Golden Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Golden Parmesan Crusted Chicken - tender chicken cutlets coated in parmesan, breadcrumbs, seasoning, and pan-fried until perfectly golden. 

Have I mentioned how much my kids loved coated chicken pieces? Tenders, nuggets, KFC style feast, even pizza chicken (okay the chicken is not really coated in that one, but it's topped with a yummy pizza sauce and melted cheese. 

How to Slice a Chicken Breast into Cutlets

It's really easy to slice a Chicken breast into cutlets, just place your chicken breast on a chopping board and then use a large sharp knife (I use my santoku knife) to slice horizontally so you have two thin equal sized cutlets. You can place you hand on the top of the breast to stop it from moving and to keep it in place. 

Check out this handy post by Rachel Ray with step by step on How to slice a Chicken Breast into Cutlets.

How to cook perfectly tender chicken breasts

Ever cooked chicken breast only for it to be a bit dry and tasteless? A really great trick is to marinade or brine the chicken. In Chinese cooking they use a technique called velveting to keep meat nice and tender. Ever notice the meat is never tough or over chewy when you order a Chinese? That's probably why.

For fried chicken - the chicken pieces are usually soaked in a buttermilk mixture, this really tenderises the chicken pieces without toughening up the meat. It's a process I use in my Oven Baked KFC Style Feast (Not tried that one yet?, you really must).

But you don't even need to use buttermilk. Another great ingredient is some plain yoghurt and a little lemon juice for the acidity, which is exactly what we use in this recipe. You seriously don't want to miss that step, as not only will it tenderizing the chicken, it also helps your coated to stick to the chicken cutlets after you dip in the egg mixture. 

Breadcrumb Coating for Chicken

For the breadcrumb coated I just use Italian style breadcrumbs which usually come in a tub, they are a perfect coating for the chicken along with the parmesan and you don't need much which means it's not too much calories added to the dish.

While I don't use panko (Japanese style breadcrumbs) in this recipe. I am sure they will work if that's what you want to use. 

How to make you own breadcrumbs

Got some favourite bread like a wholemeal or whole wheat loaf that you want to use for breadcrumbs?

All you need to do is lightly toast the bread and then add it to a mini food processor and blitz until fine breadcrumbs. Toasting it first will ensure it's gets a nice golden crust when baked. Bread that is not super fresh is best for this.

Using the correct cheese for a golden coating

For the you want you use a fresh parmesan that your grate yourself, rather than pregrated. Pre-grated cheeses are often coated to prevent it sticking together and so it may not melt very well and can stick to the pan ruining that beautiful golden coating.

Sides for Golden Parmesan Crusted Chicken

These would be a great with a variety of different sides such as:

• Pasta with a simple Tomato Pasta Sauce
• Garlic and Herb Potatoes
• Crushed Roast Potatoes

I just went for a simple side salad of 

• Baby Greens
• Home Grown Cherry Tomatoes (we have had so many this year)
• Cucumber 

and then my own choice of light dressing (poppyseed is my favorite) but this Ranch Dressing is delicious also. 

More Chicken Recipes

Would you like some other chicken recipes to try? Check out some of these:

• SWEET AND STICKY CHICKEN
• SPICY CHICKEN STUFFED WITH FETA CHEESE AND SALSA
• TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA HASSELBACK CHICKEN
• FAJITA CHICKEN PASTA
• ASIAN SPRITE CHICKEN
• EASY PEANUT CHICKEN NOODLES

or if you would like more recipe ideas or sides to make with this recipe - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more..

All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information at the bottom of the recipe box for your convenience.