minniet's Recipe

chicken parmesan casserole

Category: Chicken

a little bit of olive oil,
- a couple of crushed garlic cloves,
- hot red pepper flakes, to taste
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 1/2 cups of marinara sauce (you can make your own or use a canned one),
- 1/4 cup chopped basil,
- 8 oz mozzarella, shredded, divided
- approximately 3 oz of Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated fine, about 3/4 cup, divided (Food Wishes says you can use pre-grated Parmesan, but warns that it won't taste the same and strongly suggests to go get some real Parmigiano!)
- 1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons

Start by placing your chicken breasts in a casserole greased with olive oil and sprinkled with red pepper flakes and the crushed garlic cloves (if you're not into garlic or spicy food, you can skip this step!).

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cover the chicken breasts with the marinara sauce (usually 3/4 of a standard can), fresh chopped basil, half of the grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

This is what to allows you not to have to bread and fry the chicken and still enjoy a crunchy, much easier to make chicken parm (with the plus of fewer calories added!)

Simply evenly distribute the croutons over the chicken with the help of a fork

Finally cover everything with the second half of your grated mozzarella and parmesan

Now, bake your casserole at 350 for around 35 minutes. The result will be a deliciously crunchy dish on top, but with an extra juiciness thanks to the marinara sauce soaking the bottom garlic croutons.