Just like the amazing Cheesecake Factory menu item, this Chicken Parmesan Sandwich features lightly breaded and fried chicken cutlets, marinara sauce, and melty cheese on grilled french bread.
I think everybody has a favorite meal at the Cheesecake Factory, right? So many of their menu items are top notch, that it can sometimes be hard to choose what to order!
One of my favorites is Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken Parmesan Sandwich. It’s such a simple concept, but something about putting this traditional Italian pasta dish on a roll makes it exciting and completely delicious. So, I’ve re-created the Cheesecake Factory recipe at home, so you can enjoy it whenever you want.
I love fried chicken sandwiches in general, and have recreated many of your favorite restaurant ones. Try my Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich, Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sandwich, Cuban Sandwich, or my Nashville style Hot Chicken Sandwich. They’re all seriously good!
Are you looking for an Instant Pot recipe? Try making my Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan. It’s not quite as crispy as this recipe, but still amazing and super easy and fast to cook.
You can also make crispy Chicken Parmesan cutlets to serve with pasta instead of on a sandwich, or try my easy Chicken Parmesan Meatballs!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crispy Chicken. The best part of a good chicken parmesan is the crispy breading on the chicken. We’ll be hand breading chicken cutlets with a blend of seasoned breadcrumbs and frying them in oil so that they are perfectly crisp.
- Flavorful Toppings. Marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil leaves top the chicken cutlets and make this chicken parm sandwich completely mouthwatering.
- Family Favorite. Kids and adults alike love these chicken parmesan sandwiches. It’s a nice change from the typical spaghetti and meatballs dinner, but with similar flavors so it’s familiar.
- Money Saving. Making chicken sandwiches at home will always be less expensive than ordering them in a restaurant. Save your takeout money, and cook at home.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken: to make four sandwiches, you’ll need two boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin cutlets. If your chicken breasts are particularly thick, you may need to pound them out to get them thin enough. To save time, buy cutlets already cut from the butcher.
- Flour: regular all-purpose flour is step one of the breading process. It helps to absorb moisture from the chicken.
- Eggs: Step two of the breading process is an egg wash, this works to adhere breadcrumbs to the chicken.
- Breadcrumbs: I like to use plain breadcrumbs and add my own seasonings. If you are using Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, you can leave out the cheese and Italian seasoning blend. For extra crunch, use panko breadcrumbs.
- Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, and Italian Seasoning. You can make Homemade Italian Seasoning so easily.
- Cheese: Freshly grated parmesan is added to the breadcrumbs, and shredded mozzarella melts on top of the cutlets.
- Marinara Sauce: use your favorite jarred pasta sauce, or homemade if you have it.
- Fresh Basil Leaves: Chop your leaves into medium pieces.
- Bread: Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken Parm Sandwich is served on a French roll. You can also use a baguette, sliced into sandwich sized pieces, or ciabatta rolls.
- Oil: You’ll need cooking oil for frying, and olive oil for drizzling on the bread.
Tip!
Grate your own block mozzarella cheese instead of using pre-shredded cheese. It will melt much better and taste amazing!
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches
It’s so simple! Here’s what you need to do:
- Prepare your breading station: In one shallow bowl/dish, combine flour with salt and pepper. In a second dish, beat two eggs. In a third, combine the breadcrumbs with parmesan and Italian seasoning.
- Bread the chicken: Dredge each chicken cutlet through the flour mixture, followed by the egg mixture, and finally into the breadcrumb mixture. Press the chicken into the breadcrumbs to make sure they really stick, and gently shake off the excess.
- Fry: Heat oil in a skillet, and fry the cutlets until golden brown, and the internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C.
- Broil Bread: Meanwhile, drizzle the bread or rolls with olive oil and toast under the broiler for a few minutes until it’s nicely toasted. Be careful not to burn the bread!
