The other night as I was making dinner I was thinking of how far I’ve come in my cooking. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and baking but I’ve also always been a very picky eater. I stuck with the few things that I knew and didn’t keep a variety of foods, condiments, and spices on hand.
The fact that my husband and I were poor college students didn’t help. We needed simple, basic recipes that didn’t call for anything strange or expensive.
As our family has grown so has my love for trying new dishes and experimenting with flavors, new foods, and a variety of ways to cook it.
But through it all, there are a few recipes that are so tried and true – and yummy! – that I continue to make them year after year.
And today I want to share one of those special, but very simple recipes, with you.
Baked Parmesan Chicken has been one of our go-to recipes for 16 years now! It’s so easy, it’s yummy, kids love it, you can pair just about any side you want with it, and I can almost guarantee that you’ll have all the ingredients on hand already. You’re going to love how quickly this comes together and the delicious crunch that is a no-fail every time!
Baked Parmesan Chicken
First, melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a medium dish.
Second, add 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs to a second medium dish. Then add in 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. This is the trick to this recipe. Most of the baked parmesan recipes you find call for grated Parmesan (the kind in the green bottle that’s very powdery). That will absolutely work with this recipe too. But it’s so much better – and the key to getting the best crispy outside – if you use actual shredded Parmesan cheese. You can find it easily, all ready to go, in the cheese section of the grocery store.
Third, mix 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon of parsley, 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper into the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. The cheese will make it a little harder to incorporate everything but you can do it!
Fourth, dip one of the pieces of your chicken into the melted butter and then immediately dip it into the breadcrumb/cheese mixture. The recipe calls for 6 chicken breast tenderloins. If you want to use regular chicken breasts you can, but you will probably want to double the breadcrumb recipe.
Helpful hint: You’ll want to really push the mixture down into the chicken to get everything to stick well.
Next, place your chicken in a greased 13×9 inch pan.
Repeat with each of the remaining pieces of chicken.
I personally like to sprinkle just another little bit of Parmesan cheese on top of the chicken after it’s all in the pan.
Then place your pan in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.
You can find great tips in our Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken (and a great alternative recipe) on how to accurately tell when your chicken is completely cooked. You do not want to have undercooked chicken!
When your chicken is finished pull it out of the oven, let it cool just slightly, then remove and serve.
Helpful hint: You will find cheese that has spilled onto the pan and is probably over-cooked. It’s very simple to not pick that up when removing the chicken from the pan. Although there are some, like my crazy kids, who enjoy the extra super crunchy cheese and eat it as is!
Baked Parmesan Chicken
- 6 chicken breast tenderloins
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Melt butter in a medium dish.
- Add dry bread crumbs to a second medium dish.
- Add in shredded Parmesan cheese
- Mix oregano, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper into the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese
- Dip one of the pieces of chicken into the melted butter and immediately dip it into the breadcrumb/cheese mixture.
- Place chicken in a greased 13×9 inch pan.
- Repeat with each of the remaining pieces of chicken.
- Place your oven preheated to 400 degrees.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.
And as easy as that you’ve got Baked Parmesan Chicken. A great main dish that’s simple, cost-effective, and great tasting! Serve with any number of sides, salads, veggies, soups, or condiments. Let me know in the comments what you think of using shredded Parmesan cheese or if you decided to go the regular route with grated Parmesan instead.
Happy eating!
~Kimberly