Stuffed Chicken Parmesan. Chicken breasts breaded with a delicious coating and stuffed with chicken sausage and mozzarella cheese. Served over linguine with a homemade tomato sauce.
Prep Time45mins
Cook Time30mins
Simmer Time30mins
Total Time1hr15mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Stuffed Chicken Parmesan
Servings: 6servings
Calories: 745kcal
Ingredients
Chicken and Stuffing
1tbspolive oil
1.5poundschicken breastssliced to ~3/4" each, will be about 6 thin breasts
3tbspbutterdivided
6ouncessweet Italian chicken sausage2 links
1/2cupshredded Mozzarella cheese
Coating
1/2cuppanko breadcrumbs
1/2cupItalian breadcrumbs
2tbspfresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4teaspoonground thyme
1/2tbspItalian seasoning
1/4teaspoononion powder
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
1/4teaspoonsalt
2large eggs
1tbsplemon juice
Tomato Sauce
1tbspolive oil
2teaspoonsfresh garlic
28ouncescrushed tomatoes
15ouncestomato sauce
12ouncestomato paste
1tbspItalian seasoning
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
1/2tbspdried basil
1/2teaspoononion powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2tbspsugar
1/4teaspoonground thyme
1/2tbspmarjoram
Serving
1/2cupshredded Mozzarella cheese
3/4pounddry linguine noodles
Instructions
Tomato Sauce
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, pepper, basil, onion, salt, sugar, thyme, and marjoram. Stir well.
Reduce to low and let gently simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Chicken
Cut chicken breasts so that they are about 3/4" thick. You can also use a mallet to pound the breasts to this thickness. In the thickest part of the chicken breast, use a pairing knife to cut a 1" opening. Use the knife to cut a pocket inside the breast. Set chicken aside.
Remove sausage from casings and crumble as best you can. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together browned chicken sausage with 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese. Stuff each chicken breast with the sausage/cheese mixture.
Whisk together eggs and lemon juice in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, stir together panko, Italian breadcrumbs, thyme, Italian seasoning, onion powder, pepper, salt, and Parmesan cheese.
Dredge each stuffed chicken breast through the egg mixture on both sides. Then, dredge through the breadcrumb mixture on both sides. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set an oven safe rack (I use a cookie cooling rack) on a large baking sheet.
Melt 1.5 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 of the coated breasts to skillet and brown for 3 minutes. Flip breasts and brown on other side for 3 minutes. Remove from skillet. Melt remaining 1.5 tbsp of butter in skillet and repeat with remaining 3 breasts.
Place breasts on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. After this time, divide remaining 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese over the breasts and bake for another 5 minutes. Make sure your breasts are cooked through by cutting into the thickest part of the breast. Depending on how thick you cut your breasts, they may need a few minutes longer to cook.
Serving
While chicken is baking, prepare linguine according to package directions.
Serve chicken over linguine with tomato sauce.
Notes
If you're pressed for time and looking to skip a step, use your favorite pre-made marinara sauce instead of the tomato sauce.