This Grilled Chicken Parmesan is a twist on an Italian classic. Enjoy this healthy recipe while still relishing in a classic Italian taste.

Grilled Chicken Parmesan

Marinara sauce is a weakness of mine. On pizza, with noodles, breadsticks or even just plain, I could eat a bowl just with a sprinkle of cheese. One of my favorite Italian dishes is Chicken Parmesan but something I hate about this dish is that it is never consistent and varies from restaurant to restaurant. Chicken is either overly breaded, not breaded enough, too greasy, or sometimes there is barely any chicken! It’s chicken parmesan, how can you miss that?

Then I came across this idea of grilling the chicken, completely eliminating frying. Then sprinkling bread crumbs instead of coating the chicken bread crumbs and on top of that a low-fat marinara.
Voila! You now have my favorite way to prepare chicken parmesan. It’s healthy and fresh, with no hassle.

This Grilled Chicken Parmesan is a twist on an Italian classic. Enjoy this healthy recipe while still relishing in a classic Italian taste.
Enjoy this healthy living recipe, while still relishing in a classic Italian taste.
XOXO San

How do you make Grilled Chicken Parmesan?

Classic Low-Fat Marinara
  • Heat large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic, and onion. Season with salt and red pepper to tastes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and garlic are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.

  • Add tomatoes, water, and parmesan rind to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to love and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

  • Bruise the basil by using the back of a knife and stir into the sauce. Simmer uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste, I usually don’t add anything extra but try the sauce and find what you like.

  • Serve immediately or store in a covered container in the fridge up to 5 days.
Chicken Parmesan
  • Preheat oven to 400, lightly spray 9×13 glass baking dish with olive oil spray and set aside.

  • Heat grill. Season the chicken to salt and pepper to taste. When the grill is hot, spray the chicken lightly with olive oil spray. Grill until just cooked through, do not overcook. About 1 1/2 minutes per side.

  • Spread 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Place the grilled chicken on top of the sauce. Add the remaining marinara sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the chopped basil, mozzarella, and parmesan.

  • Bake chicken for 10-12 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and set oven to broil. Add the panko crumbs by sprinkling lightly all over the chicken. Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes, until crumbs are golden. Just watch the bread crumbs in the oven to make sure not to burn.
  • Serve immediately with a bed of arugula or noodles.

Love chicken parm recipes? Check out some of my favorites: Baked Chicken Parmesan SticksSlow Cooker Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Parmesan Taquitos, and this Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake.

Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!

Grilled Chicken Parmesan

Prep: 50 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Calories: 314 kcal
This Grilled Chicken Parmesan is a twist on an Italian classic. Enjoy this healthy recipe while still relishing in a classic Italian taste.

Ingredients
 

Classic Low-Fat Marinara

  • 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 red onion diced
  • salt
  • crushed red pepper
  • 2-28 ounces tomato puree
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 small piece of Parmesan cheese rind
  • 1 large sprig of fresh basil

Chicken Parmesan

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (3-4 chicken breasts)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups classic low-fat marinara recipe below
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 6 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

Instructions
 

Classic Low-Fat Marinara

  • Heat large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic, and onion. Season with salt and red pepper to tastes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and garlic are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add tomatoes, water, and parmesan rind to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to love and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
  • Bruise the basil by using the back of a knife and stir into the sauce. Simmer uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and crushed red pepper to taste, I usually don’t add anything extra but try the sauce and find what you like.
  • Serve immediately or store in a covered container in the fridge up to 5 days.

Chicken Parmesan

  • Preheat oven to 400, lightly spray 9x13 glass baking dish with olive oil spray and set aside.
  • Heat grill. Season the chicken to salt and pepper to taste. When the grill is hot, spray the chicken lightly with olive oil spray. Grill until just cooked through, do not overcook. About 1 1/2 minutes per side.
  • Spread 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Place the grilled chicken on top of the sauce. Add the remaining marinara sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the chopped basil, mozzarella, and parmesan.
  • Bake chicken for 10-12 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and set oven to broil. Add the panko crumbs by sprinkling lightly all over the chicken. Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes, until crumbs are golden. Just watch the bread crumbs in the oven to make sure not to burn.
  • Serve immediately with a bed of arugula or noodles.

Notes

Prep time, included the time to prepare and cook the low fat marinara sauce.
Calories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 35gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 484mgPotassium: 594mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 520IUVitamin C: 6.8mgCalcium: 266mgIron: 1.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

Kids review: First remark on this dish was from my daughter Jojo who said, “WOW! This chicken actually tastes good!” And yes, she sounded surprised. All my kids love red sauce so this is a meal where there is really no fighting. Or one of them trying to discretely make it to the bathroom with their mouthful of food to spit out in the toilet…oh yes, we have had that happen.

Similar Posts

24 Comments

  1. Oh, I love marinara sauce, too! Your recipe sounds delicious. Recently, I’ve been eating it with raw zucchini ‘noodles’. So delicious and healthy!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating