Chicken Parmesan with Baby Spinach Salad

Ingredients

• 5 oz baby spinach
• 1 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless
• 2 eggs
• Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (1 small bunch; mince leaves for garnish)
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1 oz Parmesan cheese (Grate ¼ cup; use half in the breading and the remainder for topping)
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• balsamic vinegar (For dressing)
• black pepper (For seasoning and dressing)
• extra virgin olive oil (For frying and dressing)
• honey (For dressing)
• panko bread crumbs (For coating the chicken)
• salt (For breading, chicken seasoning, and dressing)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. 2

   Grate ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese.

3. 3

   In a bowl, mix together half of the grated Parmesan, the panko bread crumbs, and salt.

4. 4

   In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.

5. 5

   Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.

6. 6

   Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to form thin fillets. Season the fillets with salt and black pepper.

7. 7

   When the skillet is hot, add olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom.

8. 8

   Dip each chicken fillet into the whisked egg, then into the bread-crumb mixture, pressing gently so the coating adheres.

9. 9

   Place the coated fillets in the skillet and cook until golden brown, 2–3 minutes per side. Work in batches if necessary; the chicken will finish cooking in the oven.

10. 10

    Grate 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

11. 11

    Pour half of the tomato sauce into a medium baking dish.

12. 12

    Add the browned chicken fillets to the baking dish, then pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top.

13. 13

    Sprinkle the chicken fillets with the grated mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.

14. 14

    Bake until the chicken is cooked through, the cheese is melted, and the sauce is bubbly, 10–15 minutes.

15. 15

    In a large bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, salt, and black pepper.

16. 16

    Wash and dry the baby spinach. Add it to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat.

17. 17

    Wash and dry the parsley. Shave the leaves from the stems, discard the stems, and mince the leaves.

18. 18

    Divide the chicken and spinach salad between plates. Garnish with the minced parsley and serve.

Notes

The source does not specify quantities for the oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, panko bread crumbs, salt, or black pepper. It also lists 1 oz Parmesan while specifying ¼ cup grated in the instructions; the listed ingredient quantity is retained as authoritative.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• Italian
• baked
• chicken
• high-protein
• salad