When we are ready to eat, I let hot water run over the cooked spaghetti in my colander so it can heat to the perfect temperature.

cooked spaghetti noodles

Baking the Chicken

The breaded chicken will bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

After your chicken has baked for 15 minutes, take your melted butter and brush the tops of each piece of chicken. This helps the chicken get a little crispier. This is optional, but trust me, it makes the chicken amazing!

oven baked creaded brushed with melted butter
oven baked breaded chicken
oven baked breaded chicken

Let the chicken finish baking, about another 10 minutes. The internal temperature needs to reach 165 degrees.

Checking the internal temperature of the chicken: I use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature (see below for the one I have and love). To check the internal temperature, you will want to check the thickest piece of chicken. Make sure the meat thermometer is stuck directly in the center of the thickest piece of chicken. The meat thermometer should reach 165 degrees in under 30 seconds.

Once your chicken has reached temperature it is time to top it with sauce and cheese. Top each piece of chicken with a bit of spaghetti/marinara sauce and then top with grated mozzarella cheese. Set your oven to broil and let it broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly to your liking.

oven baked breaded chicken topped with marinara sauce
breaded chicken topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese

Serving Easy Chicken Parmesan

Whether you like your chicken right on top of the spaghetti or like our chicken on the side, this will be a dinner you will love.

Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan | The Butcher's Wife

I like to serve my chicken on top of spaghetti with Marinara. Serve it with some garlic bread, garlic knots, breadsticks, French bread or a side salad.

For some other easy pasta dishes try my Slow Cooker Two-Sauce Pasta, my Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce or my Slow Cooker Penne Pasta.

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Breaded chicken topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese served over spaghetti with spaghetti sauce for Each Chicken Parmesan

Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

This Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan recipe could not be more simple! Oven baked, breaded chicken topped with store bought Marinara Sauce and golden melty mozzarella cheese served over spaghetti makes it a family favorite!
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 full skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
  • 2 jars (24 oz. each) Marinara/Spaghetti Sauce *use your favorite – see notes
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese *I use the plastic bottled kind
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsp seasoned salt *or more to taste
  • 1 tsp garlic powder *or more to taste
  • 1 tsp onion powder *or more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt *or more to taste
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted *for brushing on the chicken during baking
  • Spaghetti, cooked *or other pasta of your choice

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease your baking sheet.
  • Measure your bread crumbs and add the seasonings and Parmesan cheese. Mix it together. Taste the bread crumbs and adjust the seasonings as needed. Set aside.
  • Take your chicken and pound it out to an even thickness so it can cook evenly. To do this, I place the chicken on my cutting board and cover the chicken breasts with parchment paper. To pound the chicken I use the flat side of my meat mallet. A rolling pin or heavy skillet works great too. Pound the chicken so it is even in thickness.
  • Cut each chicken breast in half, so you have 8 pieces. This is optional. If you do not cut each chicken breast in half you will have 4 larger chicken pieces.
  • Measure your flour and put it in a shallow dish or on a paper plate.
  • Take your 2 eggs and beat them in a shallow dish.
  • Take each chicken breast piece and place it in the flour, then dip the chicken in the eggs and last in the bread crumbs. Make sure the chicken is evenly covered. Press the bread crumbs on to the chicken just to make sure they are fully covered. Place the chicken on your baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all of your chicken pieces.
  • Bake the chicken at 400 degrees.
    Note: Total baking time will be about 20-25 minutes but you will brush it with butter at the 15 minute mark – you will see this in the instructions below).
  • While your chicken is baking, cook your spaghetti or pasta according to the directions on the package.
  • After 15 minutes of baking, brush the tops of the chicken with the melted butter. Let the chicken continue baking for another 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. (See my blog post above for tips on checking the internal temperature of the chicken and for the meat thermometer I use and like.)
  • Once the chicken reaches 165 degrees, top each chicken piece with some marinara/pasta sauce and grated mozzarella cheese. Set your oven to broil (my oven automatically turns the temperature up to 525 degrees on broil). Let the chicken broil for 2-3 minutes. Watch it closely. Let the chicken broil until the cheese is bubbly and golden browned to your liking. Take the chicken out of the oven when it is done.
  • To serve the Chicken Parmesan, place some cooked spaghetti noodles on a plate, top with marinara/pasta sauce and then top with your chicken. Enjoy! Serve with garlic knots, French Bread, breadsticks or garlic bread or a side salad.

Notes

For the spaghetti/Marinara pasta sauce use any brand you like.  I use 2 (24. oz each) jars of sauce.  One jar is not quite enough after you top the chicken with sauce and you need sauce for serving over the pasta.
You do not have to use spaghetti for your pasta.  Bowtie and penne work great too!

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.


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