Healthy meals can be very tasty and quick to make at home. This chicken parmesan recipe is high in protein, healthy fats and cuts out the carbs that you would get from a traditional pasta. We’ll be using zucchini noodles (zoodles) to replace pasta, which is only about 21 calories for the noodle portion of this meal! Calories and carbs for traditional pasta can add up very quickly since it’s hard to tell how much one serving size really is. If you’re using zucchini, you can simply add more to suit your appetite -you’ll just be getting more vitamin C and vitamin B6!
How to Choose a Good Zucchini for Spiralizer
When purchasing a zucchini, look for shiny skin that is free of blemishes, bruises and soft spots. The zucchini should be firm. Choosing zucchini with smaller diameter will make it easier to spiralize. Larger zucchinis are difficult to hold and ones that are on the soft side make the noodles too watery. Zucchinis are a tasty replacement for noodles and you can change it up by adding carrots into the mix. Once there’s sauce, you can hardly tell that these aren’t actually noodles!
Thickness of Chicken Breasts
While experimenting with different thicknesses for the chicken, we found that a slightly thicker cut of chicken (¾ – 1 inch) turned out to be more juicy when baked. Chicken pieces that were less than a half an inch in thickness were less juicy. Make sure that the pieces are evenly cut for even cooking.
Perfecting the Egg Mixture
Adding some seasoning (garlic powder, black pepper, onion salt) directly to the egg mixture helped give the chicken more flavour than having just the egg on its own. You can also use olive oil with the added spices as a replacement for egg. The wet mixture helps the bread crumbs adhere better to the meat. Make sure to pat the chicken dry so the ingredients stick on.
Bread Crumb Mixture
If you don’t have the italian seasoned bread crumbs from the store you can simply season the bread crumbs yourself. I would choose panko bread crumbs over regular bread crumbs for added crispiness and texture. Use a generous amount of spices and taste the crumbs as you go to find your perfect mix. You can start with 2 tsp of each spice and add on as you’d like.
Quick & Healthy Chicken Parmesan with Zucchini Noodles Recipe
Servings: 5, Prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp – 1 tbsp garlic powder, onion salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, smoked paprika, cayenne, chilli flakes (spice it up to your taste)
- Your choice of pasta sauce (we’re using a tomato garlic basil)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare baking tray with aluminum foil and oil to prevent chicken from sticking.
- In a bowl, spiralize the zucchini and set aside.
- Wash and cut chicken breasts into ¾ – 1 inch pieces.
- In one bowl, mix together egg, garlic powder, black pepper, onion salt.
- In another bowl, mix together panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, smoked paprika, cayenne, chili flakes to taste. Add a generous amount for more flavour.
- Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry. You may choose to tenderize the chicken or hit with your palms to break down toughness.
- Dip the chicken in the egg mixture with one hand. This will be the wet hand. Shake off excess egg.
- Place chicken into the bread crumb mixture. Use your dry hand to coat both sides well.
- Set the breaded chicken onto the baking tray. Repeat.
- Bake chicken for 25 minutes. Flip the chicken halfway through cooking.
- Cut chicken into pieces. Serve with zucchini noodles and warm pasta sauce of your choice.
Nutritional Information: Healthy Chicken Parmesan
Calories: 441, Protein: 47.9g, Fat: 16.4g, Carbs: 25.4g, Dietary Fiber: 3.7g, Sugar: 6.6g
Conclusion
This easy and healthy baked chicken parmesan recipe is great for a family friendly meal on a busy weeknight or meal prep to help you stay on top of your fitness and weightloss goals.
I’m very excited to share some of my favourite meal prep recipes on this blog. They will all be healthy, easy, beginner-friendly meals that anyone can make (here’s a quick recipe for Thai Almond Chicken Salad)!
PS – Here’s a Pinterest-friendly image if you want to save this recipe!
