This has quickly become my family’s favorite chicken sandwich recipe–which is great news for me, because it only takes about 35 minutes to make! The chicken is dredged in Italian breadcrumbs and fried to crispy perfection, which makes every bite wonderfully delicious. As much as I love traditional chicken parmesan, it’s so much more fun to serve chicken parm in sandwich form.
What’s in this Chicken Parm Sandwich recipe?
Chicken: Thin chicken breasts, or chicken cutlets, are perfect for this recipe–they get nice and crisp. Make your own chicken cutlets by cutting breasts in half horizontally. Eggs: Helps adhere breadcrumb mixture to the chicken. Flour: Use all-purpose flour. Breadcrumbs: Italian breadcrumbs are best for the added flavor. If using plain breadcrumbs, add some Italian seasoning into the breadcrumb mix. Marinara: A jar of your favorite marinara works great. Mozzarella: Slices of mozzarella melt beautifully on top of the chicken. Italian Buns: Use Italian-style buns, hoagie or hero bread, baguettes cut to size, or any other long sub-style bread for these parmesan chicken sandwiches. Butter: Toasting the bread with butter makes it extra rich with flavor. Cooking Oil: Canola oil works great for pan-frying. You can also use olive oil or another high smoke point oil. Herbs & Spices: You’ll need garlic and onion powders, basil (both dried and fresh), garlic salt, and salt & pepper.
How to Store and Reheat
Chicken parmesan sandwiches are best served fresh right after cooking, when the chicken is crisp and the buns are toasty. However, you can wrap extra pieces of chicken parm (without the bread) separately in foil, and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat chicken in the oven, toaster oven, or on the stovetop, then assemble with fresh hoagie buns.
Notes and Tips
Be sure to let the cooking oil get nice and hot before placing the chicken in the skillet. The chicken will only need to cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, but it’s important to have hot oil so it cooks fully and properly, and so that the breadcrumbs get really crisp. Dredging a second time adds a beautifully thick crust to these chicken parm sandwiches.
How to Make a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Step by Step
Prep the Dredging Station: In a small bowl, mix together 1¼ cup of Italian-flavored breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1½ teaspoons of dried basil, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and ½ cup of fresh parmesan cheese. In a second bowl, add ½ cup of all-purpose flour. In a third bowl, crack and whisk 4 eggs. Dredge the Chicken: Cut each chicken breast in half to make cutlets. Then dredge each piece by dipping them in the following order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs, egg, breadcrumbs. Cook the Chicken: Heat 2 cups of cooking oil in pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, lower heat to medium and pan fry the breadcrumb-coated chicken for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Broil the Cheese: Place the cooked chicken breasts on a rack over a cookie sheet and top each one with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the chicken for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Toast the Buns: Cut 6 Italian Hoagie buns in half, then spread each piece with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt. Toast the buns under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to get a slightly-browned color (but make sure they don’t burn). Assemble the Sandwiches: Heat 1½ cups of marinara sauce in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Spoon ¼ cup of marinara sauce on each chicken cutlet, and sprinkle with chopped basil. Place chicken on buns, and serve these chicken parmesan sandwiches while hot and fresh! Note: This recipe is one of those few exceptions on our site that has more than 10 ingredients. We try to keep things VERY easy around here, and limiting ingredients and time spent is one of our favorite ways. That being said, this recipe is too delicious to leave out of our recipe box! It’s an exception that is so flavorful and worth the extra ingredients if you have the time and resources to make it.
