My New Twist on Chicken Parmesan Is So Good, My Family’s Requesting It Daily

Dinnertime during the week is anything but relaxing. It’s the time when I do my best multitasking: finishing work tasks, helping with homework, and finding the missing shin guards for soccer practice, all while the meal comes together. With so much going on, the meals I prepare Monday through Friday are ones that I have memorized, like homestyle meatloaf and hearty beef chili. Sometimes I’ll serve them the classic way; other times I’ll riff based on the ingredients I have or what we’re in the mood for. Chicken Parmesan is one of my weekly standards, so when I saw a TikTok for “French Onion Chicken Parmesan,” I knew I had to try it. 

Get the recipe: French Onion Chicken Parmesan

The first step in making French onion chicken Parmesan is to caramelize the onions. To caramelize onions, thinly slice several large, peeled onions, and cook them in a bit of butter until they are deeply browned and soft. Plan for this to take 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how many onions you start with. Caramelized onions cook down to a fraction of their volume, and you’ll need 1 to 2 cups of caramelized onions for this recipe. It’s best to start with a big batch of onions and freeze any leftovers for another recipe. 

Pound chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet or rolling pin to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Season on both sides of the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper, then proceed to breading the chicken. First, coat the chicken into all-purpose flour and shake off any excess. Next dip the chicken into a dish with beaten eggs, and finally coat in a mixture of Italian breadcrumbs (or panko breadcrumbs mixed with dried Italian seasoning) and grated Parmesan cheese. Pan-fry the chicken in a large skillet until they are browned on both sides. 

Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and top with caramelized onions, Gruyère cheese, and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken should register 165°F, and the cheese is melted. Garnish this French onion chicken Parmesan with more Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves. 

I make classic chicken Parmesan so often that I don’t really even need to look at a recipe. It’s one of my family’s favorite recipes. It’s rare that the sequel is even better than the original, but that’s the case with French onion chicken Parmesan. This viral recipe leans into all of the best parts of chicken Parmesan and French onion soup to produce an absolutely delicious dinner.

The recipe’s creator, Skyler Bouchard Oppenheim, recommends seasoning the chicken directly with salt and black pepper. Often the seasoning is added to the flour mixture, where much of it is left behind.  Another place where many classic chicken Parmesan recipes fall flat is their failure to maintain the crisp texture of the chicken. I always have the best results when I use panko breadcrumbs rather than traditional breadcrumbs, and I was glad that this recipe included them as an option. Finally, the biggest culprit of soggy chicken Parmesan is the marinara sauce. This version trades watery tomato sauce for onions that are concentrated in flavor and jammy in consistency. 

French onion chicken Parmesan is only weeknight-friendly if you happen to have caramelized onions on hand, which I usually do but understand that most people probably do not. It’s an ingredient that takes quite a bit of time to prepare, but it adds long-cooked flavor to lots of quick-cooking meals. If you love the flavors of French onion soup, I highly recommend caramelizing a big batch of onions and stashing them in small portions in the freezer. 

Overall, this recipe got thumbs up all around the dinner table. Everyone loved the crispy Parmesan coating and juicy chicken, but what got the rave reviews were the caramelized onion and gooey cheese topping. 

• Make caramelized onions in advance. Caramelized onions take a long time to prepare. Luckily, these sweet, jammy onions freeze beautifully. Prepare a big batch of caramelized onions, freeze, and then reap the benefits for many future dinners. 
• Pound or butterfly the chicken breasts. Chicken breasts are notoriously uneven in width. Pound the chicken breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness, or for a smaller portion, use just 2 chicken breasts and butterfly them. 
• Use a rack. After crisping the breaded chicken on the stovetop, place the cutlets on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Elevating the chicken prevents the underside from getting soggy.
• Adapt to a hands-off version. If dealing with a skillet of oil isn’t your idea of an easy weeknight dinner, you can still enjoy French onion chicken Parmesan. Prepare The Kitchn’s Baked Chicken Parmesan recipe through step 7, then top each cutlet with caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese instead of marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly, then garnish with fresh thyme leaves. 

Get the recipe: French Onion Chicken Parmesan

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: I Cook Chicken Parmesan Every Week — My New Twist Is So Good, My Family's Requesting It Daily