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Chicken Parmesan is such an Italian Classic dish! Super tender chicken with a crispy coating made 3 days – gluten-free, regular and keto-friendly!
Ever since I shared with you how to make Gluten Free Panko Breadcrumbs, I’ve been on this major panko kick!
Like I wanted EVERYTHING crispy, crunchy and panko covered. LOL
Since I hadn’t made it in a while, I decided to make Mr. Fantabulous chicken parmesan for dinner. The man LOVES this stuff almost as much as he loves his pasta. I think partially because it comes with Italian gravy on top AND with a heaping pile of pasta on the side. I simply love it because the flavor is just truly amazing. It just dances across your taste buds.
Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan
While I’m not gluten-intolerant (I ♥ wheat) I wanted to test out my gf panko bread crumbs on one of his favorite dishes. I wanted to see if he would notice the panko breading being gluten-free. I personally love these breadcrumbs but he’s a creature of habit, no.. an ITALIAN creature of habit and there are tings you just do not mess with. But you know me, I HAVE to mix things up a bit. Variety is the spice of life, right? LOOK how super crunchy that is! I mean doesn’t it make you want to crawl through the screen, fork, and knife in hand and just dive in???
This Gluten Free Panko crust was so crispy crunchy that encased the most super moist chicken I’ve ever had! It was life-altering!
When I set this plate in front of my hubby he didn’t even wait for me to sit down to join him, I swear crawled on top of the table, hovered around his food and inhaled it – plate and all! The man went nuts over this dish.
I made the almost fatal mistake of touching his arm (because apparently, he went deaf while eating this since he didn’t respond to my questioning him of what he thought of it). The look of “I will eat your young if you interrupt feeding time” again woman was comical. As he came up for air I was like “So, what do you think?” The man went back to his plate, licking I swear the ‘white’ off of the plate and then put his utensils down – yes, he didn’t go bare-fisted on this. LOL.
He then proceeded to rave on this dish, asking me what I did differently saying that it was the best chicken parm I had ever made. I told him the only thing I changed was that I used the Gluten Free Panko I made he immediately went to respond with his usual “but I don’t like Gluten Free crap” instead to “Man, that was amazing! Make it like that from now on!”
but what about Keto-Friendly and Regular Chicken Parmesan?
Never fear guys, I have you covered! Check out the notes section in the recipe. It’s pretty easy!
For the regular, go with 2 cups of regular Panko and 1/2 cup of AP Flour
For Keto-Friendly, use the Pork Rind Panko Crumbs!
Delicious Crispy Chicken Parmesan Tonight!
WOO HOO! Seriously this was so good I’ve run out of ways to describe how fantabulous it was. If you want a super juicy, super crispy chicken parm that is Italian approved, then make this recipe!
The Best Ever Chicken Parmesan made 3 ways – gluten-free, regular and keto-friendly!
- Yield: 4
The Best Ever Chicken Parmesan made 3 ways – gluten-free, regular and keto-friendly!

Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Gluten Free Panko, divided *See note for regular and Keto
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4” thick
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and basil
- 1–1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce, warmed
- 1/4–1/2 cup Olive oil
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top. In a food processor grind 3/4 cup of the Panko until it’s a powder – this will be your flour. Place ground Panko, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and gently mix.
- Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl.
- Combine remaining Panko and parmesan, oregano and basil in a third shallow bowl.
- Set up an assembly line and dredge the chicken in the ground Panko, shaking off any excess. Transfer to the beaten egg and turn to coat. You want the flour (your ground Panko) to be covered in eggs. Allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the chicken in the panko-parmesan mixture and coat evenly. Press to adhere.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy skillet or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the chicken until golden brown ~4-6 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown. ~4 minutes. Transfer to the cooling rack on the pan. Add more oil if needed and repeat until all the chicken is cooked. Preheat broiler and place rack in the upper third of the oven.
- Place 1/4 cup of sauce (or more/less if desired) on top of the breasts down the center. Try not to get it to the edges. Evenly divide the cheese on top of the sauce. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
Notes
* If you don’t want/need it gluten-free you can use 2 cups panko plus 1/2 cup of AP flour. The flour will act as your dredge. For Keto use pork rinds!
