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 cheesy red sauce. Plus, it can be made dairy-free and whole30!
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.
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.
Be sure to crush the pork rinds very finely or they will have trouble sticking to the chicken. Or if you're looking to save time and energy, pre-crushed pork rind breadcrumbs are now readily available!