The Best Chicken Parm in air fryer recipe!!! Crispy coated chicken cutlets are smothered in marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese is a restaurant quality dish made easily in your air fryer. Healthier and easier Chicken parmesan makes a great weeknight dinner.
Air fryer love continues with a chicken parmesan recipe. Chicken dishes are usually a family favorite for weeknight dinners. It is a kid favorite and most importantly leaner than other protein.
Chicken Parmesan (also called Chicken Parmigiana) is a classic Italian American chicken dish in the world. Crispy breaded chicken chicken is smothered in homemade marinara and topped with flavorful ooey gooey melty cheese. BUT often times, chicken comes out too dry, or doesn’t have enough flavor or seasoning and most importantly, it is deep fried or shallow fried.
This recipe involves our clever technique in breading procedure (just like how it was used for baked crispy fish).
The secret
Instead of adopting a regular breading method of flour-egg mixture-bread crumb, we’ve come up with a much easier one which involves tossing the chicken in a batter and then coating them with breadcrumbs. The crumbs stay intact and forms a lovely crust on the outside.
Chicken Parm in air fryer is
- Healthier
- Crispy crumb coating
- Tender juicy chicken
- Well seasoned
- Freezer friendly
- Quick and easy
- Almost no oil
- Delicious
What is the difference between chicken parmesan and chicken parmigiana?
Chicken parmigiana or pollo alla parmigiana in Italian, is essentially the same as chicken parmesan in Australia. Few variations of chicken parm includes topping with ham or bacon and the cheese might include mozzarella, cheddar or provolone.
Main ingredients:
Chicken – Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Egg – Helps in binding the crust
All purpose flour – Just couple of tablespoons for binding
Panko breadcrumbs – Gives a light, airy crispy coating (the secret to a crispy air fryer chicken)
Parmesan – Parmesan gives a wonderful salty, nutty flavor to the chicken
Seasonings – A combination of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning.
Marinara sauce – I used Prego, tomato basil garlic
Cheese – Shredded mozzarella cheese
How do you cook chicken parmesan in the air fryer?
Slice chicken – Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise to get 4 cutlets. This helps them in cooking evenly and faster.
Prep chicken – Whisk eggs, flour, salt and pepper to make a smooth batter. Toss chicken cutlets in the wet batter, remove chicken allowing excess batter to drip off. Coat chicken in parmesan-bread crumb mixture on both sides, packing them well with fingers.
Air fry – Cook chicken at 380 degrees for about 8 minutes.
Top with sauce and cheese – Spread marinara sauce and top with shredded mozzarella cheese and continue cooking for an addition 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Expert tips:
Dredge well – Using hands or tongs, make sure to press bread crumb mixture well on the chicken cutlet to help it adhere well and give a thicker coating.
Do not over crowd the air fryer basket – Place air fryer chicken parmesan in a single layer, and leave a little space around for the air to circulate, which helps in crisping the chicken. OVER CROWDING will NOT make a crispy chicken parm.
Make it gluten free – Use gluten free flour and gluten free Panko bread crumbs.
Panko breadcrumbs – If you don’t have panko, then regular bread crumbs may be used (but, the chicken won’t get as crispy).
Parmesan – Finely shredded parmesan cheese is highly recommended. If you are using pre shredded cheese (that is very coarse), then process for a few seconds in a small food processor or dry grinder.
How Long To Cook Chicken Parmesan?
The chicken only takes a few minutes to cook through in air fryer and results in a juicy chicken breast! If you have a smaller air fryer basket, you might have to cook the chicken in batches.
- Start by preheating the air fryer to 380 degrees.
- Cook the chicken for 8 minutes then flip the chicken
- Finally top the chicken with the marinara sauce and cheese and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Total time should be about 10 to 11 minutes.
Leftover Chicken Parmesan
- Refrigerator: While the flavors in Chicken Parmesan might be better the next day, it will lose that crispy crust. These will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Reheat: It is best to reheat in the air fryer, stove top in a frying pan or even air fryer but the microwave is the quickest.
Storage and Re heating
Leftover nuggets can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
From the refrigerator – Simple microwave them for couple of minutes to quickly re heat (the breading will be soft). However, to revive the crispy coating, re heat them in the air fryer for 5 minutes or bake at 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.
From the freezer – Placed in zip lock bag, tightly sealed and frozen for up to a month. Microwave them for few minutes to quickly re heat (the breading will be soft). However, to revive the crispy coating, Re heat them in the air fryer for 10 to 15 minutes or bake at 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
What to serve with chicken parmesan?
- This recipe is delicious served as is with a side of roasted or steamed vegetables.
- Serve with cooked spaghetti (tossed lightly with some olive oil and some marinara sauce) or any of your favorite pasta.
- Garlic bread or garlic knots.
More Air Fryer Recipes:
Air fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chicken Parm in Air Fryer
The Best Chicken Parm in air fryer recipe!!! Crispy coated chicken cutlets are smothered in marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese is a restaurant quality dish made easily in your air fryer.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 9 ounces each)
Wet ingredients
- 2 eggs, large
- 2 and 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Dry ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Additional ingredients
- 3/4 to 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (use as much as you like)
Instructions
1. Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally to get 4 cutlets.
2. Whisk all wet ingredients in a shallow bowl and stir all dry ingredients in a seperate shallow plate.
3. Dip each chicken cutlet in the wet batter on both sides and then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.
4. Pre heat air fryer to 380°F for 8 minutes.
5. When hot, place prepared chicken cutlets in a single layer (don't overcrowd, cook in 2 batches if needed), spray a coating of non-stick cooking spray and cook for 8 minutes. (I sprayed another coating of non-stick cooking spray half way through to get a more golden and crispier crust. This step is optional).
6. After 8 minutes, top each chicken cutlet with marinara sauce and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top (use as much cheese as you like).
7. Close air fryer and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chicken is fully cooked (an internal temperature of 165° F).
8. Serve HOT with cooked pasta / crusty bread.
Notes
Dredge well – Using hands or tongs, make sure to press bread crumb mixture well on the chicken cutlet to help it adhere well and give a thicker coating.
Do not over crowd the air fryer basket – Place air fryer chicken parmesan in a single layer, and leave a little space around for the air to circulate, which helps in crisping the chicken. OVER CROWDING will NOT make a crispy chicken parm.
Make it gluten free – Use gluten free flour and gluten free Panko bread crumbs.
Panko breadcrumbs – If you don’t have panko, then regular bread crumbs may be used (but, the chicken won’t get as crispy).
Parmesan – Finely shredded parmesan cheese is highly recommended. If you are using pre shredded cheese (that is very coarse), then process for a few seconds in a small food processor or dry grinder.
If using larger chicken breasts then increase the cooking time by an additional minute or two.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 337Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 170mgSodium: 1032mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 33g
I am not a certified dietician or nutritionist. The information is a product of online calculator such as Nutrifox.com, although Kitchen at Hoskins attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates and not be construed as a guarantee. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their fact algorithms. Under no circumstances will Kitchen at Hoskins be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the nutritional information. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate.
Please let me know how your CHICKEN PARMESAN turned out in the comments! I love hearing from you, and hope these are your new favorite recipe.
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you for supporting kitchenathoskins.com
Alana David
Wednesday 24th of March 2021
Good