This baked garlic Parmesan chicken comes out crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. A quick drizzle of garlic-lemon butter adds a pop of extra flavor. Easy enough for weeknights, fancy enough for company!
Place the chicken breasts on a plastic cutting board. Hold in place firmly with your hand flat and slice through the chicken horizontally to butterfly it. Separate the two halves.
Mix the buttermilk and the hot sauce together in a baking dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes.
Oven Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the ¼ cup butter in a 9x13 pan. Put it in the oven while the oven heats.
In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, and pepper.
Take one piece of chicken out of the buttermilk. Let the excess drip off. Put into the breadcrumb mixture. Flip to coat both sides.
Place chicken in the baking dish with the melted butter.
.Melt the remaining butter in a microwave safe bowl with the minced garlic.
Add the lemon juice and whisk to blend. Drizzle carefully over the chicken breast - just a little!
Tent the pan loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven. Remove aluminum foil and carefully flip the chicken pieces.
Return to the oven and turn the heat up to 425F. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicken registers 160F on an insta-read thermometer. Watch carefully so the crumbs don't burn.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. The temperature of the chicken will continue to rise to 165F.
Sprinkle with smoked paprika and serve.
AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONS
Follow the instructions about through the drizzle.
Place in an air fryer basket.
Air fry at 375F for 6 minutes.
Hit pause and remove the basket.
Flip the chicken over. Sprinkle on a little more of the crumb mixture.
Reduce heat to 350F and air fry for about 4 more minutes.
Chicken is done when it reads 160F on an insta-read thermometer.
Let sit for 5 minutes, sprinkle with smoked paprika, and serve.
Video
Notes
Storage:Place leftover chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. Store for up to three days.To Reheat:Heat the garlic Parmesan chicken in a 350-degree F oven just until warmed through and crispy. You can use the microwave, but the coating won't stay as crisp and the meat tends to dry out a bit.Though many of my easy chicken dinners freeze well, this one does not.Tips:
Don't leave the chicken in the buttermilk for more than an hour. Otherwise, the meat will start to break down.
If you don't have time to marinate the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, just dip the chicken in it before coating it with the crumbs.
Taste the breading mixture before you start adding the chicken. If it doesn't taste like it's seasoned, now's a good time to add a little more.
The cheap, grated Parmesan in the green container works perfectly. Don't feel the need to splurge on the fancy stuff this time!
Buy minced garlic from the store if you don't like to peel and chop it.
If you have leftover garlic gloves, preserve them in olive oil or butter. (Plus, garlic-infused oil is delicious for drizzling over snacks and apps!)
For a more fragrant garlic butter sauce, you can skip the microwave and simmer it over medium heat on the stove until the butter starts to brown.
Spritz the aluminum foil with some nonstick cooking spray before tenting the chicken so it doesn't accidentally peel off any of the garlic Parmesan breadcrumb topping.
Kicking up the heat for the last 10 minutes of bake time helps the breadcrumbs crisp. However, at this point, you must watch it carefully or it will burn.
If you drizzle too much butter on top, the crumbs will get soggy after baking. If this happens, just sprinkle some more crumbs on top, press them into the chicken, and run it under the broiler until golden.