This Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan is the kind of dinner recipe that you’re going to want to have in your back pocket for weeknights that require minimal energy and dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.
This post and recipe were sponsored by Perdue. Perdue provided me with free product and compensation in exchange for an original recipe. All comments, thoughts and reviews are my own.”
This is the kind of dinner recipe that you’re going to want to have in your back pocket for weeknights that require minimal energy and dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.
Let’s be honest, we all have those days (or weeks cough cough) where we’re totally falling behind on everything and we’re barely able to keep our heads above water. If you’re not one of those people and you always, ALWAYS have yourself and your life together please let me know your secret. haha I need to know!
I have two jobs (Family Owned Security Business Office Manager/Phone Answer/Bill Collector and Food Blogger), a husband (who mostly takes care of himself haha), dogs (that are like my kids since we have yet to have kids of our own) and a hectic schedule all week long so I know how important it is to have those special recipes on hand; recipes that are easy to make, quick to cook but still provide a loving and fantastic home cooked meal for the family.
I normally manage my life pretty well until an emergency comes up and flips everything upside down.
That’s when I’ve got to step back, pick up the pieces of things that went astray, try to salvage what I can and get back into my normal routine.
Making dinner for Thomas and I is part of my normal routine and it’s a part of my normal routine that I love. Thomas will tell you, if we have to eat out more than 2 times in a row due to schedules or whatever else is preventing me from cooking dinner, I turn into a crazy women.
Cooking dinner in my kitchen, even if it’s only for 45 minutes or so (what it takes to cook this dinner) gives me a break from the hectic world around me and puts a barrier between “crazy office day” and “quality Thomas and Angie time”. When we skip cooking at home and just grab something to eat for dinner I feel like everything runs together and I don’t get that wind-down time.
I don’t want to spend all evening cooking dinner but I still want that time in the kitchen. Recipes like this are made for weeknights!
This Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan is so quick to throw together that I actually tripled the recipe last time I made it so that we could have dinner, left overs for ourselves the next day and lunch for the office!
I used the PERDUE® PERFECT PORTIONS® Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts for this Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan. They’re perfectly portioned and individual wrapped, perfect for when you just want to make 2 or so servings of chicken for lunch or dinner. Since this recipe calls for 1 chicken breast to be cut in half to create 2 servings of Chicken Parmesan I only need to open one package of chicken instead of opening an entire package and then having to wrap the rest back up. That certainly cuts down on my prep time in the kitchen during the week!
Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan
Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan
This Easy Weeknight Baked Chicken Parmesan is the kind of dinner recipe that you're going to want to have in your back pocket for weeknights that require minimal energy and dinner on the table at a reasonable hour.
Ingredients
- 2 PERDUE® PERFECT PORTIONS® Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 cups cooked orzo (or your favorite pasta)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- dash of salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 can (about 14 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (I used garlic infused olive oil)
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook 2 cups of orzo pasta (or your favorite pasta) until done. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, preheat oven to 450F.
- Slice the boneless, skinless chicken breast in half lengthwise.
- In a shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Brush each half of chicken breast with the olive oil and dip into breadcrumbs mixture. Pile some of the breadcrumb mixture onto the chicken and press down. Flip and do the same.
- Gently tap away excess and lay chicken on a baking sheet. (Line the baking sheet with foil or grease with olive oil to prevent sticking)
- Continue until all of the chicken has been coated in olive oil and the breadcrumb mixture.
- Lay all the 4 pieces of chicken onto the baking sheet and place into a preheat oven.
- Bake at 450F. for 15 minutes.
- In a small sauce pan, combine the tomatoes, garlic, water, sugar, salt and Italian seasoning. Stir and let simmer on low while the chicken bakes.
- After 15 minutes, flip the chicken and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Pull the chicken out and top with some of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle on about 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese and return to the oven.
- Turn on the broiler and let the chicken sit under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Remove from oven and serve over cooked orzo or your favorite pasta.
Notes
SIDE NOTE!!! If the chicken breasts are already thin you don't need to cut them in half. I like to cut the thicker pieces in half long wise to get more servings and to reduce cook time. Chicken should ALWAYS reach 165 degrees F before serving! Oven temperatures may vary, so please check your chicken before serving.
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
YES! I am always looking for easy weeknight meals, especially with 4 hungry boys (and a hungry husband!) This looks like a fun contest!
The Food Hunter says
I love chicken parm! good luck with the contest
Nutmeg Nanny says
I have been having major chicken parm cravings for weeks now! This must change! LOVING the look of this recipe…yum!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I’m always behind on everything and I have no idea why most of the time! Lol. Love this for a busy weeknight!
Stephanie says
One of my all time favorites!! It looks divine!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Such a classic!
Christine Lockley says
If using Italian flavored marinated chicken breasts, would you just use plain breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese?
Angie says
You can! Or you can still use the Italian bread crumbs
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
Ooo I love that this is baked!! My husband would love this for dinner any night!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Who doesn’t love a good chicken parm recipe ; )
Angie says
I love baked part too, and what a quick and easy way to make it! Baked part is also one of those recipes everybody loves so you can make it for company. Yummy!
Melissa from Hungry Food Love says
Love chicken parm and love this creative idea of serving it over orzo.
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I didn’t know about your other job! I don’t know how you do everything you do. Those Perdue Perfect Portions sound so practical. I always buy a big package and have too much and then end up freezing an odd amount. And this chicken Parmesan?! Aaaah! So yummy looking. 🙂
Anamika @ Supplement Crunch says
Wow, what a great idea, thanks to share this idea……….