This easy recipe for Parmesan crusted chicken is keto and gluten-free. Simply coat the chicken with spices, mustard, almond meal, and cheese, then bake until crispy.
I cook chicken fairly often for my family. It's not the most exciting type of meat, but it's reasonably tasty and affordable. So I always look for ways to make it more interesting!
My entire family loves this simple recipe for keto parmesan-crusted chicken. I love it too! It's not just delicious, but also very easy to make.
The ingredients you'll need
Here's what you'll need to make this tasty main dish (the exact measurements are in the recipe card below):
Avocado oil spray: I use it to spray the top of the chicken pieces prior to baking them. Avocado oil is great - it had a neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
Dijon mustard: It's creamier and less vinegary than yellow mustard. I use it almost exclusively. I just love its taste and texture.
Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the dish could end up too salty.
Spices: Garlic powder, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Make sure they are fresh! A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.
Almond meal: I almost always use blanched almond flour. But in this recipe, I actually prefer using a coarse almond meal.
Grated parmesan cheese: Make sure it's finely grated and not coarsely shredded.
Chicken breasts: I use boneless skinless chicken breasts in this recipe.
Parsley: Used purely for garnish. if you don't have any, it's fine to omit it.
How to make keto parmesan-crusted chicken
Making this recipe is easy. The detailed instructions are listed in the recipe card below. But here are the basic steps:
You start by seasoning the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Next, brush the chicken with a mixture of mustard and spices.
Now dredge them in a mixture of almond meal and Parmesan.
Place on a greased rack, spray with oil and bake until fully cooked, about 20 minutes at 425°F.
The crust comes out crispy, and the inside is tender and juicy. The parmesan adds lots of flavor to an otherwise bland and boring chicken breast meat.
Tips for making this recipe a success
It's best to use a coarse almond meal and not fine almond flour when making keto parmesan-crusted chicken. But if all you have is almond flour, it should work too.
It's also best to use small chicken breasts - 6-7 oz. Although I've made this recipe with large, 8-9 oz chicken breasts on occasion and it turned out OK.
The problem with large chicken breasts is that you need to bake them for longer, so the coating can become overly browned.
So if your chicken breasts are large and you need to bake them for longer than 20 minutes, loosely cover them with foil to prevent the tops from scorching.
What side dishes to serve with parmesan-crusted chicken?
It's a very 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:
What about 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 in a 350F oven and gain back some of their crispness.
More chicken breast recipes that you might enjoy
If you're looking for more ways to make boring chicken breasts more interesting, try this recipe for easy chicken cordon bleu.
And this baked skin-on chicken breast is incredibly juicy and delicious.
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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 oz)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (40 grams)
- 4 small chicken breasts, 6-7 oz each
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees 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 spatula to mix the mustard, salt, garlic powder, thyme and cayenne.
- In a 8-inch square baking dish, whisk together the almond meal and Parmesan.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, then brush with the Dijon mixture. Dredge 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), then lightly spray them with oil.
- Bake until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living.