Homemade chicken parmigiana is also known as chicken parmesan is a great Aussie pub favourite but we call it the chicken parmi, chicken parma or schnitty topped with tomato sauce. This recipe has tender and succulent chicken schnitty aka chicken schnitzel with a crispy crumb and flavoursome tomato passata sauce topped with oozing cheese.
After I stopped working as a full-time chef, I was a contract chef for 2 months. I got the chance to go and work in Australian pubs and I was surprised how famous this dish was in pubs, every time I get an order to see the chicken parmy on 9 out of 10 orders was really astonishing.
In pubs it was an easy assembly because schnitzels are already made, all we had to do was top it up with parmigiana sauce ( Napolitana sauce or passata sauce) and shredded mozzarella nd bake it. and of course, it was served with the good old deep-fried chips and a salad.
Is chicken parmigiana italian?
No, it’s not Italian, I know this might come as a shock but the history behind it is American Italian immigrants in America created this dish with chicken but of course it was inspired by the Italian ‘ eggplant parmigiana’ but it did not originate from Italy. this great American dish was soon adopted by the Australians as well, and as we all know it, it definitely is a hit in any pub meal in Australia
How to make chicken parmigiana sauce?
You can either make my chicken parmigiana sauce which I totally recommend because it is so flavoursome and will make a difference in terms of maximum flavour. But if you are time poor and need to make a quick dinner, store-bought tomato pasta sauce can be also used.
The chicken parmigiana sauce is so simple to make it only needs to an onion, garlic, herbs and crushed tomatoes, you can use this base in many other recipes as well such as pizza, in pasta. Have you tried my homemade pizza recipe!!! oh, you have no idea what you are missing on.
Chicken parmigiana ingredients
This dish is basically an assembly of chicken breast schnitzels, topped with passata sauce and shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese and oven baked until it is gratinated on the top
Chicken parmigiana bake
How to bake chicken parmigiana
Chicken parmigiana needs to be baked in a hot oven. We should make sure the chicken is not overcooked and the crumb remains crispy after baking.
I have made sure in this recipe I will be par cooking the chicken while frying and it will be fully cooked only after it is baked, this way you will have the juiciest and succulent chicken that also has a crispy crumb.
What cut of chicken to use for chicken parmigiana
Chicken breast needs to be used for this recipe. which also needs to be sliced into two pieces. the whole breast is too big to make this dish, which can result in middle being raw and the sides being over cooked, ths it is important to cut 2 slices from one breast so it cooks evenly and quickly.
How to serve chicken parmigiana
Garden leaf salad
chips
Mash potato
Cracked cheese bread
How to crumb chicken parmigiana
This step is very important because the end of the day you want ultra-crispy chicken schnitzels that would eventually turn to a chicken parmigiana.
It is a basic crumbing recipe, but we are going to add loads of flavours into it, so this recipe will be ultra-delicious.
First, it needs to be passed in flour, then egg wash and then a panko and parmesan crumb, the reason why I am using a panko crumb is I believe it actually is the best crumb that would make a chicken ultra-crispy, you can use regular breadcrumbs too but definitely use panko if you have access as, it is such a good crumb for any fried recipe.
What type of cheese to use for Chicken parmigiana bake?
I am using a blend of Mozzarella and parmesan, the reason why it is a mix of two cheese is that mozzarella gives that oozing texture whereas parmesan contributes for flavour and also if you just use mozzarella, it will just slide off all over the tray but with the blend of mozzarella and parmesan, actually stays together and will not ooze into the tray too much.
You can also check my other dinner recipes.
Watch how to make homemade chicken parmigiana recipe
Step by step recipe how to make homemade chicken parmigiana recipe
Homemade chicken parmigiana recipe
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
Parmigiana sauce
- 1/4 Brown onion Chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves Chopped
- 1 tsp Chilli flakes
- 1 tsp Dried herbs
- 400 g Crushed tomato
- 200 g Water
- Salt and pepper To taste
Chicken parmigiana
- 2 Chicken breast Cut in half horizontally
- Salt & pepper
- Dried herbs
Crumbing
- 100 g All-purpose flour
- 3 Eggs
- 50 g Panko crumb
- 20 g Parmesan Grated
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Dried herbs
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
Cheese topping
- 40 g Mozarella Grated
- 20 g Parmesan Grated
Instructions
Parmigiana sauce
- Heat a pan on medium heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil
- Add onion, garlic and cook until soft, once cooked, add chilli flakes, dried herbs, crushed tomato, water, salt and pepper. Mix and leave it on medium fire for 15-20 mins until reduced and it has become a thick sauce
Cutting the chicken
- Place the full chicken breast on a chopping board and cut the chicken horizontally so that you get two pieces of chicken from one whole breast
- Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, dried herbs on both sides
Crumb the chicken
- Place the panko crumb in a bowl and mix dried herbs, salt, pepper, parmesan directly into the crumb and mix well
- Prepare 3 bowls separately with flour, eggs, panko crumb mix that was prepared
- Dip the chicken firstly in flour, then egg, then in the panko crumb mixture and leave aside until needed
How to cook the chicken schnitzels
- Place a pan on medium heat filled with oil, enough oil to fry the chicken breast (Shallow frying)
- Once the oil is hot, cook the chicken for 1 min on one side, 1 minute on the other side. Take off the chicken from the hot oil and let it drain on a paper towel or a a wire rack
Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 200c (conventional)
- Place the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese in a small bowl and mix well to combine, leave aside until needed.
- Place the cooked chicken on a tray, topped with 2 tbsp of the prepared parmigiana sauce then top it up with the cheese mixture that was prepared earlier
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes
- Serve warm.
2 thoughts on “Homemade chicken parmigiana recipe”
We enjoyed eating chicken parmigiana looked beautiful and tasty.
Thank you