Ingredients
Scale
- 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used something similar to this one)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning/spice mix
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 cup mozzarella
- 2 tbsps fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup of pasta sauce (marinara is great for this recipe!)
- Optional: Fresh chopped basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- Set out a baking sheet with a wire baking rack on top. Spray with cooking spray. Set this aside. You’re going to bake your chicken on top! 🙂
- Place one of the chicken breasts in a zip lock bag and lay it on the counter. Using a kitchen mallet (or rolling pin) flatten the chicken breast so it’s about 1/4″ thick.
- Remove the chicken breast from the zip lock bag and brush with olive oil on all sides.
- Dip the chicken breast into the breadcrumb mixture and move it around so it’s completely covered. Lay the breaded chicken breast on the wire baking rack.
- Repeat steps 4-6 with the remaining chicken breasts.
- Give the tops of your chicken breasts a quick spray with cooking spray.
- Place into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and spoon some pasta sauce or marinara over top of each chicken breast.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella and a little shredded parmesan cheese. The melted cheese will create a tasty little saucy pocket on your chicken! YUM!
- Place the baking sheet into the oven and set it to broil for about 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with fresh chopped basil leaves and serve right away with a big plate of spaghetti or your favorite pasta. Enjoy!
Notes
When you spray the tops of your chicken with cooking spray, be careful not to blast away the bread crumb mixture off your chicken. Spraying at too close of a distance does this so give it a little space! (I’ve accidentally blasted away many bread crumbs in my day, so no worries if you do! lol)
Try making and freezing the chicken breasts to have on hand for an even quicker meal! Prepare the recipe according to the instructions up to Step 9. Allow them to cool, then place them in a freezer bag for later. Be sure to place a piece of wax paper between each chicken breast so they don’t stick together. Bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 450°F then continue the recipe at step 10. 🙂
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
