Parmesan Chicken Breast With Tomato and Herb Salad

By Sarah Copeland

Parmesan Chicken Breast With Tomato and Herb Salad
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food styling: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(541)
Comments
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For better weeknight chicken, dredge it in flour loaded with freshly grated Parmesan and shallow-fry it. The cheese works to create a sort of frico, so you don’t need bread crumbs for a deeply flavorful crust. While you could make this entirely on the stovetop, you risk overcooking the Parmesan, and under- or overcooking the meat. Instead, finish it in the oven, which yields a juicy, tender breast and keeps the Parmesan from getting too dark. Serve with perfectly ripe beefsteak and cherry tomatoes, jumbled together with salt and herbs and a splash of vinegar to make the tomatoes pop.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1½pounds ripe beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges (or halved if small)
  • 1pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1tablespoon sherry or cider vinegar
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt, plus for seasoning
  • ¼teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning
  • 6ounces Parmesan
  • 1cup flour
  • 2large eggs, well beaten
  • 4skinless, boneless chicken breast, halved (about ½-inch thick)
  • 3tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil 
  • 2tablespoons thinly sliced basil
  • ¼cup finely chopped parsley
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

782 calories; 31 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 85 grams protein; 1146 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toss together tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, and set aside. Heat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the lowest position.

  2. Step 2

    Make the chicken: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Finely grate half the Parmesan on a box grater. Grate the remaining half on the larger side of the box grater. Add both to a shallow bowl along with ½ cup flour, and whisk together. Put the remaining ½ cup flour in another shallow bowl, and the beaten egg in another.

  3. Step 3

    Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Dip the chicken breasts, one at a time, into the flour. Shake off any excess and dip into the eggs, turning to coat evenly. Shake off the excess and dip into the Parmesan mixture, pressing to adhere and holding the chicken gently by the ends to keep the coating intact. Transfer to the lined baking sheet.

  4. Step 4

    Heat 2 tablespoons oil in your largest ovenproof skillet. When the oil is shimmering, lay the chicken breasts in the pan, in batches if needed. Cook without moving until the coating on the bottom is deeply golden brown and releases easily from the pan, 5 to 6 minutes. Carefully flip the breasts and cook until the other side is just golden on the outside, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the skillet to the oven (or transfer the chicken to a separate baking sheet if needed for space) and cook until the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes more, depending on the thickness of each breast.

  5. Step 5

    Sprinkle the herbs over the tomatoes, and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; serve alongside the chicken.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
541 user ratings
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Comments

Eva

Scrumptious. Ate the chicken with our hands, it was so good! Perfect crisp crust. Made some very small changes: used rice flour instead of all-purpose, and some red wine vinegar instead of straight sherry (which I find quite strong). Also, I gently pounded the chicken breast tenders to make sure they cooked quickly. As a result, they needed only 3 minutes in the oven. Looking forward to making this again!

MJ

Good basic recipe but could use some moderation to increase the amount of flavor in the chicken. I think some garlic powder and dried herbs in the flour/Parmesan mixture would improve it, will try doing that next time. The tomato salad on the side was great - very refreshing and helped to lighten up the chicken nicely.

EBA

I used 3 breasts sliced horizontally for a total of 6 pieces. Once I started grating the cheese, I knew 6 oz was going to be too much. I used 2 oz with 1/6 cup flour, and it was just the right amount. Would have been a shame to have to throw away all that Parmesan.

tara s

This chicken is one of our family’s favorites. It’s winter time so no tomatoes, but made the chicken to have with other veggies. Did it with my 13 year old daughter, teaching her all the steps. Deeeeeelicious as usual, but even more so now that she knows how to make it herself. Thank you NYT for teaching me new family recipes, which I, in turn, have taught my children

betsy

Made this again last night and made it didn’t do it earlier because it is SO good. It’s wonderful with fresh local tomatoes and a little crisp lettuce. My recommendation is do not skip the salt and pepper on the chicken before you dip it. I may try a little garlic salt next time. So basic, easy and yummy!

Kal

The chicken was bland. The tomato salad was good but I wouldn't exactly call it ground breaking. Also, the cook times are way too long when the recipe also calls for cutting the breasts in half.

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