Description
Traditional chicken Parmesan gets a casual twist as a delicious mini chicken parm sandwich. Tuck crispy panko Parmesan chicken cutlets between toasty garlic herb butter rolls with basil marinara and melted mellow mozzarella cheese. Serve for lunch or dinner. They are perfect for party snacks too.
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds
- 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned panko
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- kosher salt
- pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 12 small sandwich rolls ~ about 3 inches
- 3 cups marinara sauce ~ homemade or store bought
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut in 12 slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a cooling rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
- Prepare the chicken. Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. Slice horizontally into 2 thin cutlets. Then slice each cutlet into 2 pieces. Cover the cutlets with plastic wrap and lightly pound with a meat mallet. Set aside.
- Coat the chicken. In 3 separate shallow dishes, place the (1) panko and Parmesan cheese, (2) beaten eggs, and (3) flour seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour followed by the beaten egg and then the panko. Set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet or large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil reaches 350 degrees F (use a digital thermometer for this) fry the coated chicken in batches for about 2 minutes per side. The chicken will be cooked through and the coating will be crispy and browned when ready. Remove the chicken to the cooling rack. Sprinkle with kosher salt and Parmesan cheese.
- In a small bowl whisk the melted butter, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. Set aside.
- In a large rimmed baking sheet, place the tops of the rolls cut side down. Place the bottoms of the rolls cut side up. Brush the tops and bottoms with the melted butter mixture. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned. Remove from the oven.
- Remove the roll tops from the baking sheet.
- Brush the roll bottoms with some marinara sauce. Top with a piece of the cooked chicken. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the marinara and a slice of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Add the roll tops the last couple minutes of the baking time.
- While the sandwiches bake, warm the remaining marinara sauce.
- Remove the sandwiches from the oven and serve, sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and serve with the warm marinara sauce.
Notes
I'm a fan of homemade basil marinara sauce. It's just so flavorful and easy to make. But if you have a favorite store bought brand, it makes a good substitute.
For the most tender chicken, lightly pound it with a meat mallet.
For the crispiest chicken, make sure the oil is heated to between 350 and 375 degrees F before starting to fry. At a lower oil temperature the chicken will be greasy. If the oil is too hot, the breading will burn before the chicken is cooked. I use a candy thermometer or instant read digital thermometer to quickly check the oil temp.
After frying the chicken, keep it crispy by placing it on a cooling rack set in a baking sheet. Any extra oil will drip off the chicken.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: entrée
- Method: cook on stove top and bake in oven
- Cuisine: Italian American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 441
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 722 mg
- Fat: 20.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33.9 g
- Fiber: 2.1 g
- Protein: 30.7 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg