Try this easy recipe for gluten free chicken parmesan and enjoy tender, juicy chicken breasts with the beautifully crisp crust that you remember.
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To be honest, I've never really understood the appeal of traditional chicken parmesan. You go to the trouble of breading and frying chicken and then you place it in tomato sauce, bake it, and then all that deliciously crisp coating turns soggy.
So this chicken parmesan recipe is a little different. Instead of covering the chicken in tomato sauce, you just place the chicken on top of the sauce and then add the cheese. It leaves the top nice and crisp! If you want to go one step further to preserve that crunchy breading, just place the fried chicken on a baking sheet, top with cheese, and bake until melted. Then serve with the tomato sauce on the side.
The tomato sauce recipe is the same one I used in this gluten-free lasagna. Your favorite jarred sauce would work just as well but the one listed below is better than any store-bought sauce I've had. Cooking the onions in a bit of red wine adds so much flavor!
I've made a few chicken parmesan recipes in the past that called for twice the amount of breadcrumbs for the same amount of chicken used in this recipe. The result was a ton of wasted breadcrumbs.
One-half cup was just the right amount of breadcrumbs for my four chicken breasts, but you may want to have a tad bit extra on hand, just in case you need a little more.
I used regular gluten free breadcrumbs in this recipe but gluten free panko breadcrumbs would be great, too. If using panko, you'd probably need about 2 cups of breadcrumbs and a bit more olive oil for frying. If you're using pre-seasoned breadcrumbs, be sure to omit the added Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
This chicken parmesan would go wonderfully alongside these pull apart gluten-free garlic knots.
Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) (14 g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups (200 g) (200 grams) diced onion
- 1 ½ tablespoons (15 g) (15 grams) minced garlic
- ⅛ teaspoon (5.33 fluid ounces) red pepper flakes
- ⅔ cup (5.33 fluid ounces) (158 milliliters) red wine
- 28 ounce (794 g) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 14.5 ounce (411 g) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 6 ounce (170 g) (170-gram) can tomato paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
- 2 tablespoons (7 g) chopped fresh basil
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
For the chicken
- 4 (1.5 pounds) boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup (70 g) all purpose gluten free flour
- 2 eggs any size
- 1 cup (112 g) gluten free breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ cup (82 g) grated Parmesan divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup (112 g) extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces mozzarella slices
Instructions
Make the sauce.
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook the onion in the olive oil until the onion is softened, about 6-9 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the red pepper flakes and red wine and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until most of the wine has cooked down.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more salt to taste.
- Remove from the heat and let cool while preparing the chicken.
Prepare the chicken breasts.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205° C).
- Place the flour on a large plate.
- Place the eggs in a wide bowl and beat with a fork.
- Place the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, 1/2 cup (55 grams) Parmesan, salt and pepper on a large plate and mix together.
- Pound the chicken breasts until thin and then add sprinkle salt and pepper lightly on both sides of each breast.
Cook the chicken.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- While the pan’s heating up, dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, then the egg.
- Let the excess egg drip off and then dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Fry one or two breasts at a time (it’ll depend on how large the breasts are and the size of your pan) for about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Add more olive oil as necessary.
Finish the chicken parmesan.
- Ladle the sauce into a casserole dish large enough for all 4 pieces of chicken.
- Place the fried chicken on top of the sauce and top with the mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve immediately.
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Vicki stokes says
hello, in australia we don’t put the crumbed chicken in the tomato sauce and bake it either – we ladle it on top a little then the cheese and grill for a minute – thank you for the GF version. do you know of a brand of GF Panko crumbs please. Thank you
Eleanor Geneeha says
When I do my GF Parmesan Chicken I use crushed potato chips with the
addition of basil, oregano and garlic powder. Then I mix the Parmesan
50/50 with mayonnaise. Slather that on the top of the chicken and then
pat on the chip mix. Bakes up nice and crispy and is delicious. [I
put the chips in a sandwich baggie and roll it into very small pieces.]
Yummy!
Donna P says
I buy mine at Wal-mart “4C Gluten Free Seasoned Crumbs”. They have pecorino romano in them. They also have a plain ones. At the stores close to me they are with the regular bread crumbs. I really like them both.