Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Creamy Lemon-Chive Sauce has a buttery crisp coating and is ultra moist on the inside!
This easy parmesan crusted chicken recipe is amazing with Rainbow Roasted Vegetables or Air Fryer Au Gratin Potatoes!
Parmesan Breaded Chicken Recipe
This lovely breaded chicken is made in one pan, so that’s magical all on its own.
The creamy lemon-chive sauce brings such an aromatic flavor to the dish! It’s one of those sauces that you end up also dipping your vegetables in, mixing with some pasta or rice, or licking off the bottom of your plate. It’s THAT good.
Ingredients Needed
Here are the basics for what you’ll need to make the parmesan-crusted chicken and the creamy lemon chive sauce.
- Chicken Breasts – boneless skinless are best, can be thawed from frozen.
- Ritz Crackers – crushed up, they make the perfect crunchy, salty breading material for this chicken.
- Chive and Onion Cream Cheese Spread – this is the creamy base for the delicious sauce! It’s found in the dairy section of the grocery store near the regular cream cheese.
- Lemon Juice – the tangy and bright flavor pop that makes the sauce amazing!
- White Wine – adds rich flavor to the sauce, and the alcohol cooks out as it reduces.
How To Prepare Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make sauce for parmesan-crusted chicken, and how to bread the chicken.
Prepare Chicken
Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness using a heavy rolling pin or meat mallet. Lightly coat the chicken with olive oil.
Bread Chicken
After crushing the Ritz crackers, combine them in a bowl with the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper on a shallow-rimmed plate. Dip the chicken in the crumb mixture, coating each side well.
Pan Fry
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the chicken breast halves and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉.
Remove from the skillet and rest on a plate loosely covered with foil.
PRO TIP: Resting the chicken helps the proteins in the chicken to relax and make the meat tender after cooking.
Make Sauce
To the hot skillet, add the white wine and the lemon juice and cook it to let it reduce to half the amount of original liquid, making sure to scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet to deglaze the pan.
Don’t skip the step of scraping the bottom of the pan, that’s where all that delicious flavor is!
This will essentially bring a bolder flavor to the sauce, and also cook off the alcohol at the same time.
Lastly, add the Chive and Onion cream cheese spread to the pan and cook until bubbly and thick.
Serve the chicken with a tablespoon of lemon cream sauce on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Prepare the chicken breasts as directed, then air fry at 375℉ for 12-14 minutes until the internal chicken temperature reaches 165℉. The sauce would still need to be cooked in a pan.
Yes! Simply omit the cracker crumbs from the recipe or you can also find a gluten free cracker to use in place of the Ritz.
Yes! Prepare the chicken, coat it in the cracker mixture, cover and refrigerate until you are ready for dinner. Then, just continue with the remaining recipe instructions.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Storage: Once cooled, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I recommend storing the sauce separately to prevent fogginess.
- Reheating: Can be done in an air fryer (400 ℉) or in a heated skillet for 30 seconds on each side.
- Serve it with Homemade Marinara Sauce for a fun switch!
- Make it with Pork or Fish – you can replace the chicken to make parmesan-crusted pork or tilapia, just make sure the slices or filets of fish are thin!
What To Pair This With
There are so many options! I love a simple green salad with Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing, but here are a few of my favorite cooked side dishes that go with parmesan breaded chicken and lemon cream sauce.
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts Recipe
- Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
- Asparagus Pasta Salad
- Simple and Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
Put this on your easy chicken dinner rotation! It’s one of the best ways to use chicken breasts ever, and has quickly become a family favorite!
Parmesan Crusted Chicken with a Creamy Lemon-Chive Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 8 Ritz Crackers, crushed into crumbs
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup White Wine
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ⅔ cup Chive & Onion cream cheese spread
Instructions
- Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness using a heavy rolling pin or meat mallet. Lightly coat the chicken with olive oil.
- Combine Ritz crackers, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper on a shallow rimmed plate. Dip the chicken in the crumb mixture, coating each side well.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium high heat in a skillet. Add the chicken breast halves and cook for 3-5 minutes per side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from skillet to a plate and cover loosley with foil.
- Add wine and lemon juice to the hot skillet and let it reduce to half the amount of liquid, making sure to scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the chive and onion cream cheese spread and stir until bubbly and thickened.
- Serve each chicken breast half with a tablespoon of sauce on top. Enjoy!
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