It's easy to make parmesan-crusted chicken. Simply coat the chicken with spices, mustard, almond meal, and cheese, then bake.
The coating is so flavorful and becomes wonderfully crispy in the oven. From start to finish, this recipe is ready in about 40 minutes.
I cook chicken fairly often for my family. It's admittedly not the most exciting type of meat, but it's tasty and affordable. So, I always look for ways to make it more interesting, such as blackened chicken or Cajun chicken.
My entire family loves this simple recipe for parmesan-crusted chicken. I love it too! I love how the parmesan coating becomes crispy and flavorful as it bakes in a hot oven. The bonus? This recipe is not just delicious, but also easy to make.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Avocado oil spray: I use it to spray the top of the chicken pieces before baking them. Avocado oil is perfect for this recipe since it has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
- Mustard: I use Dijon mustard, which is creamier and less vinegary than yellow mustard.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
- Almond meal: I almost always use blanched almond flour in my recipes. But in this recipe, I prefer using a coarser almond meal. However, if all you have is almond flour, you can use that. And if you don't mind gluten/carbs, you can use plain breadcrumbs.
- Grated parmesan cheese: Make sure it's finely grated and not coarsely shredded.
- Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe.
- Parsley: Used purely for garnish. If you don't have any on hand, it's fine to omit it.
Variations
The best way to vary this recipe is to experiment with different spices and herbs. Good candidates include onion powder and dried oregano. You can use ½ teaspoon of each. Sometimes, I use ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes instead of cayenne pepper.
Instructions
The detailed instructions for making this recipe are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of the steps:
In a small bowl, use a spatula to mix the mustard, garlic powder, thyme, and cayenne.
In an 8-inch square baking dish, combine the almond meal and parmesan.
Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, then brush them with the Dijon mixture. Dredge them in the almond meal/parmesan mixture.
Place the coated chicken breasts on a roasting rack. Sprinkle them with paprika and lightly spray them with oil.
Bake until their internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 20 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for five minutes, sprinkle it with chopped parsley, and serve.
The crust comes out crispy and the inside is tender and juicy, as shown in the photo below.
Expert Tips
- It's best to use coarse almond meal instead of fine almond flour when making this recipe. The texture is better. But if all you have is almond flour, that's fine!
- It's also best to use small chicken breasts weighing 6-7 ounces each. Large chicken breasts need to be baked for longer, and the coating can become overly browned. If your chicken breasts are large and you need to bake them for longer than 20 minutes, loosely cover them with foil after the first 20 minutes to prevent the tops from burning. An 8-ounce chicken breast will need around 30 minutes in a 425°F oven, but check with a thermometer to make sure it's done.
Recipe FAQs
You'll need high heat. In this recipe, since we're using the oven, you want a fairly high oven temperature of 425°F.
Yes. You can use finely crushed pork rinds. You can buy them pre-crushed and labeled as "pork panko" on Amazon.
If you don't mind carbs/gluten, you can use plain breadcrumbs, keeping in mind that the nutrition info will change.
Yes, but only if you butterfly the chicken breast and cut it in half so that it's thinner, like I do when making broiled chicken breast.
Cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Lower the heat to medium and cook for a bit longer if the crust starts browning too fast.
Serving Suggestions
This is a highly versatile main dish. You can serve it with anything! But since I bake it in a 425°F oven, I like to serve it with a side dish that I can cook in the same oven, such as:
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days.
The coating will lose its crispness, though. I usually slice the leftovers and use them cold as a salad topping. They're very good in a chicken Cobb salad.
However, you can also reheat the leftovers for about 15 minutes (or until heated through) in a 350°F oven to restore some of their crispness.
More Chicken Recipes
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Recipe Card
Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray
- 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup almond meal (4 ounces. Use breadcrumbs if you don't mind the cabs/gluten. The nutrition info will change)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (1.5 ounces)
- 4 chicken breasts small, 6-7 ounces each
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and fit it with a roasting rack. Spray the roasting rack with oil.
- In a small bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix the mustard, garlic powder, thyme, and cayenne.
- In an 8-inch square baking dish, combine the almond meal and parmesan.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, then brush them with the Dijon mixture. Dredge them in the almond meal/parmesan mixture.
- Place the coated chicken breasts on the prepared roasting rack. Sprinkle them with paprika (mostly to add a nice color) and lightly spray them with oil.
- Bake until the internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 20 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, then sprinkle it with chopped parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- It's best to use coarse almond meal instead of fine almond flour when making this recipe. The texture is better. But if all you have is almond flour, that's fine!
- It's also best to use small chicken breasts weighing 6-7 ounces each. Large chicken breasts need to be baked for longer, and the coating can become overly browned. If your chicken breasts are large and you need to bake them for longer than 20 minutes, loosely cover them with foil after the first 20 minutes to prevent the tops from burning. An 8-ounce chicken breast will need around 30 minutes in a 425°F oven, but check with a thermometer to make sure it's done.Â
- You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. The coating will lose its crispness, though. I usually slice the leftovers and use them cold as a salad topping. However, you can also reheat the leftovers for about 15 minutes (or until heated through) in a 350°F oven to restore some of their crispness.
Nutrition per Serving
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Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
June
I was looking for a healthy alternative for lunch meat and found your recipe. It was for my husband but I ate it too and we both loved it. Thank you for your time and efforts and especially for the great recipes.
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe, June! Thank you for leaving a comment. I appreciate it.
B
Is there any reason you couldn't use flax meal instead of almond?
Thanks!
Vered DeLeeuw
It should work, but I haven't tried it. I only tested this recipe with almond meal.
The nutrition info will change, obviously.
Sheryll $ Critters.
If you have large boneless, chicken breasts, simply split them in half lengthwise.
Vered DeLeeuw
Thanks for the tip, Sheryll! Glad you liked this recipe.