This is so good! The BEST Chicken Parm recipe I have ever had!
I have tried several different chicken Parmesan recipes, and we couldn’t find the one. Should have known The Kitchen Whisperer would have the answer. Nice and simple and delicious! Big hit with my whole family!
So happy you and your family loved it Suzann! Thank you so much!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
how about making a day before serving
Hi Allison!
Absolutely! You can make these the day before or up to 3 days before serving (like if you wanted to make for meal prep).
To reheat, just pop into a 350F oven for ~10-15 minutes or until warmed all the way through.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This is one of my favorite recipes! Delicious!!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Cathy! So happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Great hack for gluten-free. I used the rice chex to create both the panko and then ground it for the flour for the first coat on the three-step process. Adding parmesan to the Panko was genius and really elevated the flavor profile. It produced a very crunchy and delicious chicken parmigiana which I topped with good marinara sauce and some fresh mozzarella – delicious
Yeah! So happy you loved it; thank you!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
This makes gluten free me so very happy!!
Your description of the hubby’s response had me laughing out loud. I picked up some gluten free panko at Sprouts this morning and plan to cook it tonight. I’m sure it will be great.
OMG! I have been craving Chicken Parm so badly and here you are! MY Hero! Have you seen the commercial for Carraba’s Chicken Parmesan Lasagna? It is really just Chicken Parm stacked but it looked so good, I almost cried for wanting it. Thank you so very much for the Gluten Free panko. I love panko crumbs, but they really are costly. Nice to know that I can make them at home so easily! God Bless you and all your gluten free recipes. I almost starved when I first went gluten free. It seemed like I couldn’t eat anything any more, then in the throws of a “HANGY fit” I would eat something I shouldn’t and get sick. (lost 25 pounds in two months) It was soooo depressing. I am slowly learning to cook gluten free. Most of the stuff on the market just doesn’t taste good to me and I hate wasting my time and money trying new stuff that turns out to be gross. But oh, this chicken is now Top of My List!
★★★★★
No I haven’t seen that commercial but I’m loving a chicken parm stack idea! Yeah I agree, panko is expensive and honestly I actually prefer using these ‘crumbs’ better. OMG hahaha “Hangry fit!” I feel your pain girlfriend! My recipes are written that they can be easily adaptable to most lifestyles. If you find a recipe of mine that you’re not sure how to convert to gluten free shoot me an email and I can help you out.
I’m so thrilled you love this! Thank you so much!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I’m going to take a try and make this for my allergic wife tonight, but I have a quick question… In line 7 you refer to flour but I don’t see anything in the list of ingredients for it. Is it just the ground panko that you’re referring to, or do I need to pick up some GF flour? Thanks in advance.
Hi Jeff!
Yes the ‘flour’ is your ground Panko powder (that you made in Step 2). I’ve also clarified the steps 2 and 7 to denote this. Thanks for asking about this as I do my very best to make sure the directions are clear and easy to follow.
Let me know how she likes it (you as well).
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
Made this last night to universal acclaim. Even the 5 year old mini-food-snob came back for seconds. That never ever EVER happens. She’ll choose to go hungry rather than eat something less than perfect. It was super simple and cooked up really fast. Perfect for a busy weeknight. My husband has asked to see it at least once every two weeks. =)
★★★★★
I LOVE it Tae!!! Most adults will eat stuff but to get a kid eat something let alone come back for seconds is something you just can’t buy! Love it!
If you 5 year old loves this, then I highly recommend the Gluten Free Crispy Chicken Strips! http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2013/07/06/gluten-free-crispy-chicken-strips/
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
That is something that looks durable enough for lunch boxes. She’d LOVE that! Come to think of it, so would her big sister. =) Looks like I’m going to be playing around with this for a while. =)
Yep, I make a batch of these on the weekend and take them in my lunch. These are awesome on a spinach salad or even in a wrap!
If you search on here under the keyword “Panko” any recipe that calls for panko, you can use the gluten free panko bread crumbs in. Also if that recipe calls for flour, and you need gluten free items, I have a recipe on here to make your own gluten free all purpose flour too! Just sub that in for regular all purpose flour! http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2012/12/02/make-your-own-gluten-free-all-purpose-flour-mix/
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★