Gluten Free Chicken Parm
Date night in? You got it!
Okay, it was juuuuuust by chance that working on this recipe happened to fall after Peyton Manning is nominated into the Hall of Fame (any Broncos fans out there??), so this can pay a little homage to the classic “chicken parm you taste so goooooood,” moment. BUT, this dish is allllll about date night in my book!
This is the kind of dish you whip out when you’re ready to mix it up — maybe it’s a holiday, special occasion, or you just can NOT make a grain bowl for the 40th night in a row. Welcome to a fancy dish, that comes without the hassle of a fancy dish. You know those recipes… Takes hours to cook, it’s not ready until past your bedtime, has about 1000 ingredients in it… We do not have time for that over here! I want fancy on the fly, and I think you’ll love this one for it!
Chicken Parmesan is such a kitchen classic, but it always intimidated me…. Maybe it’s that I’ve never had a gluten free version, or it just seems super complicated. Let me tell you — this version is not only gluten free, but it could not be easier to whip up! You’ll have date night in, in no time with this dish! All you need are some pantry staples, a box of Simple Mills crackers, and you are ready to go! I love using Simple Mills products as a quick hack in my cooking. I used the Rosemary & Sea Salt Crackers as the breadcrumb mixture, and let me tell you... that flavor & crunch is everything.
I included the pasta as a side in this recipe, but you can absolutely sub in whatever you’d like! Rather have a salad on the side? Great! Want bow tie noodles instead of spaghetti? I like your style! I went the classic route here, but you by nooooo means have to do the same!
This recipe is…
gluten free
ready in 40 minutes
can be made vegetarian
& you only need 11 ingredients!
Gluten Free Chicken Parm
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
2 large chicken breasts
1 box Simple Mills crackers, I used Rosemary & Sea Salt
2 Tbsp. almond flour
1 tsp. oregano
1 egg
2 Tbsp. olive or avocado oil
1/2 c parmesan cheese, shredded
6 oz. mozzarella, fresh
2 c marinara sauce, I used Muir Glen Spicy Arrabbiata
8 oz. dried pasta, I used Jovial spaghetti
fresh parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.
On a large cutting board, slice chicken breasts in half length-wise to make 4 thin pieces of chicken. *You can buy thin sliced chicken breast at most stores as well.
In a food processor, add the crackers, almond flour, oregano, and 1/4 c shredded parmesan.
Pulse until the mixture is a breadcrumb consistency, with no large cracker chunks. Pour cracker crumb mixture into a shallow bowl.
In another shallow bowl, whisk egg.
Heat oil in a large skillet pan over medium heat.
In an assembly line fashion, take the sliced chicken breasts and dip them one at a time into the egg wash, and then into the cracker crumb mixture. Make sure the chicken is completely coated in both steps.
Gently place chicken breast into the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until the breading is crispy and golden brown. Carefully flip to cook the other side.
Place cooked chicken breasts into an oven safe dish (I used a 9x18 casserole dish).
Repeat until all 4 slices of chicken are cooked.
Pour marinara sauce over the breaded chicken breasts to your desired sauciness.
Top the marinara with slice mozzarella.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. *Optional to broil for the last 2-3 minutes to brown the mozzarella cheese.
While chicken is in the oven, cook pasta as directed. After draining the pasta, add remaining marinara sauce to coat the noodles.
Remove the chicken from the oven.
Plate your pasta, then top with your chicken.
Add chopped fresh parsley and more shredded parmesan.
Enjoy!
Want to make it vegetarian?
Easily make this recipe fit your vegetarian or vegan needs by simply subbing out a few ingredients!
Instead of chicken breast use sliced eggplant, or a plant based chikn product! If you do end up using eggplant, make sure you salt & pat the slices dry before & golden brown.
Make it completely vegan by using a vegan parmesan and mozzarella cheese! You can also swap the parmesan in the cracker crust with nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor and an extra protein boost!
Don’t want leftovers?
Just use one chicken breast! You can make less of the cracker crumb mixture, and cook less pasta, but most of the ingredient amounts will be the same! I personally loved having the extra to look forward to later in the week, but if that’s not your jam — just halve what you cook!
Either way you slice it — this dish is a date night winner winner, chicken dinner! I can’t wait to see your date night-in versions of this recipe on social media! Make sure you tag me @nutritionbymallory so I can see your creations and share!!
xx,
mallory