This Easy One-Skillet Keto & Paleo Chicken Parmesan is your perfect Italian comfort food fix. It features lightly breaded chicken that's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, then covered in a homemade cheesy red sauce on top of zucchini or gluten-free noodles. Plus, it can be made whole30 compliant!
This One-Skillet Keto & Paleo Chicken Parmesan is the ultimate comfort food! It's great for those busy weeknights when you need something fuss-free but you're craving something saucy, cheesy, and comforting.
It's easy to make, only using one skillet, and can also be made dairy-free and whole30 compliant!
It can be eaten plain or served over gluten-free noodles or zucchini noodles for low carb and paleo. Any way you serve it though, this dish is guaranteed to impress and is super family-friendly!
🐓 The chicken
First off, you need to start with thin slices of chicken - this is very important! If it isn't around 1" thick, it will be hard to cook through.
You can buy thin-sliced chicken breasts at the store or pound them with a mallet to thin them out.
For the breading, we'll be using crushed pork rinds - my all-time favorite breadcrumb substitute! Even if you don't like pork rinds, trust me, you'll like them as breading 😀
Simply crush them very finely in a food processor and add them to a large, shallow bowl along with some sea salt, ground pepper, and garlic powder.
If you don't have a food processor, place them in a large, resealable baggie leaving it slightly vented. Use a rolling pin or mallet to crush the pork rinds. Be sure to crush them very finely or they will have trouble sticking to the chicken!
Next, whisk together pork rinds, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings in a large, shallow bowl and set aside.
Dredge the chicken in a shallow bowl of beaten eggs then the pork rind mixture. Set aside.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil of choice or butter in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the breaded chicken to the skillet.
Do not overcrowd the skillet, cook in batches if needed. If you need to cook in batches you may need to add additional oil or butter to the skillet.
Cook them on each side until nicely browned - 3 to 5 minutes - and they are almost cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
The sauce
For the sauce, add 1 tablespoon oil or butter and place over medium heat.
Once the oil starts to shimmer, add 1 small, finely chopped onion and saute until onions are translucent and tender.
Add 4 cloves of garlic to the pan and cook until it becomes fragrant - 30 to 60 seconds. Then, add ½ cup of dry red wine or chicken broth and cook for around 2 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half.
After that, stir in 28 oz. of crushed tomatoes, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Place the chicken on top of the sauce and spoon a bit of sauce over each chicken breast. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
If you're dairy-free or on a whole30, top with my Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese recipe instead.
Put the pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with fresh basil and serve over noodles of choice.
The noodles
If you're not worried about carbs and are not grain-free, feel free to use store-bought gluten-free spaghetti noodles.
Or, to keep the dish keto, paleo, or whole30, serve over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or a bed of lettuce.
💭 Top tips
- Be sure to use thin-sliced chicken breasts. You can buy thin-sliced at the store, or pound them with a mallet until they reach around 1" in thickness.
- If you are dairy-free or on a whole30, replace the mozzarella cheese with my Dairy-Free & Vegan Parmesan Cheese instead. It's super easy to make and gives it a cheesy taste.
- To keep the dish low-carb, paleo, or whole30, serve over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or a bed of lettuce.
Looking for more easy Italian keto & paleo dinners?
Or these Keto Italian Chicken Skewers from Sweet & Savory Meals and Keto Chicken Parmesan Casserole from My Life Cookbook look delicious too!
If you’ve tried this Keto & Paleo Chicken Parmesan or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Paleo Chicken Parmesan (Keto & Whole30 Friendly!)
Ingredients
For The Chicken:
- 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - thinly sliced, around 1" thick
- 1 cup Finely Crushed Pork Rinds - roughly 1.5 oz
- 2 large Eggs
- ½ tsp. Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp. Ground Pepper
- 1 tsp. Italian Seasonings
- 2 Tbsp. Butter, Non-Dairy Butter, Or Ghee (DIVIDED) - or mild tasting oil of choice, + more as needed {use ghee for whole30}
For The Sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Butter, Non-Dairy Butter, Or Ghee - or mild tasting oil of choice, + more as needed {use ghee for whole30}
- 1 small Onion - finely chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic - minced
- ½ cup Dry Red Wine or Chicken Broth - use chicken broth for whole30
- 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp. Italian Seasonings
- Sea Salt - to taste, I use around ¼ to ½ tsp.
- Ground Pepper - to taste, I use around ¼ tsp.
- ½ Cup Mozzarella or Italian Blend Shredded Cheese - omit for whole30
- ½ Cup Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese - use in place of cheese if dairy free. Click the ingredient link to be taken to the dairy free recipe
- Basil - For Garnish
Instructions
For The Chicken:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- If chicken is more than 1 inch thick, place chicken on cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Pound chicken with a mallet or heavy skillet until it's around 1 inch thick. This is an important step, so don't skip it! Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel if needed to remove any excess water.
- To crush the pork rinds, add them to the bowl of a food processor and process them on high until very finely crushed. If you don't have a food processor, place them in a large, resealable baggie leaving it slightly vented. Use a rolling pin or mallet to crush the pork rinds. Be sure to crush them very finely or they will have trouble sticking to the chicken!
- Whisk together the crushed pork rinds, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings in a large, shallow bowl and set aside. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs.
- Use tongs to dredge the chicken into the whisked eggs then the pork rind mixture. Set the breaded chicken aside on a large cutting board.
- Heat the oil or butter in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the breaded chicken. Do not overcrowd the skillet, cook in batches if needed. If cooking in batches, you may need additional oil or butter.
- Cook on each side until nicely browned and chicken is almost cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Set aside on a plate.
For The Sauce:
- Rinse out the skillet if needed, then add 1 tablespoon oil or butter and place over medium heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the onion and saute until onions are translucent and tender around 3 or 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook until it becomes fragrant - 30 to 60 seconds. Then, add ½ cup of the wine or chicken broth and cook around 2 - 4 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. After that, stir in the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Place the chicken on top of the sauce and spoon a bit of sauce over each chicken breast. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese or homemade Parmesan Cheese if dairy-free.
- Put the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with fresh basil and serve.
Add Your Own Notes
Notes
- Nutrition Facts include mozzarella cheese.
- The carbs look like a lot, but each serving size is 1 very large chicken breast with ¼ of the entire pan of sauce! To reduce the carbs, only use 20 oz of crushed tomatoes and ¼ Cup of wine or broth, this will make the net carbs 15 per serving. The carbs come from the tomatoes, so you can further reduce the carbs by not eating the entire serving of sauce - which is a lot!
- Be sure to use thin-sliced chicken breasts! You can buy thin-sliced chicken at the store, or pound them with a mallet until they reach around 1" in thickness.
- If you are dairy-free or on a whole30, replace the mozzarella cheese with my Dairy-Free & Vegan Parmesan Cheese instead. It's super easy to make and gives it a cheesy taste.
- To keep the dish low-carb and paleo, serve over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or a bed of lettuce.
- This recipe was updated in November 2021 to use crushed pork rinds instead of almond flour for a crispier crust.
Nutrition
NET CARBS = Total Carbs - Fiber - Allulose - Xylitol
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary. Sugar alcohols, xylitol, and allulose are included in the total carbs and fiber.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out my
Chrystal says
This chicken recipe is amazing! Thank you.