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Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

Parmesan Crusted Chicken is elevated to the next level with a creamy basil sauce. Looks fancy but is ridiculously easy to make. Impress your guests with this delicious meal!
Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce with a salad on the side on a black plate.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

Parmesan Crusted Chicken takes on a whole new flavor when topped with this creamy basil sauce. Whenever we are having company over for dinner for the first time, this recipe is right at the top of the “impress our guests” list! Tender chicken breasts are pan crusted with Italian bread crumbs, browned to perfection. The basil cream sauce is mixed with tons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and poured over the top. Serve with pasta and a green salad and you have a dinner your guests will be talking about!

Tips for the Perfect Parmesan Crusted Chicken

  • Thinner chicken breasts work best for this recipe. I always pound my chicken to about a quarter to a half inch thick. This ensures even cooking throughout without burning the outside crust.
  • Add your butter to a screaming hot pan. Make sure that pan is super hot before adding your chicken. This will give your chicken that nice golden crust on the outside.
  • You can also fry up your chicken in a little extra virgin olive oil.
  • After removing the chicken from the pan, de-glaze your pan with a little bit of chicken stock or broth. You want all those bits of browned crust for your sauce. YUM!
  • You can use fresh or dried basil in the sauce, either will work.
  • If you can, try to use freshly grated Parmesan cheese in the sauce. It melts beautifully and gives the sauce a nutty, salty flavor that pairs perfectly with the chicken.

What to Serve with Parmesan Crusted Chicken

A simple green salad and bread is delightful with this recipe, but try a few of our favorite side dishes for a show-stopping meal.

More Impress Your Guests Dinner Ideas

You can never go wrong with a good chicken dinner. From a busy weeknight to a weekend get together with friends or family, try our tried true Ten Best Chicken Recipes of 2019! Here are a few more meals that are guaranteed to impress your guests:

How to Make Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

 

5 from 3 votes
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Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

Prep Time:
20 mins
Cook Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
40 mins
 
Parmesan Crusted Chicken is elevated to the next level with a creamy basil sauce. Looks fancy but is ridiculously easy to make. Impress your guests with this delicious meal!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Servings: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS (with Amazon Links)
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Optional: I like to pound and flatten the chicken out a little so it cooks evenly throughout.

  2. Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. 

  3. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with crumbs. 

  4. In a skillet over medium heat cook chicken in butter until browned on both sides. 

  5. Remove chicken from skillet and keep in a 9x13 pan in the oven on warm.

  6. Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to loosen up browned bits from pan. 

  7. Stir in cream, basil, and pepper and bring to a boil. 

  8. Turn heat to low and whisk in parmesan cheese. 

  9. Pour sauce over the chicken and serve.

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Reader Interactions

61 Comments

  8. This looks delish! The cream sauce looks very elegant on top of the breaded chicken breast. This is a great dish to serve to company – I bet it would be impressive.

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  12. I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I didn't have whipping cream so I just used 1 cup of milk in the sauce. It tasted really good! I can just imagine how amazing it tastes made with whipping cream. I can't wait to make this again!

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  16. I subsstituted bread crumbs with ground pecans. I also used butter instead of the margarine. This was delicious. Everyone loved it. Will certainly make it again.

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  18. Have made this a few times with roaring success! Fantastic recipe. The only thing we do different is serve it over Fettuccine noodles. The sauce is phenomenal for it!

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  23. This is fantastic. I’ve made it probably three or four times now. I have to admit that adding garlic takes this to an entirely new place! So delicious.

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  25. I made this last night. In lieu of the whipping cream, I used greek yogurt (its pretty much my go-to substitution for any cream of any type) and i thought it was DELICIOUS that way. It probably doesnt have the same flavor as was intended with the original recipe but YUM! Rave reviews! Definitely making this again.

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  26. Oh, my stars. This is as wonderful and delicious as I thought it would be when I read the recipe. Such an elegant, yet easy dish. This is going into the regular dinner rotation.

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  29. Can’t wait to try the recipe, but can you please clarify if you cook the chicken all the way through in the skillet? The instructions say to just “brown it on both sides”. Thanks!

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    • Yes, the chicken cooks in the skillet and is just kept warm in the oven while you make the sauce. I like to place each chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper and pound with a mallet so the chicken breasts are all about the same thickness before I cook it in the skillet or fry pan. As you brown it on both sides on medium, the chicken will cook thoroughly. Thank you for your question and for visiting our site!

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  31. I made last night and topped fried chicken with sauce. It was great. Gravy (sauce) over fried chicken is an old Southern tradition and this is a nice alternative to chicken gravy. Next time I will try over boneless-skinless chicken thighs.

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  32. I added a teaspoon of flour to thicken it up. I also added chopped mushrooms to the sauce and boiled it for a few minutes to cook them. I served it with French green beans and some ‘sauce-dippin’ bread.’ Both the chicken and sauce were outstanding! My new boyfriend loved it! The best way to a man’s heart…LOL.

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  34. I’m going to make this tonight! I was wanting to make rice with the dish…would the sauce compliment it? It looks absolutely devine, but I’m sick of mashed potatoes right now haha!

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  35. This recipe is amazing! The chicken was so delicious. In fact, I made this for my family and they all loved it too. I will definitely make this again. Thank you so much for a great recipe.

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  36. Love this. I have made it a few times for friends and everyone has enjoyed it. Being a basil lover, I added some finely crushed dried basil to the bread crumbs. I also tried it over angel hair pasta that I added fresh chiffonade basil leaves to in the last minute of cooking…yum!

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  37. I just LOVE all of your recipes! I haven’t ever tried this one over the 7 years I’ve been stocking your site!! 😛 The sauce in the picture looks a little thin, is that true? If so, have you ever made it thicker? Would adding flour in the beginning be best? How much do you think I would need to make it a thick gravy? Thanks Erica!! Love you girls!

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    • Hi Sarah– Wow– 7 years! You have been following us almost since the beginning! Thank you for being a true, loyal follower! THANK YOU!!! 😀 You rock! We will keep doing our best to bring you yummy recipes for at least another 7 years 😉 Anyway, to answer your question– Yes, you can add a little flour to thicken or if it is too thin for your liking you can mix a little milk with some cornstarch and keep adding to the gravy until it thickens up more. Sometimes it comes out thinner for me, sometimes thicker– you just kind of have to mess with it to get it where you want it. Hope this helps! -Erica

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  39. This was REALLY good. The sauce was delicious, although a little on the thin side. It went a long way. We also used it as a dip for jo-jos and the day after, tossed the rest with some pasta. Thanks!

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  40. Just made this tonight and it was fabulous!!!! I will definitely be making it again and again and again!! Served it with brown rice and it was great! The sauce on the rice kicked it up a couple of notches. I was wishing the sauce was a little thicker but it doesn’t matter – it’s awesome!!! Thanks so much! Love it!!

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    • We are so glad you love this recipe! It is one of our all-time favorites!! Thank you so much for the 5-star rating! If you want the sauce to be thicker, you could simmer it for a bit longer or add more cheese to thicken!

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