Chicken Parmesan has a crispy coating, lots of melted cheese, and a tomato sauce flavored with basil. Such a classic Italian meal.

This Chicken Parmesan recipe from Cook’s Illustrated is sheer perfection. Possibly the best I’ve ever had. But let’s face it, Chicken Parmesan has to be right up there in the top restaurant dishes that disappoint. That’s why it’s such a great meal to cook at home. No more soggy coating, overcooked dry chicken, flavorless tomato sauce, or chewy and oily cheese.

In my opinion, Chicken Parmesan is the ultimate comfort food. A breast of chicken fried to crispy perfection, topped with melted cheese and a bright and flavorful tomato sauce, served on top of buttery pasta. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Recipe Tips

In this recipe Panko crumbs give the chicken an extra crispy coating and using just a minimum amount of sauce keeps the chicken from turning into a soggy mess. Be sure to let the sauce simmer and reduce for at least 20 minutes to concentrate the flavors and thicken it. And definitely use a good quality canned tomato. Since you aren’t using much sauce, you really want what you use to have a big flavor impact.

I altered the recipe slightly because I wanted to use 3 chicken breasts instead of the two the recipe called for.  If I’m going to all the trouble to make a delicious meal, I want to have a little left over to enjoy the fruits of my labor the next day. I ke...