Chicken Parmesan With Spaghetti & Pesto
A classic chicken parmesan served with tomato spaghetti & a punchy basil pesto. With crispy chicken, a flavourful marinara sauce & melty cheese, this one’s a real winner.
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Here’s a seriously tasty chicken parmesan, served with tomato spaghetti & a drizzle of basil pesto! This is a twist on the Italian American classic & it makes for a fantastic midweek meal. There’s crispy chicken cutlets, a flavourful homemade marinara sauce & plenty of melty cheese…
Our chicken parmesan has all the classic components & we’re making them all from scratch (where possible). From the breaded chicken breasts, to the marinara sauce & the basil pesto. I know the pesto’s not traditional but it works great on this dish!
For more dinner recipes to try, take a look at our collection of main course recipes! There’s loads of really good dinners to make, from easy midweek meals to impressive weekend dinners.
What You’ll Need
- Chicken Breasts – For 4 portions of chicken parmesan, you’ll need 2 large chicken breasts which have been cut in half horizontally. The chicken breasts should be boneless & skinless.
- Pané – To coat the chicken in breadcrumbs, you’ll need plain flour, eggs, milk, panko breadcrumbs & grated parmesan. Regular breadcrumbs will work as well but panko will give your chicken the crispiest coating.
- Marinara Sauce – You can make your own marinara sauce or use a jar of ready made tomato sauce. The chicken parm will be good either way!
- Cheese – A classic chicken parmesan uses both parmesan & mozzarella. A low moisture mozzarella works best, which is available to buy in blocks in most supermarkets.
- Pesto – Again, you can make your own basil pesto or use a ready made one. Or leave it out entirely if you’d prefer.
- Spaghetti – We’re serving our chicken parmesan with spaghetti that’s coated in the rest of our marinara sauce.
Chicken Parmesan
We’re keeping things classic with our chicken parmesan. Here breaded chicken cutlets are fried until crispy then topped with a generous spoonful of marinara sauce, plenty of mozzarella & parmesan then baked until golden and melty.
There’s a couple of tips & tricks that are included in our recipe that will take your chicken parmesan to the next level! This includes coating the chicken in a double layer of parmesan panko breadcrumbs, frying on the stove until crisp then baking to cook through & to melt the cheese.
Chicken Parm – Step By Step
Before coating the chicken in breadcrumbs, you’ll need to prepare a pané station. To do this, take 3 bowls, fill one with the flour, one with the eggs & milk and another with the breadcrumbs & grated parmesan. Beat the eggs with a fork then season each bowl with salt & pepper.
- Cut your chicken breasts in half horizontally so that you get 2 pieces.
- Place a piece of chicken between 2 pieces of baking parchment then pound with a meat tenderising hammer (or a rolling pin) to a thickness of around 1 cm. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Toss a piece of chicken in the flour then dunk in the egg. Lift the chicken out of the egg, letting the excess drain off then place into the bowl of breadcrumbs. Thoroughly coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs then coat in another layer of egg, followed by breadcrumbs (this is a double pané). Repeat with the rest of the chicken then chill in the fridge until ready to cook.
- To cook, set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then add in a 1½ cm layer of vegetable oil. Leave to heat up for a minute or two.
- Cook the chicken, 2 at a time, frying them for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden & crispy then place onto a rack set inside a roasting tin.
- Top each piece of chicken with 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce, slices of mozzarella & grated parmesan then bake at 220°c/428°f for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through & the cheese is melty.
Marinara Sauce
A classic chicken parm is topped with marinara sauce. Either a ready made one from a jar or one that you’ve made from scratch. I like to make my tomato sauce from scratch but a good quality jar of sauce will work just as well. For extra flavour, I like to add the basil stalks into the sauce that are leftover from making the pesto but this is optional.
The key when making any tomato sauce, is to cook the tomatoes out over a low heat and to balance out the acidity with a splash of balsamic vinegar or a small amount of sugar. Other than that, marinara sauce couldn’t be easier to make! We fry off some onion & garlic, add in tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, dried herbs, vinegar, sugar & basil stalks then cook out until thick & blitz smooth with a blender.
Basil Pesto
Now pesto isn’t necessarily a classic sauce to serve with chicken parmesan but it really does work! This punchy basil pesto works great alongside the crispy chicken, the melty cheese and the homemade marinara sauce.
We’re making this pesto like you normally would, by blending fresh basil leaves with toasted pine nuts, grated parmesan, garlic, lemon juice & olive oil, to make a sauce that we can drizzle over the chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken parmesan can be prepared in advance but is best eaten as soon as it is cooked. The chicken can be breaded the day before cooking & the marinara sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance. Both the chicken & sauce need to be stored in the fridge until needed.
Basil pesto will keep for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Chicken breast is the best cut of chicken to use for chicken parmesan. It’s best to use large chicken breasts then cut them in half horizontally, so that they cook evenly.
Cook the marinara sauce & toast the pine nuts on the simmering plate. Fry the chicken on the boiling plate then cook in the roasting oven, on the second from top set of runners. Cook the spaghetti on the boiling plate.
Equipment Used
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More Dinner Recipes To Try!
