Light and Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside this parmesan crusted chicken is a must try! It’s made in under 10 minutes and is low-carb and keto at only 1 carb per serving!!
Winner winner chicken dinner! This crispy parmesan chicken is a favorite in our home because of how crispy and flavorful it is. The kids love it on pasta and I enjoy it on a salad. It tastes like something you would order from a fine Italian restaurant without the expenses price tag.
The secret to the delicious “Italian” flavor, crispy crust and gorgeous color is (obviously) parmesan cheese. The cheese adheres to the chicken and when melted in the pan, gives the chicken a beautiful golden and crispy crust that is to die for. 
What you will need for Keto Parmesan Crusted Chicken
To get started you will need just a few basic ingredients and a little patience. Here’s what you’ll need
Parmesan cheese: please skip the pre-grated dr parmesan (aka the sandy stuff) since that type of parmesan will not work as well with this recipe. It will yield a thin crust (similar to Italian breadcrumbs). For this gorgeous golden crust, you will want to get your hands on some freshly grated parmesan or the store-bought kind that is grated into little strips (see photo above).
Almond flour: Almond flour helps coat the chicken and cover any missed spots the parmesan didn’t cover. This is a low carb alternative and great if you are on the keto diet. If you’d like a super crispy crust, opt-in for panko breadcrumbs (note, they are not low-carb).
Chicken breasts: This recipe will not work with another cut of chicken as chicken breasts are flat and cook quickly. The chicken breasts are sliced in half horizontally to make them thinner and cook quickly. Slicing them in half also helps the parmesan and almond flour stick to the chicken. If the chicken breast is super thick, I’d go ahead and slice it into 3 slices if you can.
Seasoning: This is where you can get really creative and make this recipe your own. Since this recipe has lots of parmesan cheese, I like to stick with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt & pepper. A dash of red chili flakes is great too. Adding a teaspoon Cajun, taco, or your favorite seasoning will also work!
The next step is cooking the chicken. You can cook it in olive oil, butter or a mixture of both. Alternatively, you can opt-in for your favorite type of oil for cooking.
Since the chicken breasts are coated with parmesan, you will need a non-stick skillet. Please don’t skip this step because you will risk the chicken sticking to the pan. 
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts, 2-3 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or seasoning of choice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 cup grated or zested parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup almond flour, or panko breadcrumbs*
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, or butter or oil of choice
Instructions
- Lay the chicken breasts out on a cutting board and cut in half horizontally. Generously season with Italian seasoning (or seasoning of choice), garlic powder, salt, and pepper; Set aside.
- Combine the parmesan cheese and almond flour in a medium shallow bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Dip the chicken breasts into the egg mixture then into the parmesan mixture. shake off the excess breading. Repeat until all the chicken cutlets are covered.
- Heat oil or butter in a large NON-STICK heavy duty pan. Add chicken cutlets in a single layer and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, until golden and crispy. Be sure not to flip until the parmesan is golden on the first side or it will slide off. Repeat with remaining chicken cutlets.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to serve/ side options
There are so so many ways you can serve this chicken and it all depends on your preference and the type of diet your on.
If you’re not on a low-carb diet: This chicken goes great in a melt, in a wrap, on mashed potatoes or rice.
For keto/low-carb diets: Serve on a salad, with a side of cauliflower mash, steamed veggies, or with dipping sauces.
Keto sides options:
Made this for dinner tonight, was delicious. Will definitely be a menu item often.
Used almond flour and was very good. Used avocado oil , browned very good.
Made this today. Was delicious! I did sub coconut flour and increase herbs. It is a little tricky to not lose breading but as I often made this with parm and breadcrumbs I allready knew to make sure to keep pan very wet.
I’ve made this recipe several times before as written, and it’s always come out absolutely delicious! I went to make it today, and realized I was out of Italian seasoning, so subbed lemon pepper. Equally delicious! Thank you for your fantastic recipes, haven’t come across one yet that wasn’t a hit!
This was delicious! Perfectly crispy and tender on the inside. My husband said this chicken is “money” 😂 This is a keeper for sure. Also, my daughter follows the SCD diet for keeping her Crohn’s disease in check and this falls right in line with her diet.
