Skillet Chicken Parmesan is a comforting weeknight dinner recipe that's made in one skillet, and ready in 30 minutes.
Got a hankering for something cheesy, saucy, and totally comforting — but not a lot of time on your hands? Skillet Chicken Parmesan is the answer!
As quick as it is mmm-mmm good, Skillet Chicken Parmesan slashes the time, effort, and calories from traditional breaded and fried Chicken Parmesan, and turns it into a comforting, healthful weeknight supper that’s made in 1 skillet, and ready in 30 minutes.
Start the Skillet Chicken Parmesan by cutting 2 large chicken breasts in half, then brushing both sides with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, brushing chicken with olive oil before sauteing makes for the tastiest chicken on the block!
Saute the chicken in a large, non-stick sprayed skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes a side, then remove to a plate, turn the heat down to medium, and remove the skillet from the burner.
You don’t need to cook the chicken all the way through, btw, just get ’em nice and golden brown on the outside.
Next, break out the star of the skillet – marinara sauce. Slightly spicy, locally-made Gino’s is my go-to. I recommend springing for a higher quality marinara sauce such as Rao’s if you don’t have access to Gino’s!
Once the skillet has cooled off the heat for 1 minute, carefully pour in 2 cups marinara sauce. Marinara sauce will splatter and spit when poured into a super hot skillet, which is why it’s important to let it cool a bit before adding the sauce.
To the marinara sauce add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil.
Stir the sauce together, then place the skillet back on the burner over medium heat.
Nestle the chicken breast halves in the sauce, then place a lid on top and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the burner, then place 1oz sliced mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast, and broil until golden brown.
Nestle each mozzarella-covered chicken breast over a bed of cooked gluten-free ziti (or whatever you’ve got on hand) then spoon over a scoop of the cheesy, seasoned marinara sauce. Dinner is served!
You will not believe how tender and juicy the chicken stays from cooking in the marinara sauce, which totally eliminates the need for cooking in extra fat, by the way!
Serve the saucy, cheesy chicken over a bed of your favorite cooked pasta. This is a total pantry supper, so just use whatever you’ve got on hand — and enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, ~2lb, sliced in half
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 16 oz marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella slices
- 8 oz gluten free ziti, or your favorite pasta
Directions
- Brush chicken breasts with oil then season on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, then spray with nonstick spray. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes a side, or until golden brown (does not need to be cooked all the way through.) Remove to a plate then set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium, then remove skillet from burner and let cool for 1 minute. Add marinara sauce (use caution, as sauce may splatter a bit,) parmesan cheese, and dried basil to skillet then stir to combine. Nestle chicken halves into sauce mixture then return skillet to heat, place a lid on top, and cook for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
- Heat a large pot of water then season with salt and add pasta. Cook until al dente then drain and set aside.
- Remove skillet from heat then top chicken with sliced mozzarella and broil until golden brown and bubbly.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Sorry, meant to write KRISTIN. :-)
Kristen, I LOVE your blog. You are one of the only bloggers who makes me want to try EVERY recipe! I recently made the pasta fagioli and it was a huge hit!
I wanted to make a suggestion that you add metadata for your images. I keep recipes organized via Pinterest, and when I go to pin your recipes, your images are named things like photo456 or whatever. In this post, the image was named HealthyChickenSkilletParmesan. Whatever you add as the description for your photo will show up as the default Pinterest text, so it’s a great way to suggest what people write when they pin AND drive more traffic to your blog. You could name all your photos in this post, for example, “Healthy Chicken Skillet Parmesan from Iowa Girl Eats. Easy and quick!” and that’s the text almost everyone would use for Pinterest. It would save your readers time and describe your recipes in the language you’d like them described in.
Thanks for reading my suggestion. Keep up the great work!
Like… OMG check out that cheese. Amazing! Saving this, moving in with a roommate who only eats chicken parm! He’ll love it!
I’ve been reading your blog for awhile but this is the first comment I think! :) Cooked this for the fam tonight and they all ate it!!! (with a picky 3 yr old – I settle for eating not liking:) ) However, I loved it! as did my daughter. Will for sure put it on our list again. Love your site and thanks so much!
I prepared this for the family tonight. Oh my goodness. This is officially in our regular dinner rotation. This is very good. I made my own sauce instead of the jarred and used a mix of parm, romano, and asiago cheeses in the sauce. Fabulous. Thank you very much. The family gives it 12 thumbs up.
Hey Kristin,
This is kind of a silly request, but I’d love it if you talked about how you cook your chicken safely. I freak myself out just thinking about touching and cooking raw chicken at home. Would love to hear how you keep your mind at ease with your kitchen safety tricks for poultry.
Thanks
Hey Katy! Great question. I have a plastic cutting board that I only use for chicken, which I immediately rinse and place in the dishwasher when I’m done with it. As long as you don’t touch something else without washing your hands after handling chicken you should be totally fine. I always cut a small slit in the thickest part of the chicken breast when cooking it to make sure the chicken is no longer pink the center, also. If you are still concerned you can purchase an electric meat thermometer to place in the chicken as it cooks, which will alert you when it has reached a safe cooking temp!
I saw a Martha Stewart show in which she was cooking poultry. She used parchment paper under the chicken to help protect her cutting board and other surfaces. I thought that was a great idea and have done the same myself.
hey kristin – love your recipes! what would you suggest if i don’t have a broiler-safe skillet? should i transfer the whole dish to a casserole before browning, or skip the browning all together (and melt the cheese stovetop with lid on)? thanks!
Great question, Michele! Yep, go ahead and pop a lid on the skillet and let the cheese melt that way. :)
I have to try this ASAP!!! On another note– what can I use that is safe to spray in my non-stick pan? When we got them my husband read (thoroughly) the directions to keep the pans lasting forever and he tells me I can use non-stick spray in them? Do you have any suggestions?
Oh wow – I’ve been using non-stick sprays on my non-stick pans for years! They have held up fine, if that helps any?!
This looks amazing & simple. Even I feel like I could make it and not screw it up. (Obviously not a cook ha!)
Giada’s Roasted Garlic sauce is my favorite jar ever.
This meal is bound to make Ben feel better! Looks simply delicious!
Looks pretty good … where do you find that tomato basil bread??
Holy Goose feathers now that is some comfort food! I am hoping the hubs got over his sickness. Our family has been going through some crummy sickness too. May be this might cure it =)))
mmmm this looks soooooooo goooooooddd! I pinned it! I can’t wait to make it!