Recipes > Baked Parmesan Chicken
Topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon zest, fresh breadcrumbs and green onions, these oven-baked chicken breasts are full of flavor.
Dawn Thomas
- Serves: 4
- Active Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Views: 48,079
- Success Rating: 96% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing the Breading
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 green onions
- 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Method
To start, preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C). If you don’t have fresh bread crumbs on hand, grind/pulse 2 to 3 slices of white bread in a food processor until quite fine.
Next, finely grate the Parmesan cheese and finely chop the green onions. Melt the butter. Zest half of the lemon. Juice half of the lemon and reserve for making the sauce.
In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, onions, lemon zest, melted butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Step 2: Preparing the Chicken
- 4 single chicken breasts
Method
To prepare the chicken, remove the tender from each breast and save for another use. If desired, remove the tendons before storing.
Lightly grease or spray a baking tray with oil. Place the chicken breasts onto the tray, leaving about one inch between each breast.
Divide the crumb mixture between the breasts and press evenly over the top.
Step 3: Baking the Chicken
Method
Place the chicken into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until just cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan. Gently cover with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.
Step 4: Making the Sauce & Finishing the Dish
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp Italian parsley
- 1 to 2 tsp cold, unsalted butter (optional)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tbsp reserved lemon juice
Method
To make the sauce, scrape any bits from the baking tray (even the crumbs) into a small pot. Place over medium heat and add the chicken stock, along with the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and let reduce by about half.
In the meantime, roughly chop the parsley.
To finish the sauce, taste for seasoning. This sauce is supposed to have a nice punch of lemon flavor, so add a touch more lemon juice, if needed. If you like, you can also finish the sauce with a bit of cold butter. This will give the sauce a nice sheen and will also mellow out the lemon juice.
Once the chicken is plated, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sauce over each breast and serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- by Dawn Thomas
- •
- January 8, 2010
This dish goes particularly well with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Carrots</>.
17 Comments
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Made this last night and it was a perfect "light" dinner. Another great rouxbe lesson, thanks! -
Suggest lightly toasting slices to remove moisture in fresh white bread prior to pulsing into crumbs. Moisture + crumbs = fat clumpy crumbs. -
I have made this recipe twice using panko bread crumbs and both times it was delicious. Tonight I am going to make this recipe for the first time using fresh bread crumbs, can't wait!
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I don't have the words at the moment to describe how great this dish is. It's like a really good movie that stays with you long after you leave the theater and you keep reminiscing over it because you don't want it to end...and in my case, can't believe I made something that tasted this good. I made 3 perfect dishes tonight for my family and there were no left-overs, all thanks to Rouxbe and Dawn's recipes. However, this one was really special because of the lessons on Rouxbe and the awesome videos. My sauce came out too thick, and the only way I knew this was through watching the videos on making pan sauce. I am so grateful for the instruction because I instantly knew to just add a little more liquid, which was the amazing dark chicken stock I made yesterday. My husband and kid admitted this dish was one of the best things I've ever made and their only complaint was MORE SAUCE PLEASE! There's nothing like seeing the smile on someone's face that your heart produced with a little bit of Rouxbe and Dawn's guidance. I think there's hope for this inept cook yet. Best wishes -
This is the first recipe I've tried from the site and it was wonderful. I served the chicken on a bed of oven roasted tomatos (another Rouxbe recipe) and the balance of the lemon in the sauce and the sweet of the tomato had my family swooning. As a side dish I sauted cabbage, (yet again, another Rouxbe recipe). I left it a tiny bit undercooked and it added a great little buttery crunch to the meal. The bread crumbs and cheese made a wonderful coating for the chicken. I'm going to try this recipe with fish which should go well with the lemony sauce. I pass on all the praise to Rouxbe for having such clear and precise videos. I've spent years using recipes but never have I really concentrated on the skills and techniques needed to become a better cook. Thank you Rouxbe!
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I made this a couple of weeks ago - very delicious! My wife loved it and as with most Rouxbe recipes, it is not difficult to prepare if you get everything chopped and portioned ahead of time. I followed the comment on toasting the bread first and the bread crumbs turned out wonderful. I am always looking for ways to make my meals more nutritious so I think I will try to make whole wheat bread crumbs tonight.
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Made this again tonight for about the sixth time but this time kind of winged it. Superb. This is one dish that's pretty hard to screw up. Didn't have green onions, so I winged it with sauteing minced shallots, then a bit of minced garlic. Then I infused the melted butter with them along with the lemon zest. Then mixed the butter mixture with the panko, (I still use panko). Used a little too much butter, but who cares. Thank goodness for thermometers. The time to cook was not long enough for the cuts of chicken I used. After checking the temperature, I put them back into the oven for another 10 minutes. Came out perfect. Thank you Rouxbe for giving me these simple dishes, then encouraging me to have the courage to experiment. I was such a horrible cook before I found you. A few of your lessons are finally starting to become second nature freeing up my fears around experimenting and finding my own "voice". I never dreamed I'd get this far when I first signed up. I tried to blow through the lessons as fast as I could so I could become a good cook. That's not how it works. It takes time, mistakes, patience, etc. I have so much to learn, but am deeply grateful for how far you have helped me come. Thanks
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I'm receiving friends for dinner and I watt to serve them this dish... Got a couple of questions for you guys :-) Since I'm a newbie (and believe me... i am), what is the suggested baking temperature? I see there is no tomato sauce, so I was wondering what would be a good side for serve with the chicken? Thank you so much for your help !! -
Rouxbe Staff
Step 1 of the recipe indicates to preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In terms of a side, this is a very versatile dish and pairs well with so many things. Think about color and texture that would look great together and taste yummy. I would make a starch such as the Lemon Parmesan Orzo, Simple Polenta, Creamy Mashed Potatoes or even roasted or steamed potatoes - even a side of Spaghetti Aglio e Olio would be lovely. In terms of a veggie, the Roasted Glazed Carrots, Sauteed French Green Beans, Grilled Asparagus, or Steamed or Braised Kale would be delish. It's really up to you and what you like. Hope this helps! Have a great dinner. -
This was really good and so easy! I used skinless breasts and thighs and baked for 45 minutes - eventhe breasts stayed juicy! Next time, I might try without the lemon zest, as I would like the para-reggiano to be the primary flavor. Love your recipes and vid lessons. I am learning so much!! -
This is a keeper. Loved it. -
I have just shredded my 3 oz. of Parmigiano-Reggiano and the yield is only 1 cup, not 2 cups. Recipe says 2 cups (3 oz) so do I use 6 oz to get the 2 cups or stop at 3 oz and only 1 cup. -
Thanks for pointing this out, the recipe has been updated, to just say "2 cups grated parmesan". So yes, you will need at least double the amount to get the 2 cups. Cheers! -
Thanks for the clarification. I went ahead and made it with the 1 cup and found it was still pretty good. Next time I'll try it with the 2 cups. Also used chicken broth, not stock because it's what I had on hand. Again, result was pretty darn good. It will be an interesting comparison when I use stock and the proper amount of cheese! Can't wait :)
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what can i use or do to ensure the breadcrumb coating coating stays together and sticks to the chicken without using egg.thank you. -
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz- The crumb mixture is pressed "evenly over the top" of the breasts. The crumb mixture has enough moisture and fat to "stay together" as you put it. There is no egg in the recipe. The crumb mixture is not coating the breast but sitting on top of the breast. Enjoy this delicious recipe! -
can i use dried packet breadcrumbs for convenience and if so would i need to use less? im not gonna use parmagianno reggiano but mild melting cheese to be more economical if thats ok
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