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.
The coating is so flavorful, and it becomes wonderfully crispy in the oven. From start to finish, this simple 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 reasonably tasty and affordable. So I always look for ways to make it more interesting, such as this excellent blackened chicken.
My entire family loves this simple recipe. I love it too! I love how the parmesan coating becomes so crispy and flavorful as it bakes in a hot oven. The bonus? This recipe is not just delicious, but also very easy to make.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make parmesan-crusted chicken. 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 prior to baking them. Avocado oil is perfect for this recipe since it has 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 by half, or the dish could end up too salty.
- Spices: I like to use garlic powder, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Make sure the spices you use are fresh! A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.
- Almond meal: I almost always use blanched almond flour in my recipes. But in this recipe, I actually prefer using a coarse 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 breasts: 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.
Instructions
Making parmesan-crusted chicken is easy! The detailed instructions are listed in the recipe card below. 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 the pieces in a mixture of almond meal and Parmesan.
- Place them 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.
Expert Tips
- It's best to use a coarse almond meal and not fine almond flour when making this recipe. The texture is better. But if all you have is almond flour, that 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.
Recipe FAQs
You'll need high heat. So 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.
And if you don't mind the carbs/gluten, you can use plain breadcrumbs. Keep 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, 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.
Variations
The best way to vary this recipe is to experiment with different spices and gerbs. Good candidates include onion powder and dried oregano. Sometimes I use red pepper flakes instead of cayenne pepper.
Serving Suggestions
Parmesan-crusted chicken is 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:
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 in a 350F oven and gain back some of their crispness.
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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 oz. Or use breadcrumbs if you don't mind the cabs/gluten. Nutrition info will change)
- 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 your 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 an 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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Nutrition per Serving
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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. 
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