Here is a one-pan meal that I can never get sick of, and for good reason: parmesan crusted chicken.
It features oven-baked chicken tenders that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Together with the baby potatoes and zucchini, the garlicky parmesan crust is so delicious, people will be grinning from ear to ear. Say cheese!
Why I love this recipe:
- It’s a one-pan recipe, which means less time spent cleaning and more time spent relaxing. I count it as a blessing when I’m having an extremely busy day and still want to put something yummy on the table that’s quick and easy.
- It’s a complete meal on its own. You have protein from chicken breasts, fiber from the zucchini, carbs from baby red potatoes, and fats from parmesan cheese. Nothing is sexier to me than a balanced meal these days (Hubs still takes top spot, of course. Hi, babe!)
- The flavors are out of this world! Very similar to my parmesan crusted salmon, this chicken recipe has a crispy garlic parmesan crust that looks good and tastes even better.
You will not regret putting this on your dinner lineup this week, and your guests will be so happy you did. I hope you enjoy this recipe – I’ve been making this over and over, especially in summer.
Recipe Ingredients
One bonus reason I like this parmesan crusted chicken recipe is because it’s a lifesaver for those days when I’m staring into my pantry, just trying to visualize what I might cook. I’ll remember that the ingredients in this recipe are, more often than not, stocked in my pantry.
- Chicken breasts – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are notorious for having a tough texture, but I’ll show you how our cooking can change this forever!
- Seasoning – The four horsemen of savory food: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Unsalted butter – Melt butter in a microwave or on a skillet for a few minutes.
- Panko breadcrumbs – Panko is Japanese-style breadcrumbs and it is known for its crispy texture in breaded chicken katsu. Plain or gluten-free breadcrumbs are also fine.
- Parmesan cheese – Grated finely for the crust.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For baking and roasting, extra virgin is the better option. Otherwise, you can reach for your regular bottle of olive oil.
- Zucchinis – 2 medium zucchinis, sliced into ½ inch rounds.
- Baby red potatoes – Chop into quarters or small bite-sized pieces. Regular potatoes also work.
Step-by-Step Instructions
This recipe has a prep time of 20 minutes and a cooking time of 45 minutes.
Step One: Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step Two: Prepare two shallow bowls. In one, melt the butter. Meanwhile, in another, prepare the coating. Stir to combine panko bread crumbs, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
Step Three: Season your chicken breasts with salt and pepper. This gives it an extra pop of flavor.
Step Four: Dip the chicken breasts into the melted butter and then coat the chicken evenly in the parmesan garlic crumbs. Lay them on your baking sheet.
Step Five: Toss the baby red potatoes in olive oil, seasoning with salt, pepper and the remaining garlic parmesan coating. Spread the potatoes around your chicken on the pan.
Step Six: Tent the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Pro Tip: I put a few toothpicks in the two outer chicken breasts to prevent the foil from touching the chicken breasts. We do this so the foil doesn’t take off any of the delicious breadcrumb mixture.
Step Seven: While the chicken and potatoes are in the oven, wash, dry and cut your zucchinis in ½ inch rounds. Drizzle olive oil onto the zucchini rounds and toss together with the remainder ½ cup of parmesan cheese.
Step Eight: Remove the pan from the oven at the 30 minute mark. Remove the tin foil and spread out your zucchini rounds to the pan and insert back in the oven to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Pro Tip: You can broil for the last couple minutes to crispen everything up for that extra crunch.
Step Nine: Remove the pan from the oven. Your chicken should have turned a lovely golden brown and have an internal temperature of 165°F at the thickest part of the breast meat.
And that’s it, your one-pan parmesan crusted chicken is served. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
Tips to keep the breadcrumbs on:
If you are having trouble getting your breading to stick to the chicken, there may be 2 reasons why:
- You may not be pressing into the coating firmly enough. Once you’ve dipped the chicken breast into butter, coat evenly with the breadcrumbs and hold it for a few seconds before transferring it to the baking sheet.
- Your breadcrumb may stick better to egg wash instead of melted butter. To make egg wash, beat 2 eggs and ¼ cup of milk.
Zucchini texture and cooking rate
The reason why we exclude zucchini from the first bake is because this summer vegetable cooks very quickly. Overcooking zucchini will turn it too soft or even shrunken in size. The ideal texture for baked zucchini in this recipe is slightly firm and bouncy.
Another thing to keep in mind is to also slice the zucchini rounds in equal sizes to help them all cook through evenly.
Bookmark this recipe for your next dinner gathering. Still undecided? Explore these delicious dinner recipes:
Parmesan Crusted Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- salt + pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium zucchinis sliced into ½" rounds
- 12-16 baby red potatoes chopped in quarters
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a shallow dish melt butter. In another shallow dish add Panko bread crumbs, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Salt and pepper your chicken breasts.
- Dip into the butter and then coat in the parmesan garlic crumbs. Lay on your baking sheet.
- In a medium sized bowl add potatoes and toss in the olive oil. Add some salt and pepper and remaining parmesan garlic bread coating. Spread potatoes around your chicken on the pan.
- Tent the pan with foil and bake the chicken and potatoes for 30 minutes. (Pro Tip: I put a few toothpicks in the two outer chicken breasts to prevent the foil from touching the chicken breasts. Making sure it does not take off any of the delicious breadcrumb mixture).
- While the chicken and potatoes are in the oven, wash, dry and cut your zucchinis in ½ inch rounds.
- Wash the bowl you tossed the potatoes in, then add your zucchini rounds to the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add the remainder ½ cup of parmesan cheese and toss together.
- Remove the pan from the oven at the 30 minute mark, remove the tin foil and add your zucchini rounds to the pan and insert back in the oven for another 15 minutes. (Pro Tip: You can broil for the last couple minutes to crispen everything!)
