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A cozy and comforting chicken parmesan for two that will warm you up on a cold winter evening.
Crispy, saucy, Italian restaurant style chicken parm has to be one of the most comforting dishes to ever exist. It’s been a staple in my family for the longest time, and a favorite dish to make when the weather gets colder!
This tasty chicken parm for 2 is so easy to make. It will take you less than an hour from start to finish, even if you make the tomato sauce from scratch. Make it for a simple comfort food dinner or pop open a bottle of red wine and treat yourself to an Italian style date night at home!
What This Recipe Entails
To make crispy chicken parm for 2, you’ll need to make the tomato sauce, dredge and fry chicken cutlets, then top the chicken with sauce and cheese and melt under the broiler. Optionally, you can save yourself some time and use store bought tomato sauce.
- Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
- Cook time: 35 to 40 minutes, if making tomato sauce from scratch (10 to 15 minutes if using store-bought)
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make our chicken parm recipe:
- Breaded chicken cutlets – You’ll need flour, egg, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, and some seasonings to coat the chicken before frying in oil.
- Tomato sauce – Make a simple homemade sauce with olive oil, garlic, crushed tomatoes, water, and seasonings for the best authentic Italian flavor. Or, use your favorite store bought sauce for an easy shortcut that’ll save you some time.
- Mozzarella cheese – We recommend buying deli slices of mozzarella for chicken parm, since it melts the best. If you can’t find it, the next best option is a block of mozzarella you can shred yourself.
- Pasta – Chicken parm is traditionally served with spaghetti, but we like to use thicker noodles like fettuccine or linguine. Choose your favorite pasta shape to serve with this dish!
How To Make Chicken Parm
It’s so easy to make crispy chicken parm! All you need is a good frying pan and the right ingredients, and you’ll be digging into this classic Italian dinner in no time.
- First, make the sauce. Simmer the sauce on the stovetop for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can get your pasta boiling and your chicken prepped while the sauce cooks.
- Next, dredge and fry the chicken. Coat the chicken evenly in flour, then egg, then breadcrumb. Heat a quarter inch of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed skillet, then fry the chicken once the oil is super hot. This should only take a few minutes per side, until it’s crispy and golden brown. Drain chicken on paper towels.
- Then, make the chicken parm. Transfer the chicken to a parchment lined baking sheet. Top generously with the tomato sauce, then the mozzarella cheese. Broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned.
- Finally, serve hot with pasta. Toss the pasta and tomato sauce together and serve with chicken parm, garnished with grated parmesan cheese and parsley.
Serving Suggestions
Chicken parm is the perfect Sunday dinner during the winter, and it also makes a great date night dish when you don’t want to leave the house. Here are some suggestions for what to serve with chicken parm:
- A fresh garden salad with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and vinaigrette dressing
- Garlic bread to sop up all the delicious tomato sauce
- Italian bread and dipping oils – try a garlic infused olive oil and balsamic pairing, or simply add red pepper flakes and grated parmesan to extra virgin olive oil for a delicious dip
- Your favorite red wine – we love pairing pasta with syrah
Scaling
Just because this is a chicken parm recipe for 2, doesn’t mean you can’t easily scale it for a larger crowd! Make chicken parm for the whole family by simply scaling the recipe up as needed, with a few notes:
- Leave yourself extra time to dredge and fry the chicken, since you may have to do this in batches.
- Optionally use two skillets to fry larger batches of chicken at a time. We use both halves of our 2-in-1 cast iron multi cooker when we need to fry in two pans at once.
FAQs
Always coat the chicken in flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs. The flour helps the egg stick to the chicken, and the egg helps the breading stick. Make sure to fully coat the chicken at each stage to get an even coating. You can also gently press the breadcrumbs into the chicken to help them stick better.
Vegetable oil is best for getting crispy chicken parm. It has a high smoke point, which makes it ideal for frying at high temperatures.
You may not be cooking your chicken at a high enough temperature. Make sure the oil is super hot before adding the chicken to the pan, so that it begins to crisp right as it hits the oil. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the breading will soak up too much oil as the chicken starts to cook and become soggy.
Expert Tips
- To make perfect chicken cutlets for chicken parm, simply slice a chicken breast in half horizontally (like you’re butterflying it, but cut all the way through). Then, pound to a quarter-inch thickness.
- Use deli slices of mozzarella, not fresh mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella has too high of a water content and won’t melt as nicely on top of the chicken.
- Use a heavy cast iron skillet for frying the chicken. Cast iron heats evenly and holds its temperature, which makes it perfect for frying at high heat.
- Watch the chicken under the broiler! Depending on your oven, it may take only a minute to a few minutes for the cheese to melt. Watch the chicken carefully during this step so you don’t accidentally burn the cheese.
Try our chicken parmesan for two recipe and don’t forget to rate, comment, and share below. We love to hear what you think of our recipes!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Chicken Parm Sandwiches
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan
- Eggplant Parm Sandwich
- Vegetarian Lasagna with Cottage Cheese
- Italian Slow Cooker Meatballs and Gravy
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Chicken Parmesan For Two
Ingredients
- 2 servings fettuccine
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 28 ounce canned crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Chicken Cutlets
- 6 ounces chicken breast sliced into 3 ounce cutlets and pounded to a quarter inch thickness
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg beaten well
- ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 2 slices mozzarella cheese
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Fresh parsley finely chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
- First, make the tomato sauce:Add the extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes to a medium saucepan over medium heat and sauté until fragrant, 1 minute or so.Then, add the crushed tomatoes and water and stir to combine. Stir in the basil, salt, and oregano, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, or until reduced by half. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
- In the meantime, boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Next, dredge the chicken cutlets:Add the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs to three separate, shallow dishes. To the breadcrumbs, add grated parmesan, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.Coat the chicken cutlets in flour first, then egg, then the breadcrumb mixture. Make sure to fully coat each piece and let any excess egg drip off before transferring to the breadcrumbs.
- Heat a quarter inch of vegetable oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once very hot, add the chicken and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain chicken on a paper towel lined plate.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the chicken to it. Top each piece of chicken with a generous spoonful of tomato sauce, then a slice of mozzarella cheese.Broil until the cheese is melty, brown, and bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Finally, toss most of the remaining tomato sauce with the fettuccine. Serve pasta topped with additional sauce and chicken parm, then top with grated parmesan and fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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