5 ingredient, 10 minute magic – this ultra crispy PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN is insane! Juicy chicken on the inside, and a crazy, crunchy golden crust on the outside, serve it with silky cauliflower mash and a drizzle of browned butter for the ultimate gluten free, low-carb meal!
The great thing about doing “this” as a full time job means I don’t have a boss, so I can wake up and decide on a whim that I’m going to sloth around in my PJ’s all day, binge watch Netflix and have popcorn for morning tea. The bad thing about being your own boss is that when you have Man-Flu* and literally don’t have the strength to reach out of bed and hit Publish on a recipe that’s already written up and ready to go, then a post gets skipped.
I swore I’d never be one of those bloggers who would use my website to weep and moan about waking up with headaches, and I swear I’m not doing that nor looking for condolences of any sort because seriously, WHO gets a cold in the middle of summer???? It’s ridiculous. 🙄 And such a waste of time. That’s what being sick is. A waste of time!!!
* Official definition of Man-Flu (noun):
a cold or similar minor ailment as experienced by a man who is regarded as exaggerating the severity of the symptoms.
**She ducks as all male readers chuck rotten tomatoes at her.**
So, this Parmesan Crusted Chicken is the recipe I had written up and ready to go on Monday. And of course, all the words I’d written were along the lines of things like “what a way to start the week!” and “How was your weekend??”, so I had to rewrite it all. 🙄 Not that I’m complaining. I make, shoot and film recipes weeks, sometimes months ahead of publishing. But I like keeping the commentary live.
So in case you can’t tell from the photos (really?? surely!!!), this recipe is all about that parmesan crust. It’s crunchy, it’s golden, it’s packed with flavour and perfectly seasoned so other than the teeniest tiniest pinch of salt in the egg mixture (the glue), you don’t need to add any salt or other seasonings at all.
Also, no mucking around with flour either. I tried it with and without, and for shredded parmesan, it didn’t glue it on any better so I opt to skip it. Which means this is 100% gluten free.
It’s honestly as simple as this – split chicken breasts in half. Dunk in garlicky egg, press on parmesan, pan fry to golden crispy perfection.
Doesn’t that parmesan crust look incredible?? That colour ain’t from Photoshopping, that’s the colour it actually is. For the cynics out there – see? Evidence. Haven’t touched the saturation slider!!
This is a super quick dinner. If this is in your pan for longer than 6 minutes, you’ve overcooked the chicken. Speed is imperative here. High heat and speed! (We like speed for midweek meals, don’t we? 🙂 )
In keeping with the low-carb theme of this recipe, I opted to go for a cauliflower mash rather than my usual potato. And fancied it up with the tiniest drizzle of browned butter – just 1/2 tsp drizzled over the mash makes a world of difference because it’s so fragrant and has such an intense, rich flavour. Honestly, if you aren’t a fan of cauliflower mash, try it with browned butter and I bet you scoff it down like crazy!
Mmmm, just dream of that silky cauliflower puree paired with that crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken…. it’s the perfect bite.
LOW CARB DINNER OF CHAMPIONS!! – Nagi x
PS In case you were wondering, going low-carb was not a New Years’ Resolution. This is accidentally low-carb. 😂 Sorry to disappoint, to those who were hoping for more low-carb meals. I can try. But I cannot promise….
PPS Also in case you are wondering, no, I have never woken up and decided to sloth around in PJ’s all day instead of working. Nor could I sit on the sofa all day and watch TV. I can barely make it through a single movie without getting all fidgety!
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Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 g / 1 lb chicken breast (2 pieces) (Note 1)
- 1 egg
- 1 garlic clove , minced (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- 125 g / 4 oz / 1 1/4 cups shredded parmesan (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp butter (or more oil)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cut each breast in half horizontally to make 4 steaks. If they are much thicker than 1.75 cm / 3/4" thick (at the thickest point), pound a bit.
- Place egg, garlic, pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk with fork.
- Place parmesan in a shallow bowl.
- Dredge chicken in egg, then place in parmesan CUT SIDE DOWN (Note 3). Press, then turn. Coat with extra parmesan, press. Shake off excess. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Melt butter and heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Place chicken in non-stick skillet (or well seasoned cast iron skillet). DO NOT MOVE chicken otherwise the cheese will slide off surface before it adheres! It adheres once it turns crispy.
- Press down lightly with spatula. Lift a corner to take a peek and turn with tongs when it's deep golden brown (3 minutes for me).
- Cook the other side for 3 minutes or until also deep golden brown and crispy (again, do not move until golden). Lightly press down with spatula. Don't cook longer than 6 minutes in total - dries out the chicken.
