Grilled Chicken Parmesan is a lighter version of the Italian classic, made even easier by grilling the chicken ahead of time!
When we were getting ready for our 10 day road trip out east, I was in full clean-out-the-fridge mode. One of my favorite summer meal prep tactics is to not only wash and cut in-season produce, but it’s to grill a batch of chicken breasts. That way I can eat them mid-week, or use them for dinner in recipes like this grilled chicken parmesan.
Similar to my last meal prep recipe [Greek Chicken Hummus Bowls], the base of this recipe involves a big batch of marinated grilled chicken. While I used my favorite store-bought Italian dressing for the marinade, you could easily just olive oil with Italian seasonings for yours if you’d prefer to stay away from the bottle. Dinner was done in half the time having already grilled the chicken on the weekend. All I had to do was slice the chicken, top with marinara sauce, lots of cheese, and BAM. Bake until the cheese melted.
Ted was the inspiration for this recipe as he is the world’s biggest fan of the classic chicken parmesan. Take him to an Italian restaurant and he’ll order chicken parm! In fact, he’s been the main reason for a few other of my favorite chicken parmesan recipes:
And because I’m not one for breading and pan-frying chicken in the summer heat, I thought this was a pretty good compromise to his favorite food group [Italian]. A nod, a YUM, and a mmmm this is a good later, and I know I’ll be making this recipe again. Plus, any recipe that involves my 10-minute tomato sauce usually gets a nod from the toddlers too! And Lily!
While the grilled chicken is delicious as-is on a salad, in a wrap, or eaten alone with a veg alongside, it was extra flavorful in this grilled chicken parmesan recipe. I’m also fairly certain my Italian Grandmother would be proud of this variation. Manja my friends!
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup Italian salad dressing
- 1½ cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs, optional
- Add chicken and Italian dressing to resealable plastic bag. Marinate in refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Grill chicken over medium-high heat, until cooked through, about 6-8 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your chicken breast.
- Meanwhile, preheat over to 450. Once chicken has finished cooking, slice and layer in baking dish. Top with cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately alongside your favorite green vegetable or whole wheat pasta.
Looking for a lighter Italian-style dinner? Give this Grilled Chicken Parmesan a try! Share on X
I’m assuming that you add the marinara sauce before the cheese and crumbs. It doesn’t say in the instructions. Sounds like a really nice light to enjoy chicken parm which I also love. Thanks
Oops!!! Thanks for catching that. Sometimes I type half asleep lol!
Great Post but I would like more information about this, because it is very nice., Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this! It was so easy and my family loved it, including my 12 year old picky eater!
If we are using leftover chicken do we skip the marinade and can it go straight in the oven? Terrible cook here. Lol