Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken
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Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken – Chicken filets covered in Parmesan cheese and seasoned panko bread crumbs and baked until perfectly crispy. No frying required!
Healthy is not a category of cuisine that I tend to post about often – I’m more passionate about foods more on the indulgent side of the spectrum. In fact, in the past year alone, I’ve only posted about a handful of healthy recipes, including these Chicken & Couscous Stuffed Peppers and the Orchard Harvest Salad, which are two of my favorite recipes in the world, but also happen to be better for you. Well today I have another recipe that falls into that category – Healthy Parmesan Crusted Chicken!
Instead of frying the chicken breasts, they’re baked in the oven. But don’t think that makes them any less wonderful. The smells that engulfs the kitchen as these bake is truly incredible, thanks to the blend of Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Good luck waiting the full 15 minutes for these babies to bake through! Serve them with Roasted Sweet Potatoes for a delicious dinner!
A few of my other favorite healthier recipes include Hamburger and Zucchini Skillet, Light Italian Shrimp & Rice Skillet Recipe, and One Pan Parmesan Pork Chops and Veggies!
The thing I love most about this recipe is that you can get a perfectly crispy chicken bread with tons of flavor with very little effort. You can easily have this recipe done, start to finish, in less than 30 minutes.
So how exactly do you make this Parmesan crusted chicken? Let’s run down the steps, shall we??
First you coat the panko breadcrumbs with shredded Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I like using shredded Parmesan instead of grated because it crisps up better.
Then, you coat the chicken filets with a little sour cream. You can use low fat if you want to make these extra healthy. But don’t omit it all together – the sour cream is the glue that holds on to all that crispy coating.
Tips to make Healthy Parmesan Crusted Chicken:
- For this recipe, you need to use chicken filets, not chicken breasts. You can buy filets or you can make your own. To make your own, you slice chicken breasts into two thinner halves and then pound the chicken out a little to flatten it out. If you don’t have flat filets, they won’t cook evenly.
- Panko bread crumbs are not the same as regular bread crumbs – they’re a little bulkier and crispier. You should be able to find them in the same spot as regular bread crumbs on the grocery shelf.
- I highly recommend using shredded Parmesan instead of grated Parmesan because it gets crispier and adds more texture to the crust.
And there you have it – and yummy, easy, and HEALTHY dish to make for weeknight dinners. Heck, you’ll love it enough to make on the weekends too! Make sure to check out some of the other healthy recipes I have for you guys by scrolling to the bottom. Enjoy!
Tools for making Healthy Parmesan Crusted Chicken:
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

Healthy Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 24 ounces chicken filets
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prep baking sheet by lining with parchment paper to greasing with olive oil.
- Place chicken filets on prepped baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Add a heaping tablespoon to each of the 4 filets and spread evenly. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper and toss to combine. Divide mixture evenly on each filet. Spread mixture and press into the sour cream to help it stick.
- Bake prepared filets in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through and crispy. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
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Brenda says
Simple but, delicious!! Thank you.
Julie Evink says
Wonderful to hear!
Priscilla says
How do you cook this recipe in a Ninjitsu air fryers
Julie says
I haven’t tested this recipe in the air fryer so I’m not sure what the time and heat settings would be.
Vivian says
Easy to make and quite delicious
Julie Evink says
Glad you enjoyed them Vivian!
Kim says
How many ounces per serving??
P.S. I love this recipe thank you for sharing
Eva says
Super easy and really delicious!!! Love this recipe. Thanks! Really good with ratattouie.
Julie Evink says
So glad you enjoyed it Eva!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
YUM! These look absolutely perfect, and I love that they’re a little healthier than the fried variety! I have a feeling this would be a major hit at our household for dinner, too!
Julie Evink says
I can use lighter any way I can get it!
Melissa Howell says
I like to learn about being healthy. I have a harder time living what I learn 🙂 This chicken looks really yummy and easy!
Julie Evink says
LOL! Ditto to that girlfriend!
Malinda says
I love Parmesan chicken anything!! Can’t wait to try this!
Julie Evink says
Me too! I’ll take it anyway I can get it!
Danielle Green says
Love, love parmesan crusted chicken! This looks amazing!
Julie Evink says
Me too! You can’t go wrong!
Hohni says
Made this last night. Hubby doesn’t like sour cream so I used olive oil on his, sour cream on mine. EXCELLENT!!!!!!!
Julie Evink says
So glad you found a way to alter it and enjoy!
Alma Vorrei says
FANTASTIC! This was a great crusted chicken. I changed some things to make it even more flavorful for us.
Julie Evink says
So glad you enjoyed it Alma!