Chicken Parmesan Panini

This Chicken Parmesan Panini is a pack and go lunch everyone will love. What's better than a perfectly cooked breaded chicken breast, with bubbly mozzarella on top, slathered in tomato sauce and pesto, and pressed between 2 pieces of ciabatta?

The first thing I ever cooked for someone, outside of my immediate family, was Chicken Parmesan. It was in college, my freshman year, and I really wanted to make my tennis team dinner one night... so I studied up and watched an obscene amount of Food Network and kicked off my cooking career with Chicken Parm. It's been my signature ever since. I'm fairly certain that I made this at least once a week for my entire 4 years of college. It became my signature and to this day I get excited when it's Chicken Parmesan night, so I had to turn it into a delicious Chicken Parmesan Panini that would be perfect to for pack for lunches.

Ingredients

For the Chicken Parmesan

• Marinara Sauce - use your favorite here
• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - make sure you pound then with a mallet until it's about ½ inch thick throughout
• All-purpose Flour - the first breading step, helps the eggs adhere to the chicken
• Eggs - beat them with 2 tablespoons water and season with salt and pepper
• Italian Seasoned Panko Breadcrumbs - the key to super crispy chicken
• Vegetable Oil - for frying
• Fresh Mozzarella - nothing is better than GOOEY golden pools of mozzarella cheese.
• Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese - wouldn't be chicken parm without it
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper - goes without saying

For the Panini

• 4 small loaves ciabatta - or 8 slices of your favorite crusty bread
• Fresh Mozzarella - more cheese duh
• Basil Pesto - really makes this Chicken Parmesan Panini shine
• Extra Marinara Sauce - use as needed

How to make a Chicken Parmesan Panini

Start by preheating the oven to 400º F and heating the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. You want to make sure the oil is hot before adding your chicken to the pan so it get's crispy.

While the oil heats up, place each chicken breast into a large plastic zip top bag, one at a time, and pound the chicken with a mallet until it's about ½ inch thick throughout. This step ensures it cooks evenly, so don't skip it.

Next, prepare a breading station, one bowl of flour, one bowl of whisked eggs (add 2 tablespoons of water and season with salt and pepper) and one bowl of panko bread crumbs. Pat each chicken breast dry with a paper towel and then dip into the flour mixture, followed by the egg mixture, and lastly the bread crumbs.

Carefully place the chicken in hot oil over medium high heat and cook for about 2 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Using a pair of tongs, flip the chicken over and let it continue to cook on the opposite side. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pan and set it on a paper towel lined plate to rest. Repeat this process with the remaining chicken.

Once all the chicken is cooked, carefully wipe out the excess oil and brown bits from the cast iron skillet and add ½ of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a large skillet. If the skillet doesn't fit all the chicken breasts, use a large baking dish instead. Add the chicken on top of the sauce, and spoon the rest of the sauce over the chicken along with a few slices of the fresh mozzarella, salt and pepper, and equal amounts of the freshly grated parmesan. Transfer to the pre-heated oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside while you prep the panini.

Preheat your panini press, and start assembling the paninis. Slice the ciabatta loaves in half. Oil or butter the sides of the bread. On one piece of bread, add a small spoonful of pesto and on the other tomato sauce. Add the chicken parm cutlet on the tomato sauce piece of bread and then add extra cheese. Top with the other pesto slathered piece of bread and carefully place the panini in a heated panini press. Close the panini press and cook for 4-5 minutes until the bread has grill marks and it's slight toasted. Repeat with the remaining Chicken Parmesan Paninis.

Variations and Substitutions

Vegetable Oil - Use whatever oil you have on hand, canola oil or any other oil with a high smoke-point is best for frying.

Bread Crumbs - I love using panko breadcrumbs but you could also use Italian breadcrumbs.

Fresh Mozzarella - If you don't have fresh mozzarella you can totally use grated mozzarella.

Ciabatta - A crusty loaf of French bread would also work.

Tips & Tricks for making Chicken Parmesan Paninis

1. Make sure you pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet until they are about ½ inch thick throughout. This step ensures your chicken will cooks evenly and thoroughly when you fry it.
2. If your breading is not sticking to the chicken, make sure you pat your chicken dry with a paper towel before starting the breading process.
3. If you're packing these Chicken Parmesan Paninis for lunch or for a picnic, individually wrap them in foil and pack.

Chicken Parmesan Panini FAQ's

More Chicken Parmesan recipes

• Chicken Parmesan Gnocchi Bake
• Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
• Chicken Parmesan
• Spaghetti Squash Chicken Parmesan Bake
• Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Chicken Parmesan Panini

Author: Gaby Dalkin

5 from 2 votes

An easy and delicious pack and go lunch everyone will love!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

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For the Chicken Parmesan

• ▢ 1 24-oz jar marinara sauce or your favorite tomato based pasta sauce
• ▢ 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded thin to about a ½ inch in thickness
• ▢ ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons water and seasoned with salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 cup Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 lb fresh mozzarella sliced
• ▢ ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Panini

• ▢ 4 small loaves ciabatta or 8 slices of your favorite crusty bread
• ▢ Fresh mozzarella
• ▢ Basil pesto
• ▢ Extra tomato sauce as needed

Instructions

 

For the Chicken Parmesan

• Preheat the oven to 400° F.
• Place each chicken breast into a large plastic zip top bag, one at a time, and pound the chicken with a mallet until it's about ½ inch thick throughout.
• Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each breast in the flour and tap off any excess flour, then dip in the egg mixture and let excess drip off, then dredge on both sides in the bread crumbs.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast iron pan and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add 1 or 2 chicken breasts to the pan, however many will fit and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
• Once the chicken is cooked, carefully wipe out the excess oil and brown bits from the cast iron skillet and add ½ of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a large skillet. If the skillet doesn't fit all the chicken breasts, use a large baking dish instead.
• Add the pan fried breaded breasts on top of the sauce, and spoon the rest of the sauce over the chicken along with a few slices of the fresh mozzarella, salt and pepper, and equal amounts of the freshly grated parmesan. Transfer to the pre-heated oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside while you prep the panini

For the Panini

• Oil or butter the sides of the bread. On one piece of bread, add a small spoonful of pesto and on the other tomato sauce. Add the chicken parm cutlet on the tomato sauce piece of bread and then add extra cheese. Top with the other pesto slathered piece of bread and griddle until golden. Slice and serve.

Notes

These can be served immediately, or if you're taking them on a picnic, wrap them with aluminum foil and pack away.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 1077kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 72g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 319mg | Sodium: 1811mg | Potassium: 641mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1582IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 904mg | Iron: 3mg

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