🔥Want to Actually Learn How to Cook — Not Just Follow Recipes?
👉 Start your free trial today and unlock 3 lessons → https://bettercook.co/join
Join The Better Cook Academy — a complete transformation for home cooks who want to think, move, and taste like a real chef.
After years working in Michelin-starred and World’s 50 Best restaurants across 7 countries, I created this course to teach you the why behind every technique — so you can stop second-guessing and start cooking with skill and clarity.
What’s Inside the Course?
🎥 220+ lessons across 15 modules
🔪 Build the instinct, confidence, and precision of a professional cook
🏆 Learn plating, flavor, pastry, butchery, preservation & more
🎓 Whether you’re looking to level up your home cooking or start your path to going pro — this is where your journey begins.
👉 Start your free trial today and unlock 3 lessons → https://bettercook.co/join
Crispy, Cheesy Chicken Parmesan
Servings: 2–3
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: ~45 minutes
🧂 Ingredients
For the Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt & black pepper, to season
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Neutral oil (for frying)
For the Seasoned Breadcrumbs:
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
2 tsp cornstarch
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
For the Tomato Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
2–3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt (adjust to taste)
½ tsp dried oregano
Black pepper, to taste
To Finish:
1 ball mozzarella, sliced
More grated parmesan (optional)
🔪 Method
1. Portion & Tenderize the Chicken
Slice each chicken breast in half crosswise. Butterfly the thick upper portion to yield 3 even fillets per breast.
Place portions in a ziplock bag and gently pound with a mallet until even in thickness.
2. Prepare the Breadcrumbs
Pulse the panko in a food processor until fine.
In a bowl, combine panko, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, cornstarch, parmesan, and a pinch of salt.
3. Make the Tomato Sauce
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium. Add onions and sweat until translucent.
Add smashed garlic and black pepper, cook for 1–2 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes and break them up with a spoon, leaving some texture.
Stir in salt and oregano. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.
4. Bread the Chicken
Season chicken fillets on both sides.
In separate shallow bowls:
– Place the flour.
– Whisk egg with milk.
– Add the seasoned breadcrumbs.
Dredge each chicken fillet in flour, dip in egg wash, then press into breadcrumbs.
5. Fry the Chicken
Heat oil in a pan to 350–360°F (175–180°C).
Fry chicken until golden brown on both sides, turning for even color.
Transfer to a wire rack.
6. Assemble & Broil
Place fried chicken on a baking sheet.
Spoon tomato sauce over each piece.
Top generously with sliced mozzarella and more parmesan if desired.
Broil on the middle rack until cheese is melted and bubbly.
7. Serve & Enjoy
Let cool slightly. Serve hot with your favorite sides—or just enjoy the crispy, cheesy edge as is.
Most cooks get this wrong. Here’s how chefs make chicken parm. First step is to portion our chicken breast and get it ready to flatten with our mallet. We’ll want to cut our breast in half as the upper portion is much thicker than the bottom. We’ll then butterfly this thicker portion, which will give us three equally sized fillets for each breast. And hey, if butchery isn’t your strong suit, I get it. For most home cooks, it isn’t. I teach it extensively in the Better Cook Academy, where we’ll break down a variety of poultry, seafood, and you’ll even learn how to butcher four-legged mammals. So, if that sounds good to you, go ahead and sign up for free at bettercook.co/join. Next, we’ll place our portion chicken in a Ziploc bag and pound it out with the flat side of our mallet. When doing this step, you’ll want to be somewhat gentle and push out as you strike rather than directly downwards. And there’s our beautiful portion of chicken. [Music] For the breading, we’ll add one cup of panco to a food processor and process this until the panko becomes quite fine. [Music] And here’s the consistency we want. Place it in a bowl along with a pinch of salt. A teaspoon of garlic powder. A teaspoon of onion powder. Half a teaspoon of thyme. Half a teaspoon of oregano. two teaspoons of cornstarch and about 1/4 of a cup of grated parmesan. We’ll then whisk until fully combined. [Music] Next, for our tomato sauce, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a sauce pot. Add half a chopped onion and sweat until translucent. [Music] We’ll season with salt. Then add a few cloves of smashed garlic. [Music] Add some pepper and continue to sweat. We’ll then add in a whole can of peeled tomatoes. And what we want to do is break this up, but not too much because we still want to keep some texture. I’ll add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to cook this down. I’ll then add half a teaspoon of oregano. Now, we’re not using this for a lasagna, so cooking time will be pretty short. As soon as it comes to a simmer, 5 minutes tops and off the heat to reserve for later. I’ll then lightly season my chicken on both sides. And whenever seasoning meat, you’ll always want to season on both sides. We teach the seven pillars of flavor in my course, which as a home cook is going to give you the ability to think like a chef, adapt on the fly, and create stunning dishes. After my course, you won’t need to watch my channel anymore, and that’s the goal. Go to bettercook.co/join to sign up for your free trial. Now, for our egg wash, I’ll crack a whole egg into a shallow bowl and add a tablespoon of milk. We’ll then whisk this until thin. Next, add your chicken into some all-purpose flour and ensure it’s fully coated. I’ll transfer this to my egg wash and coat as well. Finally, into our seasoned breadrumbs. And there’s our beautifully breaded chicken ready for the hot oil. Now, I’m frying this at around 360 to 360° F and turning as I go in order to get the color I want. And this right here is exactly it. A beautiful golden brown on both sides. I’ll place the chicken onto a wire rack, then onto a sheetpan to get smothered in our tomato sauce. We’ll layer on some sliced mozzarella. And you’ll want to be extra generous here. Into the oven it goes on broil on the middle rack. And there’s our gorgeous chicken parmesan. And this crispy cheese edge right here is the best part. Enjoy.
1 Comment
🤤🔥🙏