Lightened Up Baked Chicken Parmesan
You’ll love how quickly you can get dinner on the table with this Lightened Up Baked Chicken Parmesan!
It’s 30 Minute Thursday, friends! In case you’re new here, on the first Thursday of every month a few friends and I each share a dinner recipe that you can get on your table in half an hour, start to finish.
I love 30 Minute Thursdays because (1) coming up with a new 30 minute meal is always a fun challenge, and (2) I always get so many delicious new dinner ideas from the other bloggers who participate!
You can find the complete list of February’s 30 Minute Thursday recipes below, right after the recipe for this Lightened Up Baked Chicken Parmesan. Let me know if you try any and how they turn out! I’ll be adding them to my easy dinner recipes Pinterest board so that I remember to add them to my menu plans in the coming weeks.
Whenever I make Chicken Parmesan, it’s always a hit with my whole family. My kids can be picky, but chicken is something I pretty much always know they’ll eat. Especially when it has a crispy breadcrumb coating and is served with pasta and marinara sauce!
Since this Lightened Up Baked Chicken Parmesan is baked, it’s a healthier dinner, especially if you serve it with whole grain pasta. You don’t need to add too much cheese – a little bit of Parmesan and mozzarella go a long way here. Steamed or roasted broccoli are easy sides that go well with this meal.
To make this, you’ll want to first get the water boiling for your pasta (and prep your broccoli if your making some).
To make the chicken, you’ll stir together some breadcrumbs (I use Panko), grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. The chicken gets dipped first in a mixture of egg and milk, and then in the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake the chicken until it’s done, top it with a little marinara and mozzarella, and then broil for a few minutes until the cheese gets all melty and the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. Yum!
Here are a few more 30 minute dinner recipes that I think you’ll love:
- 5 Ingredient One Pot Pasta with Chicken Sausage
- Spinach Pesto and Tomato Flatbread Pizzas
- Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Orange-Ginger Sauce
Like what you see? Be sure to follow along to never miss a recipe!
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- 8 ounces linguine pasta
- ½ cup Panko (or other) breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk or water
- 4 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
- 2 cups marinara sauce, divided
- 1 cup (4 ounces) grated mozzarella cheese
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente. Drain.
- Meanwhile, stir together Panko crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish or pie plate. In a second dish, whisk together the egg and milk or water. Dip each chicken piece first into the egg and then into the crumb mixture, so that both sides are coated. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake chicken in upper third of the oven for 12-15 minutes, until it registers 165 on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and turn on the broiler.
- Spoon ¼ cup marinara sauce over each piece of chicken, and then sprinkle each with ¼ cup of mozzarella cheese. Return the chicken to the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted.
- Divide cooked pasta between four plates, top with the remaining marinara sauce and chicken. Sprinkle on fresh parsley. Serve.
Be sure to check out my friends’ 30 minute recipes for February:
One Pot 30-Minute Pasta e Fagioli from Flavor the Moments
Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs with Creamy Polenta from Floating Kitchen
Tuna Casserole from My Kitchen Craze
Easy Chicken Pad Thai from Life Made Sweeter
One Pot Black Bean Fajita Pasta (Make Ahead) from Sweet Peas & Saffron
Italian Chicken Tortellini Skillet from The Recipe Rebel
Healthy Taco Chickpea Lettuce Wraps from She Likes Food
30 Minute Chicken Stew from Bake.Eat.Repeat
Garlic Parmesan Gnocchi with Mushrooms from Pumpkin ‘N Spice
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I never really used to like chicken parmesan growing up because of the way my step-mom prepared it. But, now that I’m older and can make it how I want, I find that I’m loving it. This lightened up version looks perfect, Kristine! You are reminding me that it’s been too long since I’ve made this!
This looks so good, Kristine! I actually just wrote a recipe yesterday for a very similar dish because I wanted to make a healthier version of our favorite Chicken Parm. It’s going on our dinner menu this week, so it will be fun to compare our two versions. 🙂
You can never go wrong with this combination of flavors!
I’m all over anything chicken parm, especially when it’s lightened up and done in 30! This looks just perfect Kristine, and I think my kids would love this too!
Should we trade baked chicken parmesan meals today? Lol. Looks great. Always a classic!
My husband is always requesting panko chicken and he loves pizza so I’m pretty sure he would love me forever if I made him this for dinner! And I’m trying to get him to eat a little healthier, so this is perfect!
YUM! We don’t eat chicken parmesan nearly often enough…this looks absolutely wonderful and so convenient that it’s ready in 30 minutes!
Yum! I need to make Chicken Parm more often. I made it a long time ago and it tasted blah, so I haven’t made it since. I’m totally going to make yours. I love how it’s lightened up and only takes 30 minutes. That’s a win win in my book! 🙂
This looks so good! Chicken and pasta is something my kids will always eat too, so we definitely need to try this one ASAP!