Name: Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: Avocado oil spray; 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 cup almond meal ((4 oz)); 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese ((40 grams)); 4 small chicken breasts, (6-7 oz each); 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

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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.