25-Minute Chicken Parmesan
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Who doesn’t love having dinner ready in 25 minutes?! This Chicken Parm is inspired by one of my favorite foodies Ree Drummond. Her recipe was featured on one of her episodes titled “16-minute meals”. I am always on the lookout for quick recipes but 16-minute dinners are kind of a stretch for me.
Recipes like these usually require shortcuts. I make no apologies in using store-bought foods to cut down on my time in the kitchen. As long as I know the ingredients are quality I’m okay to incorporate some of these items in my cooking. Pasta sauce is one of those things that I usually don’t have time to make from scratch during the weekday. Plus, store-bought sauce is really good.
This Chicken Parmesan is saucy and cheesy and cooks in under 30-minutes! The lightly breaded tenders are perfectly crispy and hold up well in all that yummy sauce. Serve over Angel hair pasta and you’re set!
Check out my favorite products for this recipe and why I use them, in the NOTES section.
Let’s eat!🤍
25-Minute Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 lb chicken tenders (about 8-9 tenders)
- 1/2 cup panko Japanese bread crumbs substitute super-fine almond flour for gluten free
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley, plus extra for garnish if using fresh parsley increase amount to 1 tbsp
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 24 oz jar vodka pasta sauce or use your favorite red sauce
- 1 tsp balsamic glaze my favorite balsamic is Nonna Pia's (amazing)
- 1 lb whole wheat Angel hair pasta or favorite pasta
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
Vodka Sauce
- In a medium sauce pan over low heat pour in the jar of sauce and balsamic glaze. Stir to combine and keep warm until ready to use.
Pasta
- Cook pasta according to directions, drain, but do not rinse. Mix in 1 tbsp olive oil, and set aside. See NOTE bellow for my no-fuss pasta cooking method.
Prepping Chicken
- While pasta cooks, use two shallow medium size bowls to prepare the breading. I like to use pie dishes for this. In first dish combine bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated parm, garlic powder, dried parsley, and salt and pepper. In second dish add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Dip the chicken tenders in the eggs and let excess drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs. Set aside on plate until you've finished coating all the chicken.
- Heat large cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil and chicken tenders, Try to fit all the tenders in the pan. They will shrink up a bit when cooking. Cook chicken until golden, about 4 minutes per side. They cook quickly. Pour the jar of vodka sauce in between the chicken, not totally covering the tops. You want to leave some of that crispy goodness exposed. Let bubble for 2-3 minutes until sauce is heated through. Turn the heat down to low and sprinkle mozzarella, parsley, and a bit more grated parm. Let cheese melt, about 2 minutes. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta!
This is a family favorite!!
Yay! We love this one too!