This Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan comes together quite easy with some quick shortcuts and super smart hacks. Plus, there are options for making paleo, Whole30 or keto compatible, if you’d like. This is the perfect romantic meal for two or a great family-friendly, option too.
Chicken parmesan is a classic comfort dish that we took and put our own spin on. It’s says ‘hey, look, I made something amazing for dinner for a fun special occasion like a Valentine’s day dinner at home, anniversary or just a weekend where you want to reminisce about going out to fancy dinners’ – remember going out? This Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan can be a romantic dinner for two, a special dinner for a family, or dinner for one with amazing leftovers for the week. This is recipe is so simple but full of flavor it is a family favorite. Another bonus to this recipe is that its about 30 minutes from start to finish… can you believe that? We have a couple of tips to streamline the cooking process so that you can get everything prepped, cooked, and plated within 30-40 minutes showing off your amazing chef skills.
We kept the ingredients to a minimum and you can easily make this Whole30 compatible, dairy free, paleo, or keto, too. There is a way to make everyone happy with this recipe. Here’s how to do it…
How to Make Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan:
We use 3 chicken breasts that totaled about 1.5 pounds for reference. Slice them in half so they are nice and thin. If you don’t want to slice them, you can also pound them between two pieces of parchment. It won’t make as many but you will have very large pieces which is also kind of cool.
To make things easier we suggest that you get all the ingredients out and set them on your counter, it might seem like a pain but trust me it will make the process go so much faster. I like to salt and pepper the chicken so that I know it is taken care of and I don’t add salt or pepper to the breadcrumb station.
You want 3 separate bowls or baking dishes for you chicken stations. In the first bowl take 1-2 eggs and scramble. In the second station is your breading that you’re going to use. The third station is to place the breaded chicken to prepare for the shallow pan fry.
Take the package of gluten free sun-dried tomatoes and put in a food processor with ¼ cup of tapioca flour and blend until the consistency of breadcrumbs. The sun-dried tomato crackers add a TON of flavor so if you can grab them at the store, we HIGHLY recommend but you can also use any gluten free cracker you have at home.
We have tested this recipe with Simple Mills, Hu Kitchen and Mary’s Gone Crackers. All work amazing. See additional swap recommendations below for other options.
One at a time place the chicken 1 piece at a time in the egg wash. Let the excess egg was drip off then place the chicken in the breading station. Press the breading into the chicken so that both sides are fully covered.
If you are having a side of gluten free brown rice pasta now would be a great time to start that water to bring it to a boil.
Also this part is totally optional…. but absolutely worth it. Take 1 cup of ricotta, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and whip that up in a food processor. Set aside for later when serving.
Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add avocado oil or ghee. You want the oil to be hot and a way that we test it to know that it is ready is by placing a wet wooden spoon in the oil and seeing it bubble and sizzle.
Do not crowd the pan when cooking the chicken. You want to do this in batches so that it gets nice and crispy instead of steaming and soggy. Depending on how thin you sliced your chicken it can take 3-6 minutes per side.
Once all of the chicken is cooked, place them on a cooking sheet. We roasted plum tomatoes and garlic in olive oil for 2 hours at 300 degrees and we used that for our tomato sauce. You can definitely use any jarred tomato sauce that you love. Take a tablespoon or two and spread it on each slice of the chicken. If you are doing a Whole30 or are dairy-free a sprinkle of nutritional yeast is a great topper for you.
If you are using dairy place a thick slice of mozzarella on top of the tomato sauce. Turn your oven to broil. Place chicken under broiler for 1-3 minutes. DO NOT WALK AWAY. The broiler is known to burn things in the blink of an eye. You want to watch and see when the cheese starts to bubble up and turn a golden brown and then you remove that asap. We do not want any burnt cheese.
If you don’t want to have pasta you can use spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, hearts of palm pasta or nothing at all if that is your jam. A side spring mix salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil pairs nicely as well. With the leftover roasted tomatoes and garlic or tomato sauce that you have use it to toss the pasta in.
