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This Creamy Parmesan Chicken is the perfect weeknight meal. Perfectly golden chicken breasts pan fried until crispy and then covered in a delicious creamy parmesan sauce. It is so flavorful that you’ll want to make this delightful chicken recipe again and again.
A one-pan chicken dinner, it has a simple ingredient list and only takes 30 minutes to make! Your family will be reaching for seconds of this easy parmesan chicken recipe!
Looking for more chicken recipes? Why not also try my Tuscan Chicken Thighs Recipe and my Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole! For another creamy chicken recipe, try my Creamy Chicken Tortellini Pasta.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Chicken Recipe
- Kid-friendly recipe. Who doesn’t love a mouthful of crispy chicken? Kids love this and the creamy parmesan sauce is the cherry on top! Watch them inhale this quickly.
- 30 minutes. It’s a quick and easy meal, perfect for a busy weeknight! It really is the best parmesan chicken recipe.
- Made in one-pan. The creamy chicken and the sauce are both made in a single pan. No need to get multiple pans out to make this delicious meal.
What You’ll Need
For the Chicken
- Chicken breasts — cut horizontally into two halves to turn two into four.
- Egg
- Olive oil light tasting
- Breading: parmesan cheese, all purpose flour, Spanish paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dry parsley, black pepper, pepper flakes, salt, lemon zest
For the Creamy Parmesan Sauce
- Half and half
- Chicken broth — I recommend using low sodium broth
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Pepper flakes
- Spinach
How To Make Creamy Parmesan Chicken Recipe
- Make the breading: Mix the breading ingredients in a shallow bowl or plate and set aside.
- Whisk the egg: Whisk thoroughly and set aside.
- Bread the chicken: Cut each chicken breast horizontally into 2 slices. Dredge the chicken into the egg and then into the breading mixture to coat well. Set aside.
- Pan fry the chicken: In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbsps. of light tasting olive oil (or any oil). Pan sear the chicken slices on each side for 5-7 minutes until the chicken is golden in color, crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Once the chicken is done, set aside on a plate.
- Toast the spices: In the same skillet, add in 1 tbsps. of light tasting olive oil. Pan sear the spices, with the garlic until fragrant. Just about 30 seconds.
- Make the creamy parmesan sauce: Add in the chicken broth, half and half cream, and salt. Stir the sauce and allow to boil. Once it boils, add in the parmesan cheese and stir to combine well until the creamy sauce thickens up a little. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
- Add the greens: Add in a handful of spinach, mix with the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes to thaw the spinach.
- Combine them and enjoy: Return the cooked chicken back into the skillet and cover with the creamy sauce. Allow the chicken to cook with the sauce for a couple of minutes then remove to serve. Garnish with more pepper flakes and parmesan cheese if you like.
Tips and Notes
- Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- I prefer slicing each chicken breast into two, pound the pieces a little to make them less thick if they are uneven. This helps speed up the cooking time. If you don’t cut them, they’ll take longer to cook.
- If you want to make it spicy, you can add in some cayenne pepper to the breading of the chicken breasts.
- Your chicken is done once its internal temperature has reached 165F. You can use an instant thermometer to quickly check for doneness.
FAQs
If you are making this ahead of time, I suggest storing the chicken and cream sauce separately so the chicken can stay crispy longer. If you have leftovers, store it in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop to keep the sauce from separating.
I suggest not freezing this together as the saucy may not reheat well. What you can do instead of pan fry the chicken and freeze the cooked chicken. Then when ready to enjoy, you can make the cream sauce and add the crispy cooked chicken to it instead.
You can serve up some Crispy Air Fryer French Fries, Air Fryer Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots, and Strawberry Spinach Salad with Feta with this creamy chicken!
There are so many things you can add to this easy parmesan chicken to change things up. You can cook some mushrooms before adding the sauce to the pan, you can stir in some peas at the end, add in some green beans alongside the spinach, or add some cooked pasta into the sauce and toss to coat, making it into a complete meal!
I would consider this a low carb dish because I didn’t use too much flour for the breading and substituted half of the flour with parmesan cheese instead.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Amazing Jalapeño Popper Chicken
- Bruschetta Stuffed Chicken
- Healthy Orange Chicken
- White Chicken Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
- Honey Mustard Chicken
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Creamy Parmesan Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
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Creamy Parmesan Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut horizontally into two halves
- 1 whole egg, whisked for dipping
- 2 tbsps. olive oil, light tasting
Creamy Parmesan Sauce
- 1¼ cup half and half
- ½ cup chicken broth, low sodium
- ½ tsp. black pepper, fresh cracked
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil, light tasting
- ½ tsp. pepper flakes, optional
- handful of spinach, fresh
Breading
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp. Spanish paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. dry parsley
- ¾ tsp. black pepper
- ½ tsp. pepper flakes
- ½ tsp. salt
- lemon zest, optional
Instructions
- Mix the breading ingredients in a shallow bowl or plate and set aside.
- Whisk the egg and set aside.
- Cut each chicken breast horizontally into 2 slices. Dredge the chicken into the egg and then into the breading mixture to coat well. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbsps. of light tasting olive oil (or any oil). Pan sear the chicken slices on each side for 5-7 minutes until the chicken is golden in color, crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Once the chicken is done, set aside on a plate.
- In the same skillet, add in 1 tbsps. of light tasting olive oil. Pan sear the spices, with the garlic until fragrant. Just about 30 seconds.
- Add in the chicken broth, half and half cream, and salt. Stir the sauce and allow to boil. Once it boils, add in the parmesan cheese and stir to combine well until the creamy sauce thickens up a little. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
- Add in a handful of spinach, mix with the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes to thaw the spinach.
- Return the cooked chicken back into the skillet and cover with the creamy sauce. Allow the chicken to cook with the sauce for a couple of minutes then remove to serve.
- Garnish with more pepper flakes and parmesan cheese if you like. This is optional.
Notes
- Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- I prefer slicing each chicken breast into two pieces to make them less thick. This helps speed up the cooking time. If you don’t cut them, they’ll take longer to cook and you risk over-cooking the chicken.
- If you want to make it spicy, you can add in some cayenne pepper to the breading of the chicken breasts.
- Your chicken is done once its internal temperature has reached 165F. You can use an instant thermometer to quickly check for doneness.
This was one of the best meals I’ve ever made. I make a lot of chicken and cream sauce dishes but this surpassed them all. I felt like I was eating out at a restaurant. Everyone in my family loved it.
Glad to hear it was a hit for you! Thanks for rating the recipe. Very much appreciated.
I loved this recipe!!! Little bit of spice and lotta bit of creamy and cheesy!!! I wish my chicken crust was crispier but it was my first time dipping chicken and pan searing! I added more spinach because I love it but other than that stayed true to the recipe!
Hi Christina,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe and adjusted it to your preference. Thanks for leaving a review.
Delicious!
Hi Lisa,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the review.
Thanks Lisa! glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Amazing! Turned out great