My Chicken Parmigiana With Homemade Pasta Sauce

Submitted by CookingONTheSide

"This is my version of chicken parmigiana. The sweet sauce is what sends this recipe over the top although the chicken parmigiana is excellent as well! I developed this sauce after tasting various versions of my Italian friends' sauces and getting their recipes. My family likes a sweet sauce so if you don't like it sweet, just omit the sugar. I do recommend that you add a little sugar, though, to remove some of the acidity taste from the sauce. Quite frankly, if you don't like a sweet sauce, though, you might be better off trying another recipe because that is why I developed this version. I usually let the sauce simmer for most of the day until I am ready to make the chicken parmigiana. However, the sauce can be ready as fast as an hour if you need it to be. But the longer the sauce simmers, the more delicious and thick it will be! This recipe does make more sauce than is needed for the chicken parmigiana and the side of spaghetti or angel hair, but I just freeze the remaining sauce and use it for another time. This is also the basic recipe I use to serve over any type of pasta. I even use it on pizza!"

 

• Ready In: 4hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 24
• Serves: 5

ingredients

• Pasta Sauce

• 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (18 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 108 ounces water (fill one of the empty tomato paste cans with water 6 times)
• 2 large bay leaves
• 1 -2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped fine
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar (can use more or less depending on how sweet you like your sauce. I actually use at least 1/2 cup)
• 1⁄2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pepperoni, sliced (optional)

• Chicken Parmigiana

• 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cutlets
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 cup fine dry Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups homemade pasta sauce
• 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces provolone cheese, sliced

directions

1. Pasta Sauce:

2. In dutch oven or large saucepot, heat olive oil over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add chopped onion and garlic cloves; saute till softened, about 5 minutes (if using pepperoni slices, add here).
4. Add tomato paste and 6 cans of water, which equals the 108 ounces of water (basically the rule is for every can of tomato paste, you add 3 cups of water).
5. Bring to a boil and stir until all the tomato paste is dissolved; meanwhile add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, basil, black pepper, red pepper flakes (if using), garlic powder, sugar and parmesan cheese.
6. Once the sauce has come to a boil, let simmer, uncovered, over medium to medium-low heat, for 3-4 hours or until thickened.

7. Prepare chicken parmigiana:

8. Combine eggs, salt and pepper in bowl; place bread crumbs in another bowl.
9. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into bread crumbs.
10. Heat oil until very hot and brown chicken on both sides.
11. Remove chicken to shallow baking dish and pour excess oil from pan.
12. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
13. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
14. Uncover and place provolone slices on top of chicken and bake 10 minutes more or until cheese is bubbly.
15. Serve with a side of angel hair pasta topped with the spaghetti sauce.

Reviews

[Paja9203]

De-licious! I was looking for a pasta dish I could make ahead and didn't want to make yet another lasagna. So I made the sauce ahead and browned the chicken in the morning. Then I just assembled before baking. It also had the advantage of being lactose free (a portion without the cheeses, obviously) for one person who is allergic. I used crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes in place of the paste. I used only a small amount of sugar as I usually do, but I did add the tiniest pinch of baking soda as I usually do to cut the acidity. (Try it, it really works, but be careful that it is only a tiny bit. You can ruin your sauce if you use too much). We all really enjoyed this dish and plan to eat the left overs in sub buns (like a meatball sub, kind of thing). Thank you Lainey for a terrific recipe and for your advice about making it ahead! I will definitely make this again!

 

[laura81601]

Great recipe! Made it exactly except used 1/2 C sugar, 1 tsp dried herbs for fresh and added balsamic vinegar at the end. Simply delicious!

 

[mattsullivan17]

halved the recipe and used dried herbs instead of fresh, it still turned out amazing and there was plenty left to make some pasta with

 

[Noo8820]

Don't be put off the seemingly lengthy list of ingredients...it's a lot more simplistic than it looks...and it doesn't really require much effort to produce a tasty meal. This recipe makes a lot of sauce,so plenty left to freeze up for a quick fix dinner..always a bonus!! The chicken was beautifully moist and full of flavour,beautifully complimented by the sauce and cheese. Thanks Lainey!

 

[thurstondonnie]

Delicious sauce that was great for this type of dish. The chicken was golden brown and tender, and the sauce and cheese sent it to another level for us. We loved it! Thanks Lainey!