This Chicken Parmesan Sandwich is just like the Cheesecake Factory’s, featuring fried chicken cutlets, marinara sauce, and melty cheese on grilled french bread.
1french baguetteor 4 italian style bread or French rolls, sliced in half
2tablespoonsolive oil
Oilcanola 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.