My husband John is a big fan of chicken parmesan and orders it as a sandwich sometimes when we are in New York. The love for chicken parm, is not something I understood as I had never had it growing up in the Baltimore area. My Italian family never made it, and nor would they even have thought about including it on a sandwich or pizza. My mom actually asked me why John would like it! I don’t understand, she said. It’s not really Italian! This may be true, but my mom and I have come around to how delicious it can be when prepared in a healthy manner. It strikes me as very similar to chicken Milanese, which is traditionally a chicken breast that is pounded very thin and breaded and fried and placed on a bed of lemony arugula. It’s absolutely delicious and simplistic in its preparation. Chicken parmesan is almost identical in terms of preparation, but is covered in marinara sauce with mozzarella and parmesan cheese melted on top and baked in the oven. My version replaces the breading with almond flour and instead uses spaghetti squash as the “pasta” rather than spaghetti. It’s just as delicious as the original, but without as many carbs. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
1 pound boneless chicken breasts (2 large breasts, cut in half horizontally)
1 1/2 oregano split for use
½ tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. oregano
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese, plus additional 1 tbsp. for spaghetti squash
½ cup almond flour
2 tbsps. Olive oil, plus 1 additional for making spaghetti squash
1 tbsp. butter
28 oz. Marinara sauce (I like Rao’s best, but you can also make you own!)
1 cup shredded mozzarella (I like fresh best)
2 pinches of crushed red pepper (split between chicken and spaghetti squash)
2 tbsps. chopped fresh basil
1 large spaghetti squash
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. For spaghetti squash, cut the squash in half carefully with a large knife (be careful not to cut yourself, since it is quite hard!). Place on a foil lined sheet pan cut sides up. Remove the seeds. Sprinkle olive oil over top of the cut squash halves and a little sea salt. Cook in oven for 50-60 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes after removing from oven. Take a fork and shred the insides of each squash so that it resembles “spaghetti.” Prior to serving, heat a frying pan with 2 tsps. olive oil. Add one minced garlic clove and cook for 1 minute. Add shredded spaghetti squash and heat adding salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and 1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese. Place on plates when ready and top with completed chicken parmesan breasts as noted below.
2. Generously season the four chicken filets with 1 tsp. oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
3. In a large, shallow bowl whisk together eggs, garlic, and ½ tsp. oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the parmesan cheese and almond flour in separate shallow bowl.
4. Using tongs pick up one of the chicken breasts and dip it in the prepared egg wash and then dredge it in the parmesan almond flour mixture. Press the chicken into the coating to make sure it adheres to each breast properly and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
5. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Fry 2 chicken pieces at a time without touching them for 4 minutes on each side. If they appear to be burning, turn the heat down a bit to medium low. Repeat with the two remaining chicken breasts. Make sure that each breast is cooked through before removing from pan by testing with a knife to make certain.
6. Preheat oven to 400 F.
7. Spread half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and arrange the chicken pieces over the sauce. Spoon remaining sauce over the chicken breasts.
8. Top the chicken with the shredded mozzarella and additional grated parmesan cheese. Place in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbling and melted. Serve each breast immediately on top of prepared warmed spaghetti squash. Enjoy!
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