- Tikka Masala Roast Chicken
- Hot Maple Fried Chicken
- Leftover Roast Chicken Ramen
- Goose Fat Jacket Potatoes
- Black Garlic Hanger Steaks
- Smoked Ham Hocks
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Chicken Parmesan With Spaghetti & Pesto
Equipment
- Small Frying Pan
- Digital Food Probe
- Mixing Bowls
- Meat Tenderising Hammer
- Saucepans
- Microplane
- Blender (See Notes)
- Large Frying Pan
- Roasting Tin With Rack
Ingredients
Basil Pesto
- 30 g Pine Nuts
- 100 g Fresh Basil (See Notes)
- 30 g Parmesan (Grated)
- 1 Garlic Clove (Grated)
- 90 g Olive Oil
- 1½ tbsp Lemon Juice
Breaded Chicken
- 2 Chicken Breasts (Boneless & Skinless)
- 100 g Plain Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1 tbsp Milk
- 150 g Panko Breadcrumbs
- 15 g Parmesan
Marinara Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 White Onions (Peeled & Diced)
- 6 Garlic Cloves (Peeled & Thinly Sliced)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 800 g Tinned Tomatoes (2 Tins – See Notes)
- 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tsp Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
To Serve
- 300 g Low Moisture Mozzarella (Sliced)
- Parmesan
- 300 g Spaghetti
- Olive Oil
Instructions
Basil Pesto
- Place the pine nuts into a small frying pan then cook over a medium heat until golden brown, shaking the pan regularly. This will take 3-4 minutes. Once toasted, transfer the pine nuts to a bowl & leave to cool.
- Next, pick the basil leaves from the stalks. Put the leaves into a blender & set the stalks to one side (we'll use these for the tomato sauce).You can use a food processor or small blender for the pesto!
- Add the toasted pine nuts into the blender, along with the grated parmesan, garlic, olive oil & lemon juice. Blend into a smooth sauce then season to taste with salt & pepper. Store the pesto in the fridge until needed.If the pesto is too thick, thin it out with extra oil or a splash of cold water.
Breaded Chicken
- Using a sharp knife, cut each chicken breast in half, horizontally.Cut the chicken like you're going to butterfly it but cut all the way through!
- Place a piece of chicken between two pieces of baking parchment then pound with a meat tendering hammer (or a rolling pin) to a thickness of around 1 cm. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken.
- Next, prepare the pané station. To do this, take 3 bowls, fill one with the flour, one with the eggs & milk and another with the breadcrumbs & grated parmesan. Beat the eggs with a fork then season each bowl with salt & pepper.
- Toss a piece of chicken in the flour then dunk in the egg. Lift the chicken out of the egg, letting the excess drain off then place into the bowl of breadcrumbs. Thoroughly coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs then coat in another layer of egg, followed by breadcrumbs (this is a double pané).
- Place the breaded chicken onto a tray/plate, repeat with the remaining chicken then chill in the fridge until needed.
Marinara Sauce
- Add the olive oil into a large saucepan then set over a medium heat. Leave to heat up for a minute or so then add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly until soft & translucent. This will take 5-10 minutes.
- Add the sliced garlic into the onions cook for another minute then stir in the tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 3-4 minutes, to caramelise the tomato paste.
- Next, add the tinned tomatoes into the pan, along with the vinegar, sugar, dried oregano & the reserved basil stalks. Rinse the empty tomato tins out with water then add this into the sauce as well.Fill each tin no more than a third full with water.
- Season the sauce with salt & pepper then turn the heat down slightly & simmer gently until thick, stirring occasionally. This will take around 20-30 minutes.
- Once cooked, blend the sauce in a jug blender until smooth then taste, to check the seasoning. Add more salt & pepper as needed then set to one side.A stick blender will also work! If the sauce tastes slightly bitter, stir in a splash more vinegar or a small amount of caster sugar. I like to blitz the basil stalks into the sauce but feel free to take them out if you'd prefer.
Cooking The Chicken
- Preheat an oven to 220°c/200°c fan (428°f/392°f).
- Next, set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat then add in a 1½ cm layer of vegetable oil. Leave to heat up for a minute or two, until hot.The oil should be hot enough to make the chicken sizzle as soon as it is added in. It shouldn't be smoking though!
- Once the oil is hot, fry the chicken in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown then place onto a rack set inside a roasting tin.Make sure not to over crowd the pan! I'd recommend frying the chicken 2 at a time.
- Next, add 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce on top of each piece of chicken then top with the sliced mozzarella & a sprinkle of grated parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through & the cheese is melty.The internal temperature of the chicken should be 75°c/167°f once cooked.
- Once cooked, let the chicken rest for a couple of minutes then serve.
To Serve
- Whilst your chicken is in the oven, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, until al dente. This will take around 10 minutes. Once cooked, drain the spaghetti but reserve some of the pasta water.
- Set the pan back over a low heat then add in the remaining tomato sauce & a good splash of the pasta water. Stir to coat the pasta in sauce, adding more pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Let the sauce warm through for a couple of minutes before serving.
- To plate up, divide the spaghetti between 4 plates then top each portion with a piece of chicken. Drizzle over a generous amount of pesto then finish with a sprinkle of grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil & a few cracks of black pepper.
