Perfectly golden chicken breasts pan fried until crispy and then covered in a delicious parmesan sauce, this Creamy Parmesan Chicken is the perfect weeknight meal. It is so flavorful that you’ll want to make this delightful chicken recipe again and again.
2large chicken breastscut horizontally into two halves
1wholeeggwhisked for dipping
2tbsps.olive oillight tasting
Creamy Parmesan Sauce
1¼cuphalf and half
½cupchicken brothlow sodium
½tsp.black pepperfresh cracked
½tsp.salt
½cupparmesan cheesegrated
4clovesgarlicminced
1tbsp.olive oillight tasting
½tsp.pepper flakesoptional
handful of spinachfresh
Breading
¾cupparmesan cheeseshredded
¼cupall purpose flour
½tsp.Spanish paprika
1tsp.onion powder
1tsp.garlic powder
1tsp.dry parsley
¾tsp.black pepper
½tsp.pepper flakes
½tsp.salt
lemon zestoptional
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.