I am having a love affair with Zac Efron. Not like an actual affair, just one that lives in my mind. He’s just SO ridiculously good-looking! I feel like if I baked him chicken he’d feel the same way about me.
Kidding… kinda.
Anyway this whole Zac Efron thing stemmed from watching The Lucky One for the second time. I know, poor movie choice. The only excuse I can come up with is that Valentine’s Day is around the corner and I just so happen to be a sucker for anything romantic. So sue me!
Besides good-looking men, my other obsessions this week include peanut butter and jelly chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s, lentil soup, and green beans with garlic. Yum, yum, yummmmmm. Seriously I could write a book about the intricacies of garlic and how I slather it in and on just about anything you can imagine.
Or I could just tell you about the garlic and parmesan crusted chicken I made and how it turned out golden brown and incredibly crispy.
Yeah, let’s go with that.
Sometimes I feel like it’s hard to make chicken delicious. Often, I’ll purchase a pound and just stare at the package, trying to figure out what to season it with or how I can incorporate it into a meal. This time I jazzed it up a bit with a crispy coating and loads of flavor. New obsession? Of course.
The chicken is marinated in olive oil, a bit of greek yogurt (to keep the chicken moist), garlic, lemon juice, and fresh herbs for 30 minutes. Once finished soaking up the love, it’s coated in panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and baked to a crisp. Delicious is what it is! Plus, it’s perfect paired with my garlic-roasted red potato wedges and a salad.
Just.do.it.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Crispy Garlic + Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt, mayo, or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh crushed rosemary
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in large ziploc bag and add olive oil, yogurt, rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Zip shut and shake bag to evenly distribute marinade. Place bag in fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the oven 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and fit with a wire rack. Spray the rack with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.
- Place panko and cheese into a shallow large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Once chicken is done marinating, remove from bag and place on a large plate. Pat off excess marinade from the chicken, you don't want it too wet! Sprinkle chicken with a bit more salt and pepper and dip into the panko-cheese mixture, tossing to evenly coat. Place the chicken onto prepared wire rack and repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Spray the top of the chicken with a bit of olive oil cooking spray.
- Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Garnish with fresh chopped basil, herbs, or additional cheese if desired. Note: baking times will differ depending on the size of your chicken breasts.
This looks delicious! Unfortunately I can’t do dairy, but understand the enzymes and acidity in yogurt is good for marinating meat. Do you suggest any dairy free substitutes that will work instead? Or should I leave that out entirely? Thanks!
A dairy free yogurt should work out well!
Do You know The approximate nutritional info for this recipe?
Can I pre marinate this overnight?
Yes feel free to marinate it overnight before tossing into the breadcrumb mixture!
Hi!!
I unfortunately do not have a separate rack that I can put on top of the baking sheet to use. Would it bake the same if I leave out the rack, and just use the baking sheet? I just would not want the bread crumbs to burn on the bottom!
Also I LOVE your recipes, your website has helped me enjoy cooking!
Hi Hanah! The baking sheet should be just fine 🙂 So glad you’re loving the recipes here too!!
I’m going to make this in bulk, do you know if it’s okay to freeze it after it’s cooked and has cooled?
Hi Liz! I wouldn’t recommend freezing this after it’s cooked as it won’t remain crispy.
i just discovered this website, and i am officially OBSESSED! (i’ll be making the brown sugar and honey marinated salmon w/ caramelized pineapple quinoa this weekend)
just wondering: is the nutrition info for this chicken posted anywhere? thanks!
I currently do not have nutrition for this recipe, sorry!
I made these for my boyfriend the other night, he went silent while he ate, and after he was done all he said was “yea you need to make this again”. Great recipe, thanks for posting! 🙂
Awww that makes me so happy!
Made this last night for dinner, and it was FABULOUS!!
I tried this recipe and instead of parmesan I used organic cream cheese and thinned it out with a little milk to make it yogurty and continued on with the directions. I will post to tell you how it turned out!
I really appreciate your creativity in mixing up healthy and delicious!
i’ve made this about 10 times since i first saw it – super easy and everyone loves it. so delicious! thank you.
Made this recipe last night and it was awesome. An alteration, we made we used chicken stove top stuffing instead of bread crumbs because that is what I had on hand. Thanks for posting this recipe will be added to our weekly menu choices!
Looks awesome!
Can't wait to try this 🙂
Hi Monique, I don’t have a wire rack – will it still turn out OK? I’m making this recipe now 🙂
Hi! I would suggest flipping chicken halfway through so that it doesn’t get soggy on the bottom. But it’s up to you, I’ve only baked them on a wire rack.
Do you use fresh or dried parmesan?
Thank you Monique! This was part of my Nemo survival dinner on Friday evening. This dish had a ton of flavor and I definitely didn’t feel guilty eating it.
I tried this recipe last night. It was delicious! The chicken stayed so moist – and usually baked chicken can get a little dry. Thanks! 🙂
Ohhhhh girl, I share your obsessions! I love those PB&J chocolate bars from TJ’s and could eat myself silly on lentil soup! I’ve been crushing hard core on Bradley Cooper lately, though Zac’s a hunk, too! 🙂 Your chicken looks fabulous and I love that it’s healthful and packed with yummy parmesan and garlic flavor!
this is seriously making my mouth water.
omg this looks wonderful. i’m going to be spending a lot of time at home this weekend so i plan to make a meal list out of your blogs and i’m going to try them all. yuuuummm!!!
So this look amazingly delicious!! Pinned for later!! 🙂
That movie is great with the sound off ; ) And loving the shot of the crumbs on the knife.
Might have to check out that movie! Great looking recipe!
Thanks Amanda!