Cheater Chicken Parmesan

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant at Home

Picture, for a moment, that you’re sitting in a fancy Italian restaurant.

The smells of cheese and meat are wafting around your nose, you have a glass of dark red wine swirling in your hand, and there’s a guy with an accordion walking from table to table, playing “That’s Amore.”

OK, maybe forget about the accordion guy if that isn’t your thing.

Anyway, there’s a basket of crusty bread in front of you and you’re breaking off pieces to dip in olive oil when your order arrives. It’s a delicious looking, super cheesy, Chicken Parmesan.

Doesn’t that seem amazing?

Chicken Parmesan Made Easy

I love a good Chicken Parmesan dish, but frankly it’s A LOT of messy work to make it. Made the traditional way, it’s definitely not a recipe for a busy work week.

So what do you do when you’re craving this dish, as you probably are after my little story, and don’t want the fuss that comes with making it?

You make a Cheater Chicken Parmesan.

I got creative and did a little food research and came up with what I think is a pretty solid representation of the dish. All you need are a few simple ingredients.

There is a full, printable recipe card at the end of the post but, as you’ll see there won’t be much on it because this dish is so simple.

Easy, Cheap, Delicious

How often is it that you get a recipe that hits the big three of easy, cheap, and delicious?

Well, probably pretty often if you’re reading this site! But even by my standards I do think this is a hit if I I may say so myself.

I got all of my makings for this dish at Aldi for about twenty dollars. I spent about 30 minutes of time, including cook time, to make it.

This Recipe Is Absolutely Delicious.

You can serve it with your favorite pasta, or eat it on its own, which is what we did.

This makes a great light dinner when served with a nice salad as well. You don’t have to tell anyone that you used chicken tenders, people will just compliment your amazing cooking skills.

I hope you enjoy making it and eating it!

 

For another great Tipsy Tuesday Tip check out my recipe for the perfect NO MESS BLT.

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Cheater Chicken Parmesan

Print

An easy Italian delight.

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Frozen Chicken Tenders, about 10 tenders total
• 1 jar of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 large piece of Fresh Mozzarella
• Fresh or dried Basil

Instructions

1. Cook your chicken tenders according to package directions. I flip mine over halfway through cooking so both sides were tender.
2. Remove the tenders from the oven and, working carefully, push two tenders close together or slightly overlap them. My package of tenders had some larger pieces so I only needed to combine a few of them.
3. Spread the jar sauce on top of the chicken tenders.
4. Slice your fresh mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices and top the sauce covered tenders with the cheese.
5. If you're using fresh basil, slice the basil leaves into ribbons and sprinkle them all over the chicken tenders.
6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
7. Top with more fresh basil.