Forgot to thaw the chicken? Don’t worry, you can make chicken parm using frozen chicken breasts.
One evening a couple of years ago I arrived home after a crazy day and discovered that I had forgotten to take the planned chicken breasts out of the freezer. I thought I had our dinner plans covered but it turned out that I did not.
So, I got the chicken breasts out of the freezer and tossed them onto a baking sheet and put them into the oven, with my fingers crossed. I really hoped that they would thaw and cook and not take forever.
Cooking Chicken Breasts From Frozen
To my surprise and delight, they were done in about 30 minutes. I used an instant read thermometer to make sure. Here is the method that I posted on my blog after that experience. It shows how to cook chicken breasts from frozen.
From that point on I started experimenting with different recipes that could be made with chicken breasts straight from the freezer. Today’s Frozen Chicken Parmesan is one of those. I know you’re going to love it for how delicious it is, but also for how convenient it is when you find yourself with frozen chicken breasts and no time to thaw them.
How To Make Chicken Parmesan With Frozen Chicken
First, get that oven heated to 425ºF and lightly oil a baking sheet. Since we can’t bread the frozen chicken, we’re going to mix up a seasoned topping instead. You’ll combine a tablespoon of oil along with panko breadcrumbs, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese.
Place your frozen chicken breasts in a single layer on the baking sheet and brush the top of each with some tomato sauce. Then, top each with one quarter of the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake until cooked through to 165°F as read on an instant-read thermometer, around 30-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and preheat broiler. Top each breast with more tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella. Broil until the cheese is melted, 2-3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
More Chicken Parmesan Variations
If you did happen to thaw your chicken in advance, I’ve got other methods for you. You can also use our Chicken Milanese recipe as the base for chicken parmesan. Plus, some non-chicken variations for fun!
Podcast Episode About Making Parmesan Chicken from Frozen Chicken Breasts
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
Frozen Chicken Parmesan
Forgot to thaw the chicken? Don’t worry, you can make chicken parm using frozen chicken breasts.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- cooking oil
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 medium frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts that were frozen individually and are not attached to each other now
- 1/3 cup tomato sauce, divided
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon cooking oil, Panko, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese.
- Place frozen chicken breasts in a single layer on prepared baking sheet and brush the top of each with 1 teaspoon of tomato sauce. Top each with one quarter of the breadcrumbs.
- Bake until cooked through to 165ºF, as read on an instant-read thermometer, 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Top each breast with 1 heaped tablespoon of tomato sauce and 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted, 2-3 minutes.
This post originally appeared in May 2017 and was revised and republished in August 2022.
Yum! My husband and son loved this! Just enough crunch, flavor, and yet not too dry!
And soooo easy! I may try substituting bottom of the bag crushed chips or other crunchy carb instead of panko. Our son plans to make this in college this fall. A winner!
Thank you so much, Linda! If you try other crunchy things in place of panko, let us know how it goes.
I think I missed something. I am confused. The recipie says to top the chicken with 1/4 of the panko but never mentions the other 3/4. When is that added?? I am hoping to make this tonight.
Sorry for the confusion, Sarah. The recipe says to top EACH of the chicken breasts with 1/4 of the panko. In other words, divide the panko evenly among the chicken breasts to top. Enjoy!
ARRGGH. What do I do with the rest of the bread crumbs? It says to top each piece with a quarter of the breadcrumbs. So I’m supposed to throw out 3/4?
Each of the four pieces of chicken get a quarter of the breadcrumbs, Emily. Another way to say that would be to divide the breadcrumbs evenly amongst the pieces of chicken, using it all.
Really tasty. And every ingredient is something I usually already have on hand.
Amazing recipe, I use it all the time.
Thank you so much!
Cook times are a little confusing, first it says 330-35 mins, then 30-40 mins, and then an extra 2-3 mins on broil. I just need to know which one i need to do?
So sorry for the confusion! Depending on the size of your chicken, it’ll take 30-40 minutes to cook through. I recommend using an instant read thermometer after 30 minutes to check. Then, an additional 2-3 minutes to broil the cheese. Enjoy!