Hunky Hubbie’s Favorite: Oven Baked Crispy Panko-Parm Crusted Chicken
This is a perfect, no-fuss, easy as can be, oven baked chicken recipe that gives you a crispy crust without standing over a hot frying pan filled with oil or butter.
The hack is to melt butter in a hot oven proof dish and place the parmesan and panko crusted chicken directly into the melted butter. Roast at high heat for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down for another 20-30 minutes. Chances are you have everything you need for this recipe in your pantry. You’ll get a fantastic juicy chicken in under 1 hour and no splattered mess to clean up on your stove top.
Serve with my spinach gratin and a roasted sweet potato for a simple weeknight dinner. This is my husband’s absolutely favorite dinner.
It’s so simple I’m almost embarrassed to share it.
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Ingredients- serves 4
2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
1 cup unseasoned panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 large egg
1/2 cup dijon mustard
3 TBSP unsalted butter
large oven proof baking dish
Method- Prep time 15 minutes, baking time 45 minutes
- Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat egg well.
In pan #1- combine the beaten egg and whisk in the dijon mustard. Set aside. - In pan #2- combine the panko, parmesan, and spices.
Meanwhile, place the butter into the oven proof dish and place in the 400 degree oven to 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted.
Carefully remove the hot dish from oven and set on a trivet or a heatproof pad. Place the two pans of egg and mustard mixture and panko next to the hot dish for assembly. - Dip the chicken into the egg mixture. Then dredge in the panko mixture and gently place the coated chicken into the hot butter. Repeat until all the chicken is coated. If you have any leftover panko mixture- sprinkle it on top of the chicken breasts for even more coating.
- Use an oven mitt to place the hot baking dish back into the oven.
Bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and the top is crispy.
Serve immediately.
Can I make this ahead?
Yes- you can make this dish ahead. Just carefully wrap the chicken in plastic in the fridge. Unwrap, melt the butter in the dish and process with the recipe at Step # 4 – place into a hot dish with melted butter and bake.
Can I just put melted butter into a cold dish and then bake?
No- the heat from the dish helps the chicken to crisp up the minute it hits the pan. You want a very hot dish, a hot oven and melted butter.
Can I freeze this?
Yes- once baked, let the chicken cool, then wrap in foil and then in plastic. Remove the plastic and re-heat at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in an oven proof dish. For best results, open the foil up a bit so the chicken doesn’t steam and the panko becomes soggy.
Can I use another type of mustard?
Yes- you can use yellow mustard, grainy mustard, brown mustard. The only thing that might not work well is honey mustard. The suagr content tends to make the panko too soggy.
What are PANKO Bread crumbs?
Panko is made from a crustless bread that is processed into flakes then dried. It is lower in calories, sodium and fat than standard bread crumbs and creates a lighter, crispier crust. You can buy it at all major grocery stores right next to standard bread crumbs. Be certain to use unseasoned panko.
