Gluten free chicken parmesan is a comfort food classic, and this version without breadcrumbs has all the flavor of crispy cutlets, aromatic marinara, and melty cheese.
Testing out several breading options led to one winner for the best chicken parmesan without breadcrumbs.
Ingredients needed for this gluten free chicken parmesan recipe
You'll need a decent list of ingredients for gluten free chicken parmesan, since this recipe follows a more traditional approach of dredging, then frying, the chicken cutlets.
But not much on this list is different from a typical chicken parmesan!
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast: To get these to "cutlet" size, you'll cut the breasts in half, parallel to the counter or butterfly them. Otherwise, if you have chicken breast cutlets available, you can save a little bit of prep work by buying those.
- Cornflakes: Preferably cornflakes without a lot of extra ingredients. This was my pick for a gluten free breading over gluten free breadcrumbs! We used Nature's Path Fruit Juice Cornflakes and they worked perfectly.
- Gluten free flour: For dredging the chicken cutlets before breading. Use whatever brand you'd like; they should all work pretty well! I used Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour.
- Egg: Again, for dredging to ensure the cornflakes stick!
- Oil for frying: I used organic canola oil, but you can use sunflower oil, safflower oil, or even olive oil. Just make sure the oil you use has a high smoke point!
- Marinara sauce: This recipe includes instructions for a basic marinara sauce, but feel free to use a store-bought marinara sauce!
- Parmesan/Mozzarella Cheese: You'll use parmesan both in the breading and to top the chicken parmesan at the end. Mozzarella also makes up the cheese blend topping. This is definitely a recipe for cheesy goodness!
Why use cornflakes as a gluten free breading?
I tested several types of breading for gluten free chicken parmesan, and crushed cornflakes were BY FAR our favorite.
Among the breading options we tested were gluten free breadcrumbs, cornflakes, pork rinds, and potato chips.
I breaded 4 different cutlets with each option and prepared them following the recipe, making sure to mark each one so I knew which was which.
My spouse and I tasted each one, and our rankings were as follows:
- Cornflakes
- Potato chips
- Pork rinds
- Breadcrumbs
I was surprised - particularly after my spouse had commented that one option LOOKED the best after frying, and it was the breadcrumb version.
Of course, we quickly found out that looks don't necessarily mean best crunch and flavor.
The chicken parmesan using cornflakes had multiple upsides:
- It stuck easily to the dredged chicken
- Fried up well with good golden-brown color
- Maintained CRUNCH even after smothering with marinara
- Had good overall flavor that didn't distract from the chicken or taste too soggy
That said, you CAN use alternatives like pork rinds, potato chips, and even breadcrumbs. We just found that the cornflakes ruled the roost for this recipe!
How to make awesome gluten free chicken parmesan
If you've never fried food at home, it can be a little daunting. The good news: chicken parmesan is the perfect recipe to give it a try!
(Note: I've included instructions for a BAKED version below.)
Here's an overview of the steps for making gluten free chicken parmesan:
Butterfly or halve the chicken breasts
The first step: make chicken breasts into chicken cutlets. You can do this in one of two ways:
Butterfly the chicken breasts: make a vertical cut about ⅔ of the way through the chicken breast perpendicular to the counter, careful not to cut all the way through. From that cut, make two horizontal cuts almost
Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally: With the knife parallel to the counter, cut halfway through the chicken breasts, cutting all the way through.
Either way, you'll still want to pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet to get them to equal thickness. The goal is chicken cutlets that are approximately 1" thick.
Dredge and bread the chicken cutlets
Set up three stations for dredging and breading the cutlets. I like to use cake pans or pie pans for this - they are the perfect size!
One station will have gluten free flour.
The next, blended egg.
Finally, the last station will have a crushed cornflake and parmesan mixture for breading.
With each cutlet, coat in flour, then dip in the egg mixture and let excess drip off, then finally coat in cornflake mixture. And it's ready to fry!
Heat up oil and fry
Pour at least 1" of whatever oil you're using into a cast iron skillet or deep skillet.
Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat until the oil shimmers a bit and is 350 degrees F when measured with an instant-read thermometer.
Using kitchen tongs, add a breaded chicken cutlet to the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once you hear the crackling/frying intensify, you'll know it's ready - that's a sign the excess moisture on the surface of the chicken is gone, meaning crispy breading!
Remove the cutlet to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
Prep and bake the chicken parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Spread half the marinara on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Add the fried chicken cutlets. Ladle the rest of the marinara overtop. Sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella.
Finally, bake for 15 minutes.
And the chicken parmesan is done!
What to serve with chicken parmesan
Chicken parm is often served on top of, or alongside, pasta. That said, you certainly don't have to follow the rules when it comes to serving chicken parmesan.
A few ideas you might try:
- Pasta: The traditional way to serve chicken parmesan. Spaghetti noodles are common, but you can use whatever type of pasta you'd like! Obviously, to keep the recipe gluten free, choose a gluten free pasta.
- Zucchini noodles (zoodles): Zucchini noodles are my favorite pasta alternative, especially in the summer when I have a ton of zucchini on hand from my garden! With a spiralizer, you can easily turn them into noodles.
