Parmesan Crispy Chicken

One of the best parts of having this blog is knowing exactly where to look to find all of my favorite recipes.  I literally bring up my own posts and follow along.  I don't know how people survive without their own food blog, honestly.

Since getting a Big Girl camera, it's painful to look at the pictures from my blog's early days.  Now that I added the "You might also like" feature to the bottom of my posts, I cringe when I see a particularly blurry and yellow mess from the days of yore.

One recipe I make over and over again is a parmesan, mustard, and panko-crusted chicken.  Formerly known as "Oven Crispy Chicken" on the blog, I'm renaming it to celebrate the new pictures.  The old post will now be deleted into the ether, so now I can make this recipe with a new piece of mind.

Parmesan for a rich salty flavor and panko bread crumbs for a light and crispy texture.  On it!

In a shallow dish, place 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined. 

This creates the outer, crunchy bite on the chicken.

In another shallow dish, place 1/8 cup spicy or dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. 

I like to use my Pyrex pie dishes for the shallow bowls, but that's just me.  

Now for the chicken.  Pound your boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a mallet or rolling pin until they are about a 1/4 inch thick.  To be honest, I rarely get mine quite that thin.  Make sure to pound the chicken in between wax paper, plastic wrap, or parchment paper so as to avoid too much chicken gunk getting all over the place.

Coat the chicken with the mustard mixture and then cover the the breadcrumb mixture.  Don't worry about getting too much of the mustard mixture on the chicken - I promise it won't give an overly mustard flavor to the chicken.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and either a grilling rack or a cooling rack.  This way your chicken will be crispy on all sides.


Bake for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Switch on the broiler for the last 10 minutes or so in order to get a nicely browned top crust.

This super simple recipe is one of John's favorites.  He constantly requests it, and I more than happily oblige.  Easy, delicious, and made with things I always have around anyway!  Doesn't get any better!  Now that I have more appetizing pictures, I hope to convince a few more readers to make this into a staple in their houses.

Oven Crispy Chicken
Adapted from Ms. Deen


1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/8 cup spicy or dijon mustard
1 tablespoon water
2 chicken breasts, pounded until 1/4 of an inch thick

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a grilling rack or cooling rack on top.

In a shallow dish, combined 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon thyme, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. In another shallow dish, combine 1/8 cup spicy mustard, 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Coat each chicken breast with mustard sauce and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken breasts on rack on baking sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, turn on the broiler in order to achieve a browned top for the chicken. Serve immediately and enjoy!