Photo by Jill Lang
When you’re a parent, getting through the minutes of your day can take on a colorful and electic mix. You may spend your day playing with matchbox cars, cleaning bodily fluids off of every surface imaginable, scrambling to get a last minute appointment at the pediatrician’s office, or even scouring the internet trying to find a way to get gum out of your toddler’s hair.
Developing quick and easy recipes has, by necessity, become one of my favorite pastimes. I love to take favorite recipes and put a little “American” into them . . . you know– don’t think too much and always wish it were faster. Haha.
This is definitely a quick and easy recipe– it takes maybe 5 minutes to prepare, and the best part is that you can make it the night before, pop it in the fridge, and then just take it out and bake it when you’re ready to eat. It is also easily customizable for a variety of different tastes and health needs. I’ll explain a little more about that as we go along. Dinner in 5 minutes. What could be easier than that?
Not much! What are we waiting for? Let’s do this!
Easy Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients:
6 pieces of bone-in-chicken, in pieces of your choice
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Directions:
Whisk egg and milk together in a bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and coat in the bread crumb/parmesan cheese mixture. Press the crumbs into the chicken so that they adhere more thickly. Place chicken in a greased 13×9 baking sheet and lightly mist the chicken coating with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes-1.5 hours, until chicken is done. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for delicious cold picnic chicken.
Now, in pictures!
Whisk your egg and 2 tbsp. milk together in a bowl. This is the coating that will hold the crumb coating onto your chicken.
When you whisk the egg and milk, it should look like this. This is what we will dip the raw chicken into– and I think it goes without saying, but throw this out after the raw chicken uses it for a spa day.
Before you start rolling on that, make your crumb mixture. If you have a dietary allergy, feel free to substitute the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs for something else (GF bread crumbs for a celiac allergy, non-seasoned breadcrumbs and Mrs. Dash for high blood pressure/low sodium diet, etc). Break up the Parmesan cheese crumbs so there aren’t any huge chunks.
Assemble your workstation. I like to do chicken on the left, then egg, then crumbs, and then my greased 13×9 ready to receive the blessings, on the far right. Use one hand for “wet” items (picking up the chicken and rolling in the egg mixture, and one hand for “dry” items (coating the chicken in crumb mixture). That way, you aren’t gooeying (is that a word?) up your dry mixture and breading your own fingers each time you double dip.
Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then place in the crumbs. Press the crumbs into the chicken so that they stick more effectively, and place chicken into a greased 13×9 pan.
Mist the top of your breaded chicken pieces with cooking spray. This gives the chicken a nice crispy feel, without all the fat of frying it. And who doesn’t love some delicious crispy chicken? Mmm . . .
I want to mention, too– that you can do this breading/misting step early– going to have a long day? Get this chicken ready the night before, and cover the pan/put in the fridge. When you’re ready for supper, just throw it in the oven, and you’re good to go. You can also bake this ahead of time and bring it, chilled, to a picnic. It tastes great either way. It is also fantastic cut into pieces, as leftovers, and placed over your favorite green salad. Mmm.
Photo by Jill Lang
Bake at 375 for roughly an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Every oven is a little different, so test with a meat thermometer or by carefully cutting into a piece to make sure chicken is done. It smells awesome, and you can give yourself a pat on the back for throwing together a delicious, homemade, “fried chickenesque” meal in about the time it takes to answer, for the thousandth time today, why we can’t eat cookies for supper. Or candy . . . or ice cream . . . (Answer: “Because Mommy said so!”).
Photo by Jill Lang
I would suggest homemade white bread as a great accompaniment to this recipe. See how to make my white loaf bread
here. Trust me– when you have the intoxicating smells of baked chicken and homemade bread in your chicken, even your kids might decide to taste 😉
You did it. And I’m just so proud of you!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which just means that we get a few pennies if you purchase through our link. I never recommend products that I don't personally use and love. Thanks!
