Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan (Baked)

Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan stuffed with cheese, breaded with cornmeal, and baked directly in the oven. One of those easy dinners for busy weeknight days that is comforting and so easy to make just like this baked chicken breast!

What makes your mealtime awesome?

For my family, there is nothing like cooking and sharing a meal together.

This time, we prepared an easy and tasty Baked Chicken Parmesan with a Twist for one of our weeknight dinners.

Needless to say that putting our own spin on a classic dish was quite fun!

Although we love the traditional chicken parm as it is, we decided to be creative, making the recipe (and the happy moments) our own…

… For this, we originally used Ragú® Old World Style® Marinara Sauce but you can use any tomato sauce of your liking! 

In addition, we skipped the first step of pan-frying the breaded chicken, baking the chicken directly in the oven.

This healthy approach also saved us both time and the stovetop mess. Oh, and that’s not all!

We also replaced bread crumbs with cornmeal and stuffed the chicken breasts with lots of cheese!

The result? Well, see for yourself…

Our gluten-free chicken parmesan was a hit — a dish that the whole family enjoyed! It also brought my family closer together, letting us spend more time together and share more about our day.

How about you? What do you and your family enjoy preparing together?

What is Chicken Parmesan?

Chicken Parmigiana, chicken parmesan, or chicken parm (pollo alla parmigiana in Italian ), is an Italian dish that consists of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, parmesan, or provolone cheese.

The classic chicken recipe originated from the 20th-century Italian diaspora.

A similar dish is eggplant parmesan (melanzane alla parmigiana).

Difference between Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Parmigiana

It refers to the same dish! But as nouns, the difference between parmesan and parmigiana is:

• Parmesan is a hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma.
• Parmigiana is a cooking style in which the main ingredient (e.g. chicken or eggplant) is combined with cheese and coated with tomato sauce before being baked.

Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan Recipe

This is not the traditional chicken parmigiana! It has been adapted to simplify its process and lighten up the dish to suit our dietary needs. Here are a few modifications we did to the classic Italian dish that any picky eater will enjoy:

1. Instead of using all-purpose flour and bread crumb mixture to bread the chicken, we used naturally gluten-free flour, and cornmeal. It is perfect for those on a gluten-free diet!
2. We went with part-skim mozzarella cheese in order to decrease its fat content and make this chicken parm recipe healthy.
3. The chicken breast was stuffed with cheese!
4. A ready-to-use marinara sauce cut down the prep time a lot – but you can make a homemade marinara sauce if you prefer!
5. We cooked the chicken breasts directly in the oven instead of pan-frying them in olive oil (or avocado oil), cutting down the fat again!

Ingredients and Substitutions

For making this easy recipe for gluten-free chicken Parmesan, you’ll need just 7 ingredients:

• Yellow cornmeal: We used a naturally gluten-free flour like cornmeal (fine texture) that makes the crust crispier than Panko or regular breadcrumbs. But you can use whatever you have in your pantry, including almond flour for a low-carb chicken Parmesan.
• Fresh thyme: You may replace it with dried thyme but use half the amount called for the fresh herb! If you prefer, use another herb of choices such as rosemary or Italian seasoning.
• Garlic powder: It will flavor the cornmeal flour along with the grated Parmesan cheese. If you want, add some black pepper too!
• Chicken breast: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chicken cutlets,  or fillets that are thinner and cook faster.  
• Cheeses: I used grated Parmesan cheese to flavor the cornmeal and shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese for both stuffing the breasts and topping the dish. Put if you prefer, swap mozzarella for Provolone or fresh mozzarella cheese.
• Eggs: We lightly beat them and dip the stuffed breasts in them before breading with the cornmeal mixture.
• Tomato sauce: We used a ready-to-use Ragu marinara sauce instead of a homemade sauce. You may choose one without added sugars and also garnish the dish with fresh parsley or fresh basil!

How to Stuff Chicken Breast for Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

Choose chicken fillets or breasts of similar size/weight. Then do the following:

1. Place each chicken breast on a cutting board.
2. You may pound them (or not) by covering them with a plastic wrap/sheet and flattening them with a kitchen mallet.
3. Using a sharp knife, split chicken breast lengthwise, almost through -- to make a pocket.
4. Stuff each breast with 1-2 Tablespoons of mozzarella cheese, leaving a small edge to seal. Rub a bit of the beaten egg or water around the edge and pinch to seal, before breading and baking our gluten-free chicken parmesan.

