(upbeat music) - Hey, everybody. It's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com, and today, I have such a treat for you. I'm gonna teach you how to
make our family favorite, chicken Parmesan. It sounds fancy, but it
is ridiculously easy. It has simple ingredients, and it is just the juiciest chicken, restaurant-quality, and
perfect for a busy weeknight. And, if you want to save even more time, you can use a store-bought marinara sauce, but homemade is ridiculously simple, and you can't match the flavor. So let's do this. We're gonna do a quick
prep of our ingredients. Start out by chopping
half of a medium onion. You should have about half a cup chopped. Set that aside. Also mince three large garlic cloves. And seriously, if you don't
have one of these already, a food scraper makes
prep work so much easier. I'll link to my favorite one in the notes. Now place a saucepan over medium heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Then add the finely chopped onion and stir that for about five minutes or until it's softened and lightly golden. Add your minced garlic and
stir for another minute or until fragrant. Now add a 28-ounce can
of crushed tomatoes, and get the best-quality
one that you can find. I will link to the one
we used in the notes. Add half a teaspoon of dried oregano, half a teaspoon of sea salt, and a quarter teaspoon of black pepper. Bring that mixture to a light boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook partially covered for 15 minutes. While that sauce is simmering, you can get started on
your chicken Parmesan. You'll need two large chicken breasts, totaling about one and a half pounds. Cut those in half lengthwise
to get four even cutlets. If your cutlets are uneven or very large, you can pound them between
two sheets of plastic wrap for an even thickness. This way, they'll cook much more evenly. Lightly season both sides of your cutlets with salt and pepper. Now we're gonna set up a
simple breading station. In the first shallow bowl, combine one half cup of all-purpose flour, one teaspoon of sea salt, and half a teaspoon of black pepper. Stir that mixture
together just to combine, and in the second shallow bowl, beat together two large eggs until frothy. In a third shallow bowl, combine one half cup of breadcrumbs, I'm using Italian
breadcrumbs for more flavor, and one half cup of Parmesan
cheese that's been shredded. And if your Parmesan
cheese is larger pieces, break them up with your fingertips as you mix that mixture together. Now it's time to bread
the chicken cutlets. Dip the first one into the flour mixture and tap off the excess. Then transfer it to the beaten eggs. Turn that to get an even coating, and let the excess drip back into the pan. Lastly, dip the cutlets
into the cheesy breadcrumbs, pressing the cutlets into the breading to ensure a thick even coating of crumbs and making sure you bread both sides. Transfer that to a platter, and finish breading the remaining cutlets. Once all of the chicken is prepared, we're gonna head back to the stove. Our homemade marinara
sauce has been simmering for about 15 minutes. Stir in one tablespoon
of fresh chopped basil. Then turn off the heat. The marinara sauce is ready. To cook the chicken,
place a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the
pan or about two tablespoons. We use a light olive oil because it has a high smoke point and it is great sauteing and baking, but you can use any
high-heat cooking oil here. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and saute three to four minutes per side, depending on the
thickness of your cutlets, or until the chicken is
golden-brown on the outside and the internal temperature
reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer. As soon as it's cooked through, take the chicken off the heat. If you haven't already, preheat your oven to
425 degrees Fahrenheit. We're gonna finish off this
chicken Parmesan in the oven. So in a nine-by-13 casserole dish, spread half of your marinara
sauce over the bottom. Place your sauteed chicken in
a single layer over the sauce. My cutlets were quite large, so they were overlapping
slightly, but that's okay. Spoon the remaining sauce generously over the center of each chicken cutlet. The marinara will help seal in
the juiciness of the chicken and adds incredible flavor. And, last but not least, top with a generous one cup
of shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake that uncovered on the center rack of a preheated oven at 425
degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted
and the sauce is bubbling. Ho ho ho! Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Oh, I am so excited for this. And I love to serve chicken
Parmesan with some pasta, so I've got that cooked
already, some buttered noodles. And when it comes out of the oven, I love to garnish it with a
little bit of fresh parsley and some fresh basil. You can use one or other,
but I happen to have both, so I'm just using both. It just makes it so pretty, and then it draws out that basil flavor from the marinara sauce. Mm. Okay, here we go. The taste test. All right, serving this with
some hot buttered spaghetti. Yum. Still steamy. I'm so excited. I'm so hungry too. Okay, here we go. And because this has marinara,
it's so delicious over pasta, so I'm gonna spoon on some sauce first. And there's plenty in there,
so you can be generous. Okay. All right, here we go. I love how the cheese gets
crisp and so good on the edges. Yum, yum, yum. Oh, wow. Look at that cheese pull. I'm a sucker for cheese. Yum. Okay. Just a smidge more parsley. And we're gonna cut right
in, because I want you to see exactly how juicy this chicken is. Oh, that Parmesan crust just seals in all the natural chicken
juices and flavors. Here we go. Oh. Look inside. Look at that chicken. It looks amazing. Okay, here we go for the taste test. Actually, that's a
really big bite, too big. What was I thinking? I'm gonna cut that down just a bit, so I can fit it in my mouth,
because that's ridiculous. Okay, here we go. Mm. Mm. Mm. Wow. And that homemade marinara is
just as good as the chicken. Over some spaghetti. Let's get some spaghetti up in here. Mm. And how do you like your spaghetti? Do you use a spoon and twirl
it on or just use the bowl? As long as it gets in my mouth. Mm. This is the perfect simple dinner. It's classy and elegant, but it really has simple ingredients. This is totally a restaurant-quality dish that you recreate at home,
and my kids love this. They get really excited when I make it because first of all, chicken. Everybody loves chicken and cheese. And it's just like bubbly and cheesy when it comes out of the oven. They cannot resist this dish. It is on the regular rotation. I hope it becomes a favorite for you. Speaking of taste testers, here they come. Oh. All right. Everybody's hungry. Here we go. - Both mine. - Mm. - Hey, leave some for me. - Okay. - No, duh, duh, duh. What do you think? You love it? Woo-hoo! - Yummy, yummy. Very, very, very, very, very, very great. - Very great. That's so cute. Thanks, honey. That's a wrap.
For some reason I always thought Chicken Parmesan would be time consuming or overly complicated, but this recipe is fairly simple for the average home cook. It also turned out perfect with a balanced flavor. I was impressed!