Crispy golden parmesan chicken atop creamy, luscious, lemony pasta! This combo is everything!
Crispy Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Lemon Pasta
The Combination Of My Dreams!
Every time I get bored with dinner, I make crispy chicken. Everyone in our house loves crispy chicken every single time.
And THIS CRISPY CHICKEN! I think it might be the most delicious I’ve ever made. The flavor! It is locked in thanks to the Parmesan and (don’t be mad) the mayo. One bite and I was like, yeah. There it is. That juicy, umami, crispy golden flavor.
I find the mayo coating is actually easiest to work with if you brush it on, and then just spoon the crumbles on top, so everything happens right on the sheet pan. Low lift, high reward!
The combination of the golden crispy chicken, with the creamy, luscious lemony pasta?! Get out. It was glorious. Fresh basil and lemon zest on top? Served with green beans or salad? 10/10!
All family members completely devoured this and went back for seconds on everything. Even my pickiest eater was singing the praises of the chicken. (She’s five and she decided to dip it in soy sauce? I don’t know. Kids are really something.)
Best feeling ever. Hope you guys love it!
Crispy Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Lemon Pasta
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Crispy golden parmesan chicken atop creamy, luscious, lemony pasta! This combo is everything!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crispy Parmesan Chicken:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup mayo
- avocado oil spray
- 8 ounces pasta (I love mafalda for this, about half the box)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 cup heavy cream
- zest of half of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (half a lemon)
- a handful of fresh basil leaves, cut into fine ribbons
- an easy green salad for serving
Instructions
- Prep the Chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Cut the the chicken into thin pieces: Cut each chicken breast into thin, flat pieces (not bite-sized but something that looks like a thin chicken breast). For example: if a one-pound package gives me two chicken breasts, I’m often cutting it into 3-4 thin pieces per breast. Thin chicken is essential! And delicious! Pat the chicken breasts dry if they have a lot of moisture on them.
- Prep Topping: Mix the parmesan, panko, Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, and salt in a bowl.
- Coat the Chicken: Place mayo in a bowl. Brush each chicken piece to coat with a thin layer of mayo. Spoon the panko mixture evenly over each piece of chicken. Press firmly to adhere the crumbs to the chicken, getting it as well-coated as you can. Carefully flip chicken pieces over and repeat on the other side. Finally, spray the top side with avocado oil spray until coated. (You will have some crumbles remaining on the baking sheet – that’s fine.)
- Bake the Chicken: Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the chicken looks golden. Turn on the broiler; broil for 1-2 minutes. Grab each piece along the sides with tongs, flip, and broil the back side so it gets very golden and crispy all around and reaches an internal temp of 165.
- Make the Lemon Sauce: Melt butter over medium low heat. Add garlic; sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add flour; sauté for another 2-3 minutes. It will bubble and get a bit foamy.
- Finish Sauce: Add cream, water, and Better than Bouillon. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and clings to the back of a spoon. Remove the sauce from heat to cool slightly. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Cook the Pasta: Cook pasta according to package directions. When draining, reserve a bit of pasta water. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water as needed.
- Serve: Slice your crispy chicken into strips. Scoop the hot, saucy pasta into shallow bowls, place the chicken slices on top, and finish with the basil ribbons. Sometimes I like to grab the extra crumbles from the sheet pan and sprinkle them on top, and serve with a lemon wedge. OOOOH BABY!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Boiling, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: lemon pasta, creamy pasta, pasta dinner, chicken cutlets, crispy chicken
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July 22, 2026
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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What can I substitute the heavy cream for?
I would consider using evaporated milk….that is often my go-to for heavy cream substitute. However, I am not the creator of the recipe, so maybe Lindsay has a better idea.
♥️ Lindsay, I love your recipes! I can’t wait to try this one!
Where can I find the video to see how exactly you cut the chicken for this recipe crispy parm chicken
They serve a dish just like this at Bar Italia in Lakewood, Ohio (malfadine and all!) I was just thinking that I need to recreate at home.. and voila!
I’m not able to find the video on how to cut the chicken. I think I understand what to do here but would love to see it!
I modified this recipe to be gluten free, and the family LOVED everything about it! 5 STARS all the way!
Made this tonight and it was a HIT with the whole family! My pickiest eater declared that it was delicious!
This recipe was a miss for me. I’ve tried the mayo breaded & baked method twice now with two different recipes and both times it’s been disappointing. Maybe I’m not pressing hard enough to adhere the crumbs? But I blot the chicken dry, put a fairly thin layer of mayo, and press the crumbs in but it slides off in the oven when flipping. It’s also not super crispy while the chicken is also overcooked. To be honest, i don’t think it ultimately saves much time compared to a traditional breading method, but it’s possible that this is user error.
The pasta part is really good though, you can’t really go wrong with heavy cream+garlic+lemon!
This was DIVINE! I knew I was going to make it the minute it popped into my inbox this morning. I’ve made a million pinchofyum recipes but decided I had to comment on this one because it’s very important you MAKE THIS MEAL! My whole family, who can never agree on a meal, devoured it in its entirety! So good exactly as written.