Easy Chicken Parmesan

Sometimes I crave Italian food, but the problem is that most of the time when you get it at a restaurant, everything is soaked and sauteed in butter. And don’t get me wrong – that can be SO delicious and exactly what you need…

…But on days that you want to stay on track and be healthy (or just want a delicious home-cooked Italian meal), this easy chicken parmesan recipe is the way to go.

Though we’ve made this dish numerous times in the past, every time we make it we think to ourselves, “Why don’t we make this more?” We have so many favorites, and this is definitely one of them.

I love an easy dish that you can look forward to making and feel full and satisfied after having! 🙂

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

2 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ cup of oatmeal
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. oregano
½ cup shredded Italian 5 cheese or parmesan
salt and pepper

For the Sauce:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves minced
16oz. can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. First trim the fat off the chicken. I also pounded them out to make them about 1/2 inch thick (which will help them cook more evenly).
3. Combine all the breading ingredients into a food processor and pulse until fine and well combined. Set aside.
4. To make the sauce, add the oil, garlic, red pepper flake and oregano to a saucepan and turn on heat to about medium. Saute for about 45 seconds (you don’t want to burn the garlic) and then add the tomato sauce. Stir to combine.
5. Turn down heat to low; you just want to heat up the sauce, not boil it.
6. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
7. You will now set up an assembly line starting with the plate of chicken, butter, breading, and then your baking sheet. Brush a little butter on each side of the chicken then dip into the breading mixture, pressing it on each side. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.
8. Spray top of chicken with cooking spray and place in oven for about 15-20 min depending on the thickness. Take out of oven and flip over, then put back in oven for another 5 minutes.
9. Once that is done you will take the chicken out and spread 1-2 tbsp. of the sauce on top of each piece of chicken and follow with 1 tbsp. of cheese. Pop it back in the oven for another 5 minutes to finish it off.

Nutritional Information:

Serving Size:1 piece of chicken parmesan w/ sauce  (½ chicken breast after being pounded out)
Servings: 7

Calories: 217
Fat: 9 g
Carbs: 9g
Sodium: 209 mg (without salt)
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 26 g