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This gluten free chicken parmesan is a delicious, low carb version of the classic Italian dish! Crispy baked chicken smothered in sauce and mozzarella cheese. An easy, 30-minute dinner the whole family will love
What Makes This Recipe Great
Growing up, Chicken Parmesan used to be my favorite thing to order at Italian restaurants. The crispy breaded chicken topped with marinara, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil is just so delicious! Now that I’m gluten-free, I had to recreate this favorite dish and wow, it turned out AMAZING!
For this Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan, I use a combination of almond flour and coconut flour with Italian herbs and spices for the “breading”. Then, it gets fried in a pan with some ghee and olive oil and finished in the oven.
This dish has all of the flavors of my old favorite without the carbs or gluten!
Recipe Highlights
- Simple Ingredients
- 30-Minute Easy Recipe
- Kid-Friendly
- Endless side options!
- Gluten-Free, Grain Free, Keto, Low Carb, & Dairy Free option!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken Cutlets: I used 3 chicken breasts cut in half long ways to create 6 thinner breasts, then pounded them to ½ inch thickness.
- Breading: I used a mix of Almond flour and Coconut flour to create a keto-friendly, gluten-free breadcrumbs alternative.
- Marinara Sauce: You can always make a homemade sauce, but my favorite jar of tomato sauce is Rao’s Homemade.
- Fresh Mozzarella Cheese: You can sub vegan cheese if dairy free, or omit the cheese for Whole30! Feel free to also add parmesan cheese if desired.
- Salt and Black pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Ghee
- Egg
- Fresh Basil
- Olive Oil
Recipe Step by Step
- Preheat the oven to 425. Spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Pound your halved chicken breasts to ½ inch thickness with a meat mallet. Crack the eggs in a shallow bowl and beat using a fork. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder to a separate shallow bowl and mix well.
- Heat the ghee and oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dip each piece of chicken first in the egg mixture, then in the almond flour breadcrumb mixture to coat.
- Cook the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
- Flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. You may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your chicken breasts.
- Place the chicken into the casserole dish.
- Once all 6 pieces of chicken are in the casserole dish, add ⅓ cup of marinara sauce to the top of each piece.
- Add a piece of mozzarella on top of the sauce.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted. Serve topped with chopped basil and enjoy!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
How to Serve: I served the chicken parmesan with some Natural Heaven noodles – spaghetti made from Hearts of Palm! It’s a great way to sneak in veggies and only 4 carbs per serving! You can use code MARYSWHOLELIFE to get 10% off your order here! You can also serve the chicken over zucchini noodles.
Fried Chicken Cutlets: You can also omit the sauce and cheese for some really delicious “fried” chicken cutlets – they can be used for so many meals!
Storage: Store leftover gluten free chicken parmesan in an airtight container in the refrigerator without the sauce and cheese. Reheat over a skillet with some olive oil and top with marinara, cheese, and basil and serve!
Recipe FAQs
You can serve this dish with gluten-free sides like pasta, salad, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and more!
You can make a “paste” with equal parts gluten free flour and water to serve as the egg for this recipe. brush it on the sides of your chicken and dip it into the flour to make the coating.
You can use a variety of things to make a “crispy coating” for the chicken: crushed almond flour crackers, potato chips, gluten-free Chex cereal, nuts, and more!
There are just 7 net carbs per serving (2 pieces), making this a keto-friendly version!
More Gluten-Free Italian Recipes
Gluten-Free Italian Meatballs with Homemade Marinara
Sheet Pan Italian Sausage and Peppers
Gluten-Free Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts, I cut 3 chicken breasts in half to create 6 thinner breasts- pounded to ½ inch thickness.
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 cups sugar free marinara sauce
- 6 pieces mozzarella cheese, sub vegan cheese for dairy free or omit for Whole30
- fresh basil, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425. Spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Pound your halved chicken breasts to ½ inch thickness. Crack the eggs in a shallow bowl and beat using a fork. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder to a separate shallow bowl and mix well.
- Heat the ghee and oil together in a large skillet over medium high heat. Dip each piece of chicken first in the egg, then in the almond flour mixture to coat. Cook the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown, then place into the casserole dish. You may need to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your chicken breasts.
- Once all 6 pieces of chicken are in the casserole dish, add ⅓ cup of marinara sauce to the top of each piece. Add a piece of mozzarella on top of the sauce. Bake for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted. Serve topped with chopped basil and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
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Healthy Mississippi Pot Roast with Beef Gravy Recipe
Whole30 Harvest Sheet Pan Dinner
This post was originally published on July 22, 2020 and updated with new photos and copy on September 22, 2022.
OMG SO GOOD!!! After becoming GF I missed chicken parm so much and this is BETTER!
Just added this to our meal list for the week, it’s a family favorite and easy for a week night meal. The kids love the chicken spaghetti as they call it. 🙂 I also love it because I have almost all of the ingredients already so limits the grocery list for the beginning of the week. If you haven’t tried it you should, it will quickly become a favorite!
Thank you!!
Another great recipe. So comforting and satisfying at the end of the day.
Thank you Kelly!!