When you want to make something special—without stressing out—tweaking a familiar recipe is the way to go. Chicken Parmesan – or Chicken Parmigiana – is a perfect example: just two simple changes create an impressive, almost restaurant-worthy presentation. Instead of breadcrumbs, the breading uses coarsely chopped pine nuts and coarse cornmeal giving the chicken an ultra-crispy, nutty Parmesan crust. And because tomato or marinara sauce can make that gorgeous crust go soggy, it’s swapped for sweet, oven-roasted cherry tomatoes.
With these small tweaks, this classic dish suddenly looks and tastes luxuriously interesting. A similar recipe is the Chicken Milanese, a breaded chicken cutlet served without sauce, just a squeeze of lemon juice.
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Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Chicken breast – cut in half horizontally, creating chicken cutlets
- Pine nuts
- Cornmeal
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano will work as well.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Egg white – egg whites do not contain fat, so the breading is a little more crunchy than when using whole eggs.
- Milk – or buttermilk
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cherry tomatoes
How to Make Pine Nut-Crusted Chicken Parmesan
Click here for a short video on How to Make Pine Nut-Crusted Chicken Parmesan.
Step 1 – Place cherry tomatoes on a small baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in oven of 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes. Set aside
Step 2 – Make 2 separate mixtures.
- Coarsely ground pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, coarse cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, baking soda, all-purpose flour.
- Egg white, milk, salt & pepper.
Step 3 – Cut a chicken breast in half, horizontally and pound on them to reach an even thickness. Season the cutlets on both sides with salt & pepper.
Step 4 – Dip the chicken cutlets in the egg white-milk mixture and then and dip them into the nut-flour mixture to coat all sides. Tap off the excess.
This is often referred to as a ‘breading station’ where meat or fish moves between 2-3 stations, from flour to egg to bread crumbs.
Step 5 – In an oven-proof skillet, heat oil. Add the chicken and saute about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and done.
Step 6 – Top each cutlet with a thin slice of Mozzarella cheese. Broil for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve the chicken cutlets over Pasta with Brown Butter Sauce. Garnish with burst tomatoes and fresh basil,
Alternatives and Substitutions
- Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose.
- Instead of pine nuts you can use almonds, walnuts or pecans.
- Use buttermilk instead of milk.
- A whole egg can replace an egg white. This will often make the breading thicker, and a little fatter. In theory is could also be less crunchy, if you happen to notice it.
- You can add herbs or spices to the breading if you like.
- Instead of pasta, serve the Pine Nut-Crusted Chicken Parmesan over polenta or potatoes.
Pine Nut-Crusted Chicken Parmesan
Pin Recipe Facebook Share by TextIngredients
- 8 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, coarsely ground
- 2 teaspoons cornmeal, medium-coarse ground
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup milk, or buttermilk
- salt & pepper
- 8 ounces chicken breast
- basil
Instructions
- A NOTE ABOUT THE COOKING AND PREP TIME.The cooking time starts with the tomatoes – a total of 25 minutes. Within that time, you can prep and cook the Pine Nut-Crusted Chicken Parmesan. Hence, the total time is still 25 minutes.
- Place cherry tomatoes on a small baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake in oven of 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until the tomatoes burst. Set aside.
- During that time, make 2 separate mixtures:1. Mix coarsely ground pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, baking soda, all-purpose flour.2. Egg white, milk, salt & pepper. Whisk the egg white loose with a fork before adding the milk.
- Cut a chicken breast in half, horizontally and pound on them to reach an even thickness. Season the cutlets on both sides with salt & pepper. (NOTE 1)
- Dip the chicken cutlets in the egg white-milk mixture and then and dip it into the nut-flour mixture to coat on all sides. Tap off the excess.
- In an oven-proof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the chicken and saute about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown and done.
- Top each cutlet with a thin slice of Mozzarella cheese. Place for a few minutes under a broiler, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve the chicken cutlets over pasta or polenta or potatoes. Garnish with burst tomatoes and fresh basil.
Notes
- Instead of slicing boneless, skinless chicken breasts fillets in half horizontally, you may be able to buy cutlets in the grocery store.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.