Something keto friendly I can use instead of almond flour. Impact environmentally of almond growing puts me off along with just the “hog at the trough” it is for low carbers/keto folks.. Flax meal? At almost 74 am escaping a lifetime of self-abuse food wise
.Feel better, even with some non-life threatening issues, than I have in years. Because of respiratory disease my hubby and I were hermits during the pandemic. We live on Social Security alone around poverty level. I gained weight to heaviest ever baking “healthy” whole grain breads over the winter. To my shock I discovered. those healthy breads did not agree with my blood glucose. Studied nutrition for some 15 years. Thank goodness I did not totally ruin my pancreas. My Mom and two sisters who had rare heart disease also had diabetes. The heart disease came first. So thankful we live in an age that we have resources such as this to help us. 20 lbs in two months and so much fat. Had just reached level considered “obese”. Very active all my life. Reactive hypoglycemic. Insulin resistance. So sorry for all the morbidly obese young people I see in this rural southern community. God bless you and thank you for your help. PS hubby has degree in environmental biology . Future of water supply and purity important to him.
I made this using chicken tenders and baked it in the oven. My daughter and I loved it, will definitely make it again
How long and what temperature did you bake it for?
medium heat for 5-6 minutes per side. Hope that helps!
my husband is doing keto and I am trying to eat better so I gave this a try he said it was pretty good I loved it. It will definitely be added to my recipes.. thanks
Cooked this in the airfryer and it was gorgeous. Thanks for the recipe.
Love air frying!
Hello Mo,
I try to stay away from frying but really want to try this recipe. Would you please answer the following for me so I can see how to make this
Did you precook the chicken at all ?
How long would you say you cooked it in the air fryer?
Did you spray the air fryer with an oil of any type?
Can this be made with chicken breasts that have already been cooked in the instant pot?
I haven’t tried this recipe with pre-cooked chicken so I don’t know how it would turn out. Sorry!
We used panko breadcrumbs and these were awesome!
I followed this recipe as written and it was perfect! My only change was using some spicy Creole seasoning instead of the Italian herbs. I had a large pack of breasts so I had to double the dry mix. This recipe is perfect for a quick and EASY weeknight keto dinner that the whole family will enjoy. One issue – not related to the chicken… I don’t see dates on the comments that are posted for this recipe, only the time of the posting shows. This is the only issue with this whole recipe! 😉 Thanks for sharing this one.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I thought I had breasts, but they were thighs so no cutting. These were delicious and simple to make.
We just finished dinner and it was absolutely delicious. Followed the recipe exactly and it was so easy served it with roasted broccoli, my husband loved it will definitely make again 😊👍
Glad to hear!
Hi! Can I use this recipe for shrimp?
I have never used this recipe for shrimps so I can’t say but I would imagine you would need more oil in order to deep fry them.
Cooked this last night for dinner with roasted veggies.
I used breadcrumbs. Almond Flour being expensive.
We will be having this again as it made a lovely tasty meal.
Thank you
Made this for dinner and it was so delicious! I made it exactly as you wrote it and mine even looked as good as yours lol! Will definitely make this again and again, thanks for posting this recipe!,
I am so disappointed – I saw this recipe and thought it looked drool worthy, couldn’t wait to make it. I attempted, but wow, I did something wrong, like comically wrong. I tried this in batches (not the best chef, I’ve tried enough recipes and done something incorrectly, wasting a lot of food). The first batch with egg – it ended up like chicken wrapped in a puffy omelette. Yuck. Second batch – I attempted with olive oil instead of egg, and it was a little better (as in no omelette), but the parmesan crust kind of burned/fell off. The last/final batch, where I used more olive oil, ended up ok-ish, getting closer to what I think the recipe was supposed to taste like. I’m curious if you have any ideas what I did wrong? Because this looks awesome and even the third batch does not look close to what you pictured.. I’ll keep experimenting..