- Serve immediately! I served mine with lemon slices, Cauliflower Mash with Browned Butter (Note 4) and a Fennel Slaw with Yoghurt Dressing (Note 5).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
This is at my favourite local coffee shop, 2KF in Mona Vale, and that’s Phil the owner. Hands down the best coffee around. The Sydney Morning Herald did a review and said “he makes Campos coffee better than Campos”! I spend a lot of time here. Responding to messages, cooking questions, creating recipe videos, thinking of the next recipe I’m going to make.
And Dozer spends a lot of time smooching with the other patrons, getting scraps and LOTS of cuddles. And occasionally he orders a puppa-cino…. (jokes. Never!)
This was the ants pants!
One really quick variation also tried was to use a flat sandwich press to cook the chicken. Worked fine too with tasty cheddar…really crunchy cheese and 3-4 mins in the press. I started with the press cold so I don’t burn myself, but the chicken cooks great & in such a short time. Thx for all your ideas Nagi – we love you on the other side of Sydney!
That’s a great idea!!!
I would love this chicken recipe which is gluten free, but I can’t find anyplace to print it.
Hi Patricia, there is a print logo in the recipe box at the top right hand corner ❤️
I just finished eating this for dinner, and oh my gosh! It was so good! I’ll be making this regularly, I can’t stop thinking about it!
Can you use the preshredded cheese that comes in a bag?
Made the chicken tonight delicious thank you , I would show you a picture but not sure where to put it.
Made this just now and it was sóóóó delicious…..Thank you Nagi..
I made the chicken tonight and it tasted great but the cheese adhered more to the pan than it did to the chicken, even after waiting for it to be golden. I’m wondering if it would have come out better for me if I had used my nonstick pan. I will try again and see how it comes out.
YES YES YES non stick pan!!! Must!!
Hi Nagi, LOVE LOVE LOVE your dishes! I’m salivating just thinking about making this one. Just wondering though do you add anything to your mashed cauliflower (garlic, butter / oil?!) or is it literally just steamed cauliflower mashed up?
Butter butter butter….😂
Wonder how it would come out in the Air Fryer?
I haven’t tried I’m sorry 🙂
I would love to try this with boneless pork chops. How long would I cook on each side?
Yum, yum, yum. Such a nice change from crumbs, the Parmesan worked a treat. The cauliflower done this way was also a success, will definitely do them again, another successful recipe of yours.
Thanks
Kim
Terrific to hear you enjoyed this Kim!! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know – N x
Second recipe of yours I’ve tried (the first was your slow cooker brisket which has become a favourite!) and this was absolutely delicious! Super easy to make, and the tip of “don’t move the chicken until the cheese is crispy” is a very good one and I’m glad you included it!
Looking forward to trying more recipes from your collection!
Love hearing that Jade! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
Recipe number 3 of yours that I tried. I really enjoy Piccata (alla milanese) of all kinds. This was Sundays lunch. I cooked 4 servings and wanted to keep the leftovers for Monday night, but unfortunately there weren’t any leftovers. 🙂 Awesome taste! And I love the exact descriptions on how long to fry the chicken, 3 minutes each side were perfect, cooked but still juicy and not dried out. I tested regular shredded “pasta cheese” on one piece of chicken, but it didn’t turn out as nice when frying in the pan and didn’t have as much flavor as the Parmigiano Reggiano I used on the other pieces. Side dishes were cauliflower and mashed potatoes, as suggested. Thumbs up!
That’s so great to hear Inga! I’m so glad you enjoyed this so much! N x
Can you use a different cheese? Like Sharp Cheese? That is all I have right now and live in the country. (Can’t just ‘dash’ to the store) Thanks.
Sorry Carey, this only works with parmesan as far as I know 🙂
Thanks for letting me know. This sounds like such a great recipe but I did not have any Parmesan
cheese. I will get some today so I can try it. Have a great day!
Just Curious. When I enter the ingredient list into my app Carb Manager. The nutrition values are extremely different.
This is what I got…
Serving Size: 1 servings
Serving Weight: 3.5oz (100g)
Nutrient Value % Goal
Calories 938.9 29%
Total Carbs 5.7g 28%
Net Carbs 5.7g 28%
Diabetes Carbs 5.7g 28%
Fiber — —
Starch — —
Sugar 0.2g —
Added Sugar — —
Sugar Alcohols 0g —
Protein 91.2g 91%
Fat 57.9g 19%
Hi Cody! I’ll compare when I get a chance 🙂 N x