As a food blogger, I am always thinking about food and different ways to prepare it. I never know when something will strike me. Sometimes, it only takes an image. That’s what happened when I decided I was going to make these Chicken Parmesan Sub Sandwiches.
I was going through my To-Try Recipe Binder and came across a glorious picture of chicken parmesan sandwiches. Seeing that picture, I could almost taste those sandwiches. I didn’t need to follow the recipe on the back of the card. I already had just the recipe made up in my head, starting with my usual chicken parmesan recipe.
Y’all these sandwiches were GOOD!
I mean they were even better than I imagined they would be. The gooey cheese crusted bread is slightly crispy…
And that sauce! That sauce oozes slowly out of the bread as you bite down into the crispy chicken.
Oh my goodness!!!
These chicken parmesan sandwiches are inspired by the classic Italian dish. Make the perfect hearty meal for your family, or you could cut them into smaller appetizer-size portions at your next party.
The Main Ingredients of these Sub Sandwiches
- Chicken: Thin fillets, pounded with a mallet.
- Breader: Breadcrumbs, herbs, and spices binded with egg.
- Tomato Sauce: a quick homemade sauce using the recipe below or use your own.
- Cheese: Mozarella and freshly grated parmesan.
- Sub Rolls: fresh toasted sub rolls.
How to Make Chicken Parmesan Sub Sandwiches
Prepare the Chicken for Batter:
- You can buy chicken already pre-sliced into thin pieces. It is cheaper to buy whole breasts and fillet them yourself. Once you have the fillets, cut them into smaller pieces. It makes them easier to fit onto the sandwiches. Pound out chicken to ¼-inch thickness using a mallet.
Batter the Chicken:
- Combine bread crumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan, oregano, basil, and cayenne in a small bowl. Mix with a whisk to blend the spices and cheese evenly into the breadcrumbs. Pour the breadcrumb mixture into a shallow plate or pie pan.
- Coat each chicken cutlet in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Then dip the flour-coated chicken into the beaten egg; coat well. Next, dip the cutlet into the bread crumb mixture.
- Place the coated chicken on a platter or plate. Let the chicken sit for at least ten minutes in the refrigerator. This allows the batter to adhere to the chicken better and keeps so much from flaking off, making it easier to fry.
Prepare the Sauce:
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, over low heat, whisk to combine the tomato sauce ingredients; warm through.
Fry the Chicken Parmesan:
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, carefully add the battered chicken to the pan, cooking 2 to 3 pieces at a time (do not overcrowd the pan). Cook until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Place them on a paper towel on a plate to allow excess oil to drain.
Prepare the Chicken for Broiling:
Preheat the broiler. Line a broiler-proof baking pan with aluminum foil. Lay the cooked chicken cutlets out on the pan (not touching). Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce onto each chicken cutlet.
Add about two tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella, then top with about 1 teaspoon of the parmesan cheese.
Broil the Chicken:
Place under the broiler until the cheese has browned and is hot and bubbling, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Prepare the Sub Rolls:
Slice the sandwich rolls in half horizontally. Place the rolls cut side up onto a separate baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
When the chicken is done, slide the pan out of the oven to cool; slide the pan of rolls under to broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted and started to brown.
(Be careful to watch the edges of the bread. They tend to brown a little faster than the cheese.)
Build and Serve!
Remove the rolls from the oven, top the bottoms with chicken, the remaining sauce, and the other half of the rolls. Serve immediately.
JUST LOOK AT THAT SAMMICH!
Sharing this recipe and relieving these moments in the kitchen makes me crave one of these chicken parmesan sub sandwiches. I love chicken parmesan and will be forever torn whether to eat it traditional with a side order of spaghetti or on a warm cheesy bun.
Decisions… Decisions…
See ya on the mountain!
I am happy to share this recipe for chicken parmesan sub sandwiches over at Fiesta Friday. Come on over and join in on the fun!!
Chicken Parmesan Sub Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless-skinless chicken breast cut into fillet cutlets
- 1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs
- ½ cup parmesan freshly grated (divided)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup all-purpose flour on a shallow plate
- 2 eggs lightly beaten, in a pie plate
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups prepared tomato sauce use your favorite or use the recipe to follow
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded
- 4 small 6-inch sub rolls split
Tomato Sauce
- 28 ounce can tomato sauce
- 10 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken
- Pound out the chicken cutlets to ¼-inch thickness using a mallet.*
- Combine bread crumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan, oregano, basil and cayenne in a small bowl. Mix with a whisk to blend the spices and cheese evenly into the breadcrumbs. Pour the breadcrumb mixture into a shallow plate or pie pan.
- Coat each chicken cutlet in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Then dip the flour coated chicken into the beaten egg; coat well. Next, dip the cutlet into the breadcrumb mixture. Place the coated chicken on a platter or plate. Let the chicken sit for at least ten minutes, in the refrigerator.**
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, over low heat, whisk to combine the tomato sauce ingredients; warm through.
- Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, carefully add the battered chicken to the pan, cooking 2 to 3 pieces at a time (do not overcrowd the pan). Cook until golden on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Place them on a paper towel in a plate to allow excess oil to drain.
- Preheat the broiler.
- Line a broiler-proof baking pan with aluminum foil. Lay the cooked chicken cutlets out on the pan (not touching). Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce onto each chicken cutlet. Add about two tablespoons of the shredded mozzarella, then top with about 1 teaspoon of the parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese has browned and is hot and bubbling, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Slice the sandwich rolls in half horizontally. Place the rolls cut side up onto a separate baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. When the chicken is done, slide the pan out of the oven to cool; slide the pan of rolls under to broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted and started to brown.***
- Remove the rolls from the oven, top the bottoms with chicken, remaining sauce and the other half of the rolls.Serve immediately.
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Oh Yum-Have a great weekend!!! Cheryl xx
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Cheryl. You too!! 🙂
Linda says
Delicious!! Thanks for bringing this to Fiesta Friday 🙂 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Linda! Have a great weekend!
Sarah says
Oh my word! Those look incredible! Drooling 🙂
Debbie says
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! One of my faves, chicken Parmesan either way! Can’t wait to try out your recipe!! Yumzers!
Colleen says
All right, once again you’re reminding me that I really need to start doing a recipe re-do each month, where I take a recipe I love and make it my own. I love your recipe, and already have tons of ideas flying around inside of my head! Darn you!!! I’m trying to procrastinate over here and you’re making it very difficult!
The Mountain Kitchen says
I’m sorry! Wanna write my rib post? I don’t like em…lol!
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says
These sound like a perfect lunch for me! Send me some? 😀