Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan

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!

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

1. Preheat the Air Fryer to 390°F (200°C).
2. Make the seasoned breadcrumbs by combining the breadcrumbs with parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
3. 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.
4. 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 somereason 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!