I do suggest squeezing out excess moisture before eating. Typically I'll spiralize my zucchini, toss it with a bit of salt, and place it in a colander in the sink so water can drip out. Then, right before eating, I squeeze out as much water as I can.
Another favorite method of prepping zucchini noodles:
Sauté them with a bit of olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Simple and straightforward!
- Sweet potato noodles: Another pasta alternative! Unlike zucchini, it would be hard to eat spiralized sweet potatoes raw, so you'll have to roast them or steam them before serving.
- Rice: When I first tested this recipe, we ate it with rice. It's an easy-to-prep side dish and did a wonderful job of soaking up extra marinara!
- Salad: The healthier route? Serve with a simple side salad tossed with bright dressing. Chicken parmesan can be pretty heavy, so a lighter side works well!
- Roasted veggies: Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green beans, and carrots all work great here!
How to make BAKED gluten free chicken parmesan
The recipe below makes a more traditional, fried chicken parmesan.
If you're looking for a BAKED version of this recipe, these instructions are for you!
- Prep the chicken cutlets the same. Once breaded, place on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
- Set your oven broiler to HIGH (or 500 degrees F) and adjust a rack to the top position.
- Spritz the cutlets on each side with spray olive oil. Put the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until starting to brown but not burn.
- Switch the oven to bake at 400 degrees F. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
How to prevent soggy chicken parmesan
For perfectly crisp chicken cutlets, your best bet is frying the cutlets!
While I've provided a couple alternatives, such as broiling the cutlets to use as little oil as possible, the reality is fried food is going to be crispiest. Hands down.
We also chose the breading (cornflakes) based on how delightfully crispy they fried up.
Finally, remember that timing is everything!
The longer fried food sits around, the less crispy it'll be.
For perfectly crispy chicken parmesan, make sure you are ready to go before starting to cook: breading stations ready, oil at or nearly at temp before your start breading, oven preheated, marinara prepped.
Being prepared to move quickly from frying the cutlets to finishing 'em off in the oven will set you up for crunchy success.
Did you try this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me on Instagram.
Print📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan without Breadcrumbs
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: fried
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Chicken parmesan is a comfort food classic, and this gluten free version using cornflakes has all the flavor of crispy cutlets, aromatic marinara, and melty cheese.
(inspired by Delish.com)
Ingredients
For the Marinara Sauce
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (28-oz.) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Chicken Parmesan
- 1 cup crushed cornflakes (From about 2 cups cornflakes) (I used Nature's Path Fruit Juice Cornflakes)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups finely grated Parmesan, divided
- ½ cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds total)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup sunflower oil, safflower oil, or olive oil
- Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for serving
Instructions
For the Marinara:
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Reduce heat to low and add onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent and softened.
- Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, parsley, red pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. If you'd like a thicker sauce, keep simmering. Otherwise, season with salt and pepper. For a smooth marinara sauce, transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
For the Chicken Parmesan:
- Prepare the cutlets: Butterfly or slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise, to create 4 chicken cutlets of equal thickness. Place between 2 sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet or a rolling pin to pound the cutlets to ⅓" thick.
- Prepare the breading stations: In a shallow bowl (cake pans or pie plates work great!), combine crushed cornflakes, garlic powder, and 1 cup Parmesan. In a second shallow bowl, add the gluten free flour. In a third shallow bowl, beat eggs with 1 tablespoon water until smooth.
- Bread the chicken: Pat the chicken cutlets dry and season with salt and pepper. Dip each side into flour, being careful to cover the entire cutlet. Gently shake off any excess flour. Then dip into egg, letting excess egg drip back into the dish. Finally, dredge with cornflake mixture, gently pressing to adhere as much as possible to the cutlet. Repeat until all cutlets are breaded.
- Fry the cutlets: Preheat oven to either bake (400 degrees F) or broil the chicken parmesan after frying. Heat oil in a large, heavy pot or deep-sided cast iron skillet over medium heat until a deep-fry or instant-read thermometer registers 350 degrees F. If it smokes a bit, that's okay - just try to keep it at a constant temperature. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.
- Working one at a time, fry chicken cutlets for about 2 minutes, until the side facing down is golden brown. Flip and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes more, until golden brown on the other side. If the sound of the frying chicken intensifies, that's good! This is the moisture evaporating from the chicken. Transfer to the prepared wire rack to drain excess oil. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- In a small bowl, mix mozzarella with remaining 1 cup Parmesan.
- Bake the chicken parmesan: Ladle 1 cup of marinara sauce into a 9x13 casserole dish. Transfer finished chicken to the dish, arranging in a single layer. Top each chicken cutlet down the center with remaining marinara sauce, then cover with mozzarella mixture. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.
- Alternatively, broil the chicken parmesan: Keep chicken parmesan on the wire rack over a baking sheet. Spoon some marinara over the cutlets, then sprinkle with cheese mixture. Broil about about 2 minutes, until cheese is melted and brown spots are beginning to form.
- Divide the chicken cutlets among plates. Top with fresh basil and serve with remaining marinara sauce.
Notes
To crush the cornflakes, either add to a food processor or bullet blender and pulse until cornflakes are mostly crushed OR add to a zip-top bag and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until mostly crushed.
Leave a Reply