Chicken parm and eggplant parm (have you tried them as a layered “lasagna”??? OMG, it’s a savory heaven!) are among my favorite dishes. If I could indulge in them several times a week, I am almost certain I would! What do you expect, it is breaded CHEESY! I only wish the real version was healthier!

 

That is….just until I tried experimenting with this recipe last week! I figured if I could crisp up the chicken without deep frying and replace the regular cheese with a reduced fat version, I will be half way there! So, that’s what I did!

 

I used a light coating of breadcrumbs to crisp up the chicken. After pan frying them in a coating of extra virgin olive oil, I topped them with little bit of good quality pasta sauce and reduced fat mozzarella cheese and voila, I couldn’t feel better eating it or serving it to my family!

So, grab a few pieces of boneless, skinless thighs (excess fat removed as best as you could) or breasts and few basic ingredients and start whipping up these babies! You will be glad you did!

[Recipe title=”Light and Healthy Chicken Parmesan” Servings=”4″ Prep time=”45 minutes”]

Ingredients
8 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed off
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 – 3/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten with a tablespoon of water
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced fat grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup good quality pasta sauce

Preparation
1. In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, 1/8 cup parmesan, garlic powder, Italian herbs and black pepper.
2. In another shallow dish, whisk together the egg, crushed red pepper and black pepper.
3. Dip chicken thighs in egg mixture and coat with bread crumbs.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with olive oil.
5. Add chicken pieces in a single layer and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side till the chicken is completely cooked through. Depending on the thickness of each piece, cooking time may vary a little.
6. While the chicken pieces get cooked, heat the pasta sauce in a small pan and keep warm.
8. As soon as all the chicken pieces are cooked, serve immediately over some pasta. Top the chicken with pasta sauce and cheeses and serve hot.

TIP: As an alternative, you can also assemble the chicken as a chicken parm sandwich.

[/recipe]