I have something to tell you — chicken doesn’t have to be boring. It’s true. If you’re anything like me, you tend to rely on chicken breasts as your go-to dinner protein far too often (it’s quick! it’s fairly cheap! it’s easy!), so often in fact, that you run out of ideas and inspiration to make it interesting. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are a million and one ways to cook a chicken breast and sometimes you just need a little nudge in the right direction to find one that feels a little novel and a lot delicious. Say hello to our Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken. It takes a basic ol’ chicken breast and coats it in parmesan-panko kissed goodness but also surrounds it in a creamy sauce that’s easy but not to be missed. Even if you’re way past your limit on chicken dinners, this one will hit the spot.

Now, this chicken is crispy but you don’t have to deep fry anything to get there, which means there’s not a lot of mess and splatter to deal with and no oil to discard. The key to crispiness here is more in the breading, which is a flour dredge > egg wash > breadcrumb situation but then only requires a couple of tablespoons of oil in a sauté pan after that. And let me tell you about those breadcrumbs — it’s not just breadcrumbs, it’s panko breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan and a little bit of parsley so there’s plenty of flavor with the crunch.

After the chicken is golden brown, you’ll build the sauce and pop the chicken back into the pan to warm through. And while I love crispy chicken (who doesn’t?), the sauce is far and away my favorite thing about this dish. It’s a simple pan sauce and starts with a roux (some butter and flour) but has three cloves of garlic, white wine, heavy cream, and a little more parmesan for good measure. It’s heaven, and you’d be very smart to make some pasta alongside of this so you have an extra vehicle for getting that sauce into your mouth.