Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan, an easy family dinner you can make even on a busy weeknight. Cooking the chicken in the Air Fryer is so much faster, and less messy than the classic method of frying in oil, and it’s absolutely delicious. With crispy Panko breadcrumb coating, moist and tender chicken inside, topped with Marinara sauce and lots of melted Mozzarella cheese goodness.
With less hands on time needed, you’ve got time to boil the pasta, make a Caesar salad, (try my amazing dressing), set the table and pour some wine! That’s it, dinner is served, clean up is easy and everyone is always happy and full.
Recommended Sides for Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan?
Chicken Parmesan is a rustic, comforting meal that my whole family loves and because it takes a little more time to prepare than others I make during the week I like to look for sides that are simple, use few ingredients, and aren’t too heavy.
A few easy veggie options we like to make include:
- Steamed Green beans with garlic butter
- Roasted or steamed broccoli with fresh parmesan
- Sautéed Zucchini & red peppers, with oregano and parmesan
- Best Ever Caesar Salad; my homemade dressing is AMAZING!
why i love this recipe
- Perfectly crispy coating that sticks to the chicken and a juicy, tender interior.
- Less oil and less mess
- Ready in 30 minutes
Subtitutes
- Panko Bread Crumbs substitute with Regular or Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- Mozzarella Cheese: substitute with any “melting” cheese you like. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Fontina, Buffalo Mozzarella all work well. Parmesan added to any of these cheeses adds a nice salty, slightly nutty flavor.
- Chicken Breasts: substitute with chicken thighs, but will need to increase the cook time by a few minutes. Veal cutlets and port cutlets are also good options.
Make ahead & meal planning info
While I don’t recommend making this dish ahead of time, add it to your meal plan knowing that it’s truly an easy dinner to prepare.
Leftover or par cooked spaghetti noodles are easily reheated in a sauté pan with some Marinara Sauce or melted butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese.
And, if you have leftover chicken, I highly recommend making some Garlic Ciabatta Bread add the leftover Air Fried Chicken Parmesan, and enjoy as a sandwich. A little shmeer of Caesar dressing takes this over the top!
Pro Tip: Make sure to salt your chicken cutlets as soon as they come out of the Air Fryer while they are still hot. The heat from the coating will dissolve the salt ensuring the chicken cutlet is well seasoned.
Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts sliced into cutlets
- 1/2 cup of cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp Garlic powder
- ½ Tbsp Onion powder
- ½ Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt to taste
- 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup of shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup of marinara sauce store bought or homemade
- 2 tablespoons of parsley flakes
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley. Coat the chicken in the mixture.
- In a shallow bowl, wide enough for the chicken cutlet to fit in beat the eggs with a fork and set aside.
- In another shallow bowl, combine the Panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese and 1 Tbsp of dried parsley flakes.
- Now it’s time to bread the chicken. Line up your shallow bowls in order; cornstarch, beaten egg and Panko. Dip the chicken first in the seasoned cornstarch mixture, then the beaten eggs, then into the Panko mixture. Press the chicken into the Panko to make sure it sticks.
- Spray your Air Fryer tray or basket with olive oil. Place the breaded chicken on the tray and then lightly spray the tops of the chicken. One or two sprays is enough.
- Set your air fryer to “air fry” and cook at 375 for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken half way through the cooking time, and rotate the trays. My top tray cooks much faster than the middle tray. Rotating the trays ensures the chicken is cooked through and crispy but not dry and overcooked.
- Spread Marinara sauce on to of each chicken cutlet. Top with shredded mozzarella and press into the Marinara. Use the WARM setting to another minute or so until the cheese is melted.
- Serve the chicken on top of your cooked pasta of choice sprinkled with remaining parsley.
Chicken Parmesan is easier and healthier cooked in the air fryer! It’s the same breading process used in traditional fried or bakes Chicken Parmesan but requires only the smallest amount of oil, and less cooking time. Using the air fryer makes it not only a faster and healthier dish but it’s also far less messy! No oil splatter or fried food odor, while still perfectly crispy.
I find that cooking the chicken at 360 works best for me when using chicken cutlets in the air fryer. I have the oven style, and I always rotate my trays half way through to get a fully cooked, juicy and crispy crust.
We are huge chicken parmesan fans – and I LOVE that this recipe is done in the air fryer.
I don’t have an air fryer, but I am so making this recipe in the oven. It sounds great with parmiggiano:))