- Make Chicken Parm: Place the cooked chicken on a wire rack on a sheet pan. Top each cutlet evenly with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, Place under the broiler until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and top with chopped basil leaves.
- Assemble Sandwiches: Place the chicken on toasted buns, cover with top buns, and serve.
Tips for Making Chicken Parm Sandwiches
- Skip the Bread. Not in the mood for a sandwich? Serve the chicken parmesan cutlets with pasta or your favorite side dishes. Cutting carbs? Enjoy this sandwich wrapped with lettuce or a low carb wrap.
- Serve right away. These sandwiches are best eaten immediately after cooking. They won’t reheat to be as crispy and juicy as they were when they were fresh.
- Try cast iron. I like shallow frying in a cast iron pan. The thick pan holds heat better than thinner ones, and cleans up easily.
- Add Flavor. You can season your chicken parm with a bit of crushed red pepper flakes to add some heat. Also try rubbing a raw garlic clove on the toasted bread for some extra garlicky goodness.
Frequently Asked Questions
So that our chicken cooks fairly quickly and evenly, we want to cut it down into thin cutlets. To do this, place a chicken breast down flat on a cutting board. Hold one hand flat on top of the breast, and use a sharp knife to cut the breast in half, parallel to the cutting board.
Typically, that is all you need to do! The cutlets should be about ¼ inch in thickness. If they are thicker than that, use a meat mallet to pound them down thinner.
Sometimes you might find that your breading does not want to stick to the chicken cutlets after you fry them. To stop that from happening in the future, try these tips:
Dry the chicken with paper towels before breading to remove any excess moisture.
Ensure that you are doing all three steps of the breading process: Flour, Eggs, Breadcrumbs
After breading, pop the chicken in the fridge for a few minutes, or up to an hour. This will solidify the breading a bit and help it to adhere to the chicken.
I like to serve these sandwiches with a nice salad, like a classic Caesar Salad or Simple Tossed Green Salad.
Absolutely! You can double or triple the recipe to serve as many people as you need to. You could also consider cutting the cutlets smaller and making appetizer sized, slider style sandwiches to serve at a party.
Enjoy your delicious Cheesecake Factory copycat chicken parmesan sandwich! Make sure to pin this recipe so more people can enjoy it too.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts sliced into thin cutlets, 4 in total
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 ½ cups dried breadcrumbs
- ½ cup parmesan freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 french baguette or 4 italian style bread or French rolls, sliced in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Oil canola or vegetable, about 1-2 cups, for frying
Instructions
Bread the chicken:
- In a shallow bowl/dish, whisk the flour with salt and pepper.
- In a separate dish, beat 2 eggs.
- In a third dish, combine the breadrcumbs with parmesan and Italian seasoning.
- Dredge each chicken cutlet in flour mixture, followed by the egg mixture, and finally the breadcrumb mixture. Press the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture for the breadcrumbs to stick, and shake off any excess. Repeat with the rest of the chicken cutlets.
Fry the chicken:
- Heat oil in a skillet, when the oil is hot fry the cutlets until golden brown (the internal temp much reach 165°F/74°C).
Assemble:
- Meanwhile, drizzle the bread with olive oil and toast under the broiler for a few minutes until it’s nicely toasted. Be careful not to burn the bread.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack or a sheet pan, top each cutlet with ¼ cup of marinara, mozzarella cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese has melted. Top with basil leaves.
- Place the chicken on buns, and cover with top buns and serve.
Notes:
- To slice chicken breasts into thin cutlets: Place a chicken breast down flat on a cutting board. Hold one hand flat on top of the breast, and use a sharp knife to cut the breast in half, parallel to the cutting board.
Typically, that is all you need to do! The cutlets should be about ¼ inch in thickness. If they are thicker than that, use a meat mallet to pound them down thinner. - Boneless and skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of chicken breasts, but keep in mind that they take longer to cook.
- Grate your own block mozzarella cheese instead of using pre-shredded cheese. It will melt much better.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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