I’m not sure what went wrong. I would advise you to try the recipe as written and see how it goes! 🙂
Instead of egg, I usually coat with mayo or sour cream. I just put it on the. top and then kind of spoon the toppings on and bake though….not a fan of pan frying–the greasy clean up is no joke.
Are you following the directions carefully? First you season the chicken, then dip it in the egg, then dip it in the almond four and Parmesan mixture. The oil should be in the pan and heated up. Then gently put the prepared chicken in the hot oil to brown. Don’t try to turn it over too quickly. Let the bottom get brown then flip to cook the other side. Keep trying!
Bear way to reheat and keep the ciphers
Kathleen
Can you cook this in the oven?
Could you air fry
Yes, they will work in the air fryer but won’t be as crispy.
With the flour and egg I had left over I combined the two and made two small delicious pancakes to go with the delicious chicken breasts
Since you are slicing the chicken breast in half, is a serving both halves? Or is it just half a chicken breast?
Yes, but it would depend on the size of your breast. The serving size is 1/4 pound so that’s about 1/2 half a large breast OR 1 whole small chicken breast.
This is absolutely delicious and I’d give it 10 stars if I could! Bonus is that it’s quick and easy to make. My husband loved it too and he isn’t crazy for chicken usually. I’ve made this several times and it’s always turned out great. Sometimes I’ll slice a zucchini in half, then half-inch chunks, and saute that in the same pan (after removing the chicken) so it’s flavored with the butter/oil/crispy bits left over. Definitely a winner, thanks so much!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this review, Amanda! I’m sooo happy you and your husband enjoyed the chicken!!
Could coconut flour be used instead of almond? I have a nut allergy
Coconut is classified as a tree nut
I love this dish, I make spaghetti squash with mine, perfect keto meal. With a salad and keto garlic breadsticks. My husband loves it.
At what temperature or number are you cooking g the chicken breasts in the stovetop at ? I know you say 5 to 6 mins a side but at what temperature or number on the stove dial ?
Medium-high so it would be about 5-6 depending on the type of stove you have!
Absolutely amazing! I didnt have parmesan on hand so used grated cheddar. It’s now a favorite in my house! Keto or not, this is the perfect crispy chicken!
Cheddar sounds like a great substitute!!
My kids love this parm chicken!! Quick and easy and always delicious!! I could make it every week and they would ask for more!
We lOved thIs!! I’ve nOt Had success feying keto PARMESAN chicken so i baked this—perfect! THank you fOr a great chicken recipe!!
Do you think this would taste good with coconut flour instead of almond flour? My husband bought a huge bag we’re trying to use up.
Delish! I had bOUGht some chicken cutlets and was looking for a way to make keto parm cutlets…. served it with fermented broccoli, sauteed rice cauliflower and Rao’s marinara for a keto meal. Thanks for the recipe☺️
Love all the rEcipes Here! Excites fir dinner tonight 😬
Made this tonight and omg! was this ever delish. I make this other dish very
similar, with panko and parm cheese. Of course that’s not keto, so this is better. I
still get to have my chicken and eat it to lol!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the 5-star review, Terry! So happy you enjoyed my version of crispy keto chicken!!
Hi there is the serving size ( calories ) For the crispY parm chicken breast 1whole chicken breast oR 1/2 of the chickeN breast?
Thanks
Followed the recipe except I did Top the chicken with salsa and mozzarella And BRoilled.. AWESOME!! Definitely a keeper.
this was amazing! Didn’t even use tHe almond flour. Served it wiTh bruschetta topping. So delish!!
i follow this recipe my family loved the dish it was a great hit
thank you
This is a wonderful dish that even the pickiest of eaters will gobble down. you could make it as tenders or nuggets as well. a new staple in our house
I’m going to use this recipe for chicken parm. Sauce and topped with mozzerella.
Thank you.
Looks awesoSOME!! I am always looking for a good crispy chicken recipe so will have to give this a try – Lots of parm certainly won’t hurt:-).
Yass!! enjoy! <3
There is no unit of measurement FOR THE ALMOND FLOUR. IS IT 1/2 CUP?
Yes, it’s 1/2 cup! 🙂