When plating I add a large dollop of the whipped ricotta on both the chicken parm and the pasta because it seriously takes this dish up ten notches.
Recipe Options for Whole30, Paleo and Keto:
If you are doing a Whole30 or do not have or want to use the crackers, you can use 1 cup of tapioca flour and add in 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and 1 tablespoon garlic powder. For a less starchy version you can use 1 cup of almond flour and 1/4 cup of arrowroot starch, mix together with the seasonings and use just the same. For Whole30 and Paleo of course, you would want to leave off the cheese or swap in a dollop of cheezy cashew cream when you serve.
To make keto / low carb you can swap the crackers for approx 5 to 7 ounces of pork rinds (not the super fatty ones, just the straight up one from 4505 or Epic – baked or regular) blend in food processor to breadcrumb-like consistency with the spices and skip the tapioca flour. Dip into the egg mixture then the pork rind crumbs, cook as instructed.
How to Reheat Leftovers of your Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan:
This dish definitely stands up to the leftover game. We suggest if you want the chicken to crisp up again, reheat in a pan on the stovetop or in the oven at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes. You can also use the microwave but the chicken just won’t be as crispy.
This is also a great meal prep for the week. I usually meal prep for lunches but this makes such a great meal prep for dinner. It was great to know that I had a delicious, high quality ingredient dinner, that is super easy to reheat and will only take 15 minutes to heat up.
This is also one of those recipes that if you are making it for someone special, it shows them how much you appreciate and care for them but the effort you put into making this wonderful meal.
We hope that you enjoy this recipe as much we do! Be sure to tag us on social media if you make it. @bethmanosbrickey on Instagram @tastyyummies everywhere else.
Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan {grain-free with options for paleo, keto + Whole30}
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts sliced in half
- salt and pepper
- 1-2 large, eggs
- 1 package gluten free sun-dried tomato crackers, approx 4 - 5 ounces - (any cracker will work, see notes for other options)
- ¼ cup tapioca flour, For Whole30 use 1 cup of tapioca and 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup avocado oil or ghee
- 1 cup tomato sauce or roasted tomatoes, use an additional ½ cup if making this dairy free
- 4-6 slices mozzarella, omit for Whole30
- 1 package brown rice pasta, any pasta works, for Whole30 use spaghetti squash
- Optional - Whipped ricotta for serving, 6-8 ounces of ricotta, put in food processor, add 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, blend for 1-2 minutes
Instructions
- Take 3 chicken breast and slice in half. Salt and pepper the chicken.
- Add the sun-dried tomato crackers to a food processor. Blend until breadcrumb texture. Add in the tapioca flour and blend for 30 seconds until combined.
- Take 2 eggs and scramble in a bowl. Set up three stations. Station 1 for the raw chicken. Station 2 for the egg wash. Station 3 for the breading.
- Dip the chicken one at a time in the egg wash. Let the egg was drip off them move it to the breadcrumb station.
- Press the chicken into the breadcrumbs so that it is fully covered on both sides. Set the breaded chicken aside.
- Start water to boil for pasta. Once boiling add pasta. If you are not doing pasta, prep your spaghetti squash or other side.
- In a large skillet, heat to medium heat. Add avocado oil or ghee.
- A way to know the oil is hot is by taking a wet wooden spoon and putting it in the oil and it will sizzle around it.
- Add the chicken and do not crowd the pan. You will need to cook this in batches. Cook chicken about 3-6 minutes per side. Place the cooked chicken on a sheet pan.
- Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic or tomato sauce that you’re using on top. If you are skipping the dairy, heat the tomato source of choice and you’re ready to eat.
- Otherwise, layer on a slice of mozzarella.
- Turn your oven on to broil. Raise the shelf to the top. Place the sheet pan under broiler for 1-2 minutes. DO NOT WALK AWAY. Keep an eye on the cheese melting because you do not want it to burn.
- Removed when cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove pasta from water and toss in extra tomatoes or sauce.
- Add a dollop of the whipped ricotta to the chicken as well as the pasta.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
