This recipe combines chicken Parmesan with creamy vodka sauce for a delicious twist on your favorite dish. To make this cozy meal more weeknight-friendly, make the vodka sauce ahead of time. Making your own vodka sauce from scratch helps keep sodium in check, but to save on prep time, you can use store-bought vodka sauce in its place.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
- 1 (6-ounce) can unsalted tomato paste
- 1 (14-ounce) can no-salt-added whole peeled plum tomatoes, undrained and crushed with hands
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup vodka
- cooking spray
- 1 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs
- 6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon salt-free italian seasoning, such as mrs. dash
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 large egg
- 4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded 1/4-inch-thick
- 1 cup shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)
Directions
- To prepare vodka sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until the onion is very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and thick, about 2 minutes. Stir in undrained, crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in cream. Add vodka and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, process until smooth, if desired. Set aside 1 cup sauce. (Save the remaining sauce for another use.)
- To prepare chicken: Position rack in top third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil; lightly coat the foil with cooking spray.
- Stir panko, 4 tablespoons Parmesan, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper together in a shallow bowl. Lightly beat egg in another shallow bowl. Dip 1 chicken cutlet in the egg, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge in the panko mixture, pressing to adhere; transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken cutlets, egg and panko mixture. (Discard any remaining egg and panko mixture.) Lightly coat the breaded chicken with cooking spray. Bake until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165°F, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven; increase oven temperature to broil. Top the cutlets with the reserved sauce, mozzarella and the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt. Garnish with parsley, if desired.