An Italian classic comfort food, lightened up! Baked Chicken Parmesan made with cutlets, homemade tomato sauce, gooey cheese and served on Zucchini Noodles! An easy weeknight meal your family will love!
Lighter Baked Chicken Parmesan
I know it’s July, but it’s ok to do comfort food now, right? We’ve actually had a cool front come through Texas recently, so the mornings have been around 70 degrees (compared to our normal 100 degrees) so it’s been amazing!
So I guess that’s why comfort food is on my mind and everything about this Crispy Baked Chicken Parmesan screams comfort food to me! Except this baby is lighten up and served on a bed of zucchini noodles.
But to be honest you won’t even miss the pasta because the Chicken Parmesan part of this dish is so amazing!
Can you bake Chicken Parmesan?
Absolutely! Baking Chicken Parmesan and not frying it is a great healthy way to lighten up this dish. In order to get the crispy exterior you want to make it on a higher temperature, like 400-425 degrees F. Also, lightly spraying the tops with a cooking spray helps brown the top a bit.
How to make Chicken Parmesan?
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray a baking sheet with PAM cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large shallow dish, add gluten free panko, parmesan cheese, and dry basil. Toss to mix.
- Add egg whites to a small bowl. Set aside.
- Pat chicken cutlets dry. Dredge chicken breast in egg white mixture on both sides. Then dredge in parmesan mixture. Be sure to press the mixture into the chicken so it sticks.
- Place coated chicken breasts on greased baking sheet. Once on baking sheet, gently spray the top of the chicken breast with olive oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and 1 slice of mozzarella cheese, bake for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
Did you know that the calorie count on a dinner size Chicken Parmesan at Olive Garden is 1060 calories! HOLY HANNAH that’s a lot! When I was 17 and playing volleyball non stop I could handle that but now I’m 35 and those calories just stick to my hips!
Ya hear me?!
So this lightened up classic gives you all the same flavor but a lot more friendly on the waistline. Fist pump! Oh and your family will devour eat, zucchini noodles and ALL!
This Baked Chicken Parmesan is coated with egg white wash dunked in a gluten free panko and parmesan bath, lightly browned in the oven, and topped with my favorite easy peasy homemade tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella slices. The finishing touch is serving it on a bed of zucchini noodles!
To make this recipe ahead of time, prep the tomato sauce and dredge the chicken so all you have to do is put the chicken in the oven around dinner time. Either way the time you spend on this meal is well worth it, because it totally delivers on flavor and screams comfort food! You’re going to love it! And believe me all the humans will devour every last bite of this!
It’s definitely a great healthy meal option and perfect for those school nights coming up soon!
Bon Appetit friends!
What to serve with Chicken Parmesan?
- Cranberry Sangria Recipe
- Smashed Chickpea Crostini with Bruschetta
- Baked Mozzarella Sticks with Wonton Wrappers
- Roasted Beet Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese
Lighter Baked Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles
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Prep Time: 5 mins
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Cook Time: 50 mins
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Total Time: 55 mins
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Yield: 5 1x
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Category: Chicken, Kid Friendly, Gluten Free, Pasta
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Method: Oven
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Cuisine: Italian
Description
An Italian classic comfort food, lightened up! Baked Chicken Parmesan made with cutlets, homemade tomato sauce, gooey cheese and served on Zucchini Noodles!
Ingredients
Chicken Parmesan:
- 5 boneless chicken breast cutlets
- 1 egg white, lightly scrambled
- 3/4 cup gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 4 oz. fresh mozzarella ball, cut into 5 slices
Tomato Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup finely diced red onion
- 28 oz. Muir Glen crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 large zucchini, spiralized into noodles
- fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Bring a medium sauce pan to medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and red onion. Saute for 3-4 minutes until onions become translucent.
- Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds add in crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside when finished.
- Spray a baking sheet with PAM cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large shallow dish add gluten free panko, parmesan cheese, and dry basil. Toss to mix.
- Add egg whites to a small bowl. Set aside.
- Pat chicken cutlets dry. Dredge chicken breast in egg white mixture on both sides. Then dredge in parmesan mixture. Be sure to press the mixture into the chicken so it sticks.
- Place coated chicken breasts on greased baking sheet. Once on baking sheet, gently spray the top of the chicken breast with olive oil.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Top each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and 1 slice of mozzarella cheese, bake for 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
- Serve Parmesan Chicken on top of raw zucchini noodles, top with a little extra tomato sauce and fresh basil.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken parmesan with noodles
- Calories: 331
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 614 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 69 mg
Keywords: baked chicken parmesan, chicken parmesan recipe, how to make chicken parmesan, zucchini noodles, zoodles, easy chicken recipes, healthy chicken dinner ideas, baked chicken,
IF YOU A RECIPE BE SURE TO SNAP A PIC AND HASHTAG IT #JOYFULHEALTHYEATS. I LOVE SEEING WHAT YOU MAKE!
Want More Zucchini Noodle Recipes?
Cheese Zucchini Ravioli with Roasted Tomato
Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
Ground Beef Zucchini Enchilada Boats
This recipe was very easy to make. The chicken was very tender and only baked for 30 minutes, even less if you have cutlets. No flavor was lost with this lower calorie recipe.
★★★★★
not a big fan of zuchinni but I’ve been meaning to try the whole zoodle thing. I think this recipe is what’s gonna give me that push 🙂
you will love it! And if you’re not a fan of zucchini noodle spaghetti squash would be good with this as well.
I love this healthier twist! Chicken Parm is my favorite!!
Thanks so much Joanie!
Chicken parm is a fave in our house, love that you lightened it up. My hips send you many thanks 😉
hahaa… glad to hear it! 🙂
What a gorgeous take on chicken parmesan!
Thanks so much Des!
This is beautiful and looks like a very comforting healthy version of one of my favorite meals! Delish!
★★★★★
Hurray! that was the goal, glad you liked it!
Yum! this looks fantastic!
Thanks Maria!
This is a great recipe — I’ve been loving zoodles and chicken parm is my very favorite!
woohoo! enjoy!
So fresh, good looking and delicious! A trifecta!
Thanks so much Dorothy!