Traditionally, chicken parmesan consists of breaded and fried chicken cutlets that are smothered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese and then served on a heaping pile of pasta; we love the classic dish as much as the next person, but wanted to see if we could take all those flavors and transform them into something a little bit different.
Lightening things up a tad, we omitted the pasta from our chicken parm casserole and instead added garlic croutons…and what a good decision that was! The croutons are perfectly buttery and full of flavor, and then they absorb all the other yummy stuff we layered on top, so you get a little bit of crunch to go along with your tomato sauce-covered, cheesy, chicken goodness – what’s not to love about that?!
Chicken Parm Casserole
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 1 (28 oz.) jar marinara sauce
- 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
- 2 1/2 cups garlic croutons, semi-crushed
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Evenly spread out garlic croutons in the baking dish, then cover with cubed chicken.
- Season chicken with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and sprinkle chopped basil over the top.
- Cover chicken and croutons with marinara sauce, then top with cheeses.
- Place baking dish in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted fromThriving Home
SKM: below-content placeholderWhizzco for 12T