Healthier Air Fryer chicken parmesan made easily in just 20 minutes! The chicken turns out nice and juicy from the inside, but crispy on the outside. Topped with delicious marinara and melted cheese for an easy dinner that you can serve for the whole family.
Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan Recipe
This chicken parm is just like the classic version but healthier. No frying or egg dipping is needed, and the result is just as crispy and good.
The chicken is sliced into thin cutlets, and then drizzled with a little bit of oil then coated in seasoned breadcrumbs. The sauce and the cheese are added during the last 4 minutes of air frying when the chicken is crispy, and all you need is for the sauce to bubble and the cheese to melt.
So easy and simple, and you can make this in just 20 minutes. Make it on days when you forgot to prep for dinner time!
For an Instant Pot version, check out my Instant Pot chicken parmesan recipe.
The Ingredients
- Chicken breasts – skinless and boneless sliced into thin cutlets. Sometimes you can buy them already pre-sliced, they are labeled as “cutlets”. Otherwise, you just take each chicken breast and slice it in the middle to create 2 even thin slices.
- Olive oil – this will help the breading stick to the chicken. Whilst you can use other oils like vegetable oil, olive oil gives you a better flavor.
- Breadcrumbs – use dried breadcrumbs or even panko, or Italian breadcrumbs (but skip the Italian seasoning later if using Italian breadcrumbs).
- Parmesan – another layer of flavor that goes into the breading.
- Italian seasoning – store-bought or homemade, I always make my own homemade seasonings as they’re healthier, cheaper, and taste better. Here’s my recipe for Italian seasoning.
- Mozzarella – buy a block of low in moisture mozzarella cheese, and grate it at home. If you buy the pre-grated stuff, it won’t melt nicely.
- Marinara – find a marinara brand that you like, I like Rao’s.
How to Make Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Preheat the Air Fryer to 390°F (200°C).
- Make the seasoned breadcrumbs by combining the breadcrumbs with parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle the chicken cutlets with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and coat in the seasoned breadcrumbs gently pressing so you can cover with breading on all sides and shaking off any excess.
- Place the chicken in the Air Fryer basket and spray lightly with oil. Air fry for 6 minutes, flip the chicken, and top with about 2 tablespoons of marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese. Air fry for 4 more minutes.
Top Tips
- For the breading to crisp up, you need to spray it with a little bit of oil. That makes all the difference.
- This recipe is based on my Air Fryer chicken breast recipe that uses whole chicken breasts, so if for some reason you have larger chicken breasts and don’t want to slice them, follow the other recipe for the temp and time.
- You can dip the chicken in flour and egg if you prefer, but you’ll need to add 2 minutes to the total air frying time.
- Do not overcrowd your Air Fryer basket, work in batches.
- If following a keto diet, substitute the breadcrumbs with nut crumbs.
What to Serve Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan With
My favorite way to serve chicken parm is with garlic butter pasta as it reminds me of Olive Garden’s chicken parm meal. Or if you have an Instant Pot, then check out this Instant Pot noodle recipe, it’s creamy and made with garlic and parmesan, sooo good!
And a simple and fresh side salad also works great here!
More Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer chicken wings
- Air Fryer grilled cheese
- Crispy cauliflower in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer french fries
- Air Fryer broccoli
If you try this recipe, please don’t forget to rate it and share a picture on social media, tagging #NourishPlate in your posts. I would really love to see your creations. Bon appetit!
Click on this link to watch the Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan Web Story.
Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts sliced into 4 thin cutlets
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup dried breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup parmesan grated
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup marinara
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the Air Fryer to 390°F (200°C).
- Make the seasoned breadcrumbs by combining the breadcrumbs with parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle the chicken cutlets with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and coat in the seasoned breadcrumbs gently pressing so you can breading on all sides and shaking off any excess.
- Place the chicken in the Air Fryer basket and spray lightly with oil. Air fry for 6 minutes, flip the chicken, and top with about 2 tablespoons of marinara and shredded mozzarella cheese. Air fry for 4 more minutes.
Video
Notes
- For the breading to crisp up, you need to spray it with a little bit of oil. That makes all the difference.
- This recipe is based on my Air Fryer chicken breast recipe that uses whole chicken breasts, so if for some reason you have larger chicken breasts and don’t want to slice them, follow the other recipe for the temp and time.
- You can dip the chicken in flour and egg if you prefer, but you’ll need to add 2 minutes to the total air frying time.
- Do not overcrowd your Air Fryer basket, work in batches.
- If following a keto diet, substitute the breadcrumbs with nut crumbs.
Jenni
What do you use to spray the chicken with oil?
Diana
I use canola oil.
Joy
Hello! I just looked at the recipe and the video, and in the video, it shows the parmesan cheese being added to the bread crumb mixture, but in the recipe and instructions, parmesan cheese isn’t listed. How much parmesan cheese should I put in this recipe? Thanks!
Diana
Good catch! You need a fourth cup of parmesan. Enjoy!