Bobby Flay Chicken Parmesan is an easy Italian dinner made with panko crusted chicken cutlets, fresh mozzarella and a rich homemade tomato sauce. Because the cutlets fry in four minutes and finish in the oven, this recipe suits Sunday dinner, date night, holidays or a cozy family meal.
The cutlets sit on a bare baking sheet with sauce only on top, never in a dish of sauce. That gap under the chicken is what keeps the panko crust crisp, so resist spooning sauce around the sides.
This version puts a chopped Cubano chile and a whole can of tomato paste in the sauce, which builds depth in thirty minutes. A full pound of fresh mozzarella goes on four cutlets too, so the cheese layer is generous rather than a polite sprinkle.
Bobby Flay Chicken Parmesan
Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate4
servings30
minutes45
minutes910
kcalPounded chicken breasts move through flour, egg and panko before frying two minutes a side in hot oil. Each cutlet gets tomato sauce, sliced mozzarella and Parmesan, then bakes at 400 degrees until the cheese melts.
Ingredients
- For the Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
4 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup vegetable oil or pure olive oil
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Fresh basil or parsley leaves, for garnish
- For the Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed with kosher salt into a paste
2 cans (28 ounces each) plum tomatoes with juices, pureed in a blender
1 can (16 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch Italian parsley
1 Cubano chile pepper, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic paste and cook until soft. Add the pureed tomatoes with their juices, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup water, bay leaf, parsley and chopped Cubano pepper. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven: Preheat to 400 degrees F.
- Season and bread: Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each breast in the seasoned flour and tap off the excess, dip in the egg and let the excess drip off, then coat both sides in the panko.
- Fry the cutlets: Divide the oil between 2 large saute pans and heat over high until almost smoking. Add 2 chicken breasts to each pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
- Top and bake: Transfer to a baking sheet. Top each breast with tomato sauce, a few slices of mozzarella, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of Parmesan. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese has melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Serve: Remove from the oven and garnish with basil or parsley leaves.
FAQs
Why fresh mozzarella rather than low-moisture?
Fresh mozzarella melts into soft pools and tastes milky, which is what you want sitting on a crisp cutlet. It does carry more water though, so pat the slices dry with paper towel before they go on the chicken. Low moisture mozzarella browns better and runs less, so use it if you prefer a stretchier pizza style top.
What is a Cubano chile, and what can you use instead?
A Cubanelle, sometimes sold as Cubano or Italian frying pepper, is a long pale green chile with almost no heat. It brings a sweet vegetal note to the sauce rather than spice, which is easy to miss when it is gone. Half a green bell pepper is the closest supermarket swap, or use a poblano if you want a little warmth.
Why only 5 to 7 minutes in the oven?
The cutlets are already cooked through from the pan, so the oven is only melting the cheese and warming sauce. Leave them in fifteen minutes and the steam trapped under the sauce softens the crust you just built up. Pull them the moment the mozzarella goes glossy, because pounded breasts dry out fast past that point.
How much tomato sauce does this make?
Far more than four cutlets need, since two large cans plus a small one yields roughly two full quarts. Use what you want on the chicken and keep the rest for pasta, pizza or another round of parm. It holds five days in the refrigerator and three months frozen, and the flavor deepens overnight anyway.
Can you bread the cutlets ahead of time?
Bread them up to four hours early and rest them on a wire rack in the refrigerator, left uncovered. The air drying actually helps the panko stick, so the coating holds together far better in hot oil. Covering them or stacking them undoes that entirely, because trapped moisture turns the dry crumbs pasty.
