Best Damn Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan

This recipe for chicken Parmesan does a couple of things differently than most standard chicken parmesan recipes. For starters, we use buttermilk to marinate and tenderize the chicken. Secondly, we bake it in the oven. These simple steps and a few basic ingredients create a classic dish that’s so savory and delicious.

Buttermilk is the secret tenderizer

That’s right, buttermilk is a fantastic marinade for chicken! Where as many marinades simply soak the meat in various flavors, buttermilk not only adds flavor, but it does a great job of tenderizing the meat. For this recipe we simply add a cup of buttermilk to a large ziploc bag and add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts of about 1/2″ thick. If you have the time, letting them marinate overnight or for several hours will produce great results! But, at the very least, if you can let the chicken soak in the buttermilk for at least a half hour, you’ll still a delicious, moist and tender Chicken Parmesan (but trust me, a few hours makes it even better!)

Help it brown with cooking spray

These chicken breasts will cook in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet that’s been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. The spray is just a simple vegetable based oil – usually canola oil. Once the chicken is breaded and in the pan, give it a spray with the cooking spray. The additional layer of oil will help the browning process in the oven.

Think thin

This recipe can be made with small sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If using larger sized chicken breasts, lay them on a cutting board, and slice them in half with the knife parallel to the cutting board. We’re looking for a uniform thickness of about 1/2″.

Also great for salads!

This recipe makes awesome breaded chicken breasts that are perfect for salads. Simply skip the last step of adding the sauce and cheese. Slice up the chicken and add to a salad with your favorite dressing. I especially love ranch or blue cheese dressing on breaded chicken.

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