Chicken Parmesan with Marinara Sauce

Do not let the long list of ingredients fool you, the sauce can easily be made ahead of time and the chicken is simply breaded and pan-fried.

Course pasta

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Servings

Calories 1392kcal

Author Kylie Mazon-Chambers

Ingredients

For the marinara sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken stock
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
Kosher salt, as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, as needed

To make the chicken cutlets:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
Kosher salt, as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
2 eggs
¾ cup plain breadcrumbs
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Vegetable oil, for frying, as needed

For serving:

1 pound spaghetti
16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the marinara sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is tender and translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, basil and cans of tomatoes with their liquid, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon so that the sauce isn’t chunky.
Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.
To make the sauce less chunky, I take about 3 cups of the sauce, let it cool, pulse it in a blender for 30 seconds then stir it back in with the rest of the sauce. It gives it a good consistency. Stir in the sugar then season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the chicken:

While the sauce cooks, cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and place each piece of chicken on a cutting board sandwiched between sheets of parchment paper. Use a mallet to gently pound them so they are about ½” thick. Be careful that the meat does not break.
To bread the chicken, set up three separate bowls. Place the flour in the first bowl and season with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. In the second bowl beat the eggs. In the third bowl combine the fine breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and parsley.
Add enough vegetable oil to a large frying pan so that it is ¼-inch deep. Heat until the surface of the oil is shiny.
Take a piece of chicken and dredge through the flour then the egg mixture and then the breadcrumbs shaking off any excess coating.
Fry until the chicken is completely cooked through and golden brown on each side, about 8 minutes total.
Remove to a baking rack to drain the excess oil. Continue the process until all of the chicken is fried.

For serving:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add the salt and bring back to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes.
Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Ladle in the enough of the marinara to lightly coat the pasta.
Heat broiler to high. Arrange chicken on a baking sheet and top with slices of mozzarella. Broil until the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
Place one piece of chicken on each plate. On the side of the chicken, serve pasta topped with extra sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Notes

While many recipes add the tomato sauce over the breaded chicken and broil the cheese on top - I prefer to add the cheese directly onto the chicken and broil it. This way the chicken remains crispy until it's served.

Nutrition