How to make chicken Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C).
2. In a shallow bowl, combine together cornmeal, thyme, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese. Set breading mixture aside! SEE PIC. 1 Note: If you prefer, you can add a good pinch of salt to the cornmeal mixture. As for those who are on a low-sodium diet, the recipe is perfect as it is (the content of sodium from the Parmesan cheese is enough).
3. Stuffing: Place each chicken breast on a cutting board. You may pound chicken (or not) by covering each breast with plastic wrap and flattening it with a meat mallet on each side. Using a sharp knife, split chicken breast lengthwise, almost through -- to make a pocket. Stuff each breast with 1-2 Tablespoons of mozzarella cheese, leaving a small edge to seal. SEE PIC. 2 If desired, you can sprinkle a bit of thyme into each chicken breast pocket. Rub a bit of the beaten egg or water around the edge and pinch to seal.
4. Breading: Dip chicken breasts in the beaten egg. SEE PIC. 3 Then, coat each breast with the cornmeal mixture on both sides. SEE PIC. 4
5. Baking: Arrange chicken in 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23 cm) baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes.  SEE PICs. 5 & 6
6. Pour sauce over chicken and top with 1½ cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked (internal temperature must reach 165° F or 74° C).
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a bit of thyme on top. Serve the gluten-free chicken parmesan with pasta, steamed vegetables, or a fresh salad. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Parmesan: What to Serve with?

There are many side dishes you can serve our easy chicken parmesan with as follows:

• Air fryer asparagus
• Pasta, penne pomodoro, or zucchini noodles
• French fries, or these baked yuca fries.
• Air fryer potato wedges
• Roasted carrots and parsnips
• A fresh salad or green salad
• Air fryer zucchini
• Cauliflower rice
• Garlic bread
• Steamed green beans

 FAQ’s

Can I bread the chicken with something besides Italian bread crumbs or cornflour?

Yes! Here are a few options to serve with our parmesan chicken:

• Rolled Oats
• Crushed cornflakes
• Crushed potato chips
• Pretzels (crushed)
• Finely chopped nuts
• Seeds (like grounded flaxseeds)
• Shredded coconut for a keto chicken parmesan
• Almond flour
• Pork rinds (crushed)

 Do I have to bread it?

No, you don’t need to use breading to make this comfort food. You can make the best chicken parmesan without panko breadcrumbs but be aware it won’t have a crispy crust. On the other hand, it will save you time and some extra calories.

Can I make this Chicken Parmesan in the air fryer? 

Yes! It’ll save you time while maintaining crispy breading with less oil. For this:

1. Preheat your air fryer to 390ºF (200º C). Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the basket and help keep the breaded crust crispy.
2. Place breaded chicken in a prepared basket and cook for 5 minutes. Flip chicken over and bake for 4-7 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the chicken breast.

NOTE: You can also adapt the recipe for the Instant Pot.

How can I make healthy chicken parm? 

You can skip the breading with the cornflour and use low-fat mozzarella cheese, decreasing the amount of fat and also calories in this recipe. In addition, serve it with a side of salad or low-carb veggies instead of pasta.

Can I make ahead and freeze gluten-free chicken Parmesan?

Yes, you can! To freeze it, bread and bake the chicken breasts according to the recipe and then let them come to room temperature.

Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2-3 hours before transferring them to a sealable freezer bag (do not overlap them).

Freeze the sauce and cheese in separate bags, or add them fresh when baking the complete Chicken Parmesan dish.  Freeze for about 2 months!

Thaw everything overnight in the fridge, assemble the dish according to the recipe, and reheat it in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot (the internal temp of the chicken must be 165° F).   

Can I use other types of cheese?

You can use other types of cheese that melt well. Mozzarella is a cow’s milk cheese that is often used in Italian cooking. But provolone, havarti, gruyere, fontina, or gouda are great alternatives!

 

Storage

Store cool baked chicken parmesan leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Reheat in a microwave-safe deep dish, covered, for about 2-3 minutes or until hot (internal temp must be 165° F).    

Other gluten-free baked chicken recipes to enjoy:

• Baked Chicken Thighs
• Healthy Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe
• One Sheet Pan Honey Soy Chicken
• One Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken
• Mediterranean Chicken Foil 
• Roast Chicken Adobo
• Ranch Chicken Thighs
• Chicken Baked Rice
• Chicken Shepherd's Pie

 

PIN & ENJOY!

 

 

 

Post first published on April 20, 2015.

This was once a compensated campaign in collaboration with Ragú® and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, I have updated the post!