Chicken Parm and Spaghetti
After finally mustering up the nerve to try eggplant parmesan for the first time earlier this year, I figured it was time to truly test my skills and create a chicken parmesan and spaghetti dinner that is easy enough for all of the FF community to make! This is a dish I know so many of us love but rarely make due to intimidation or feeling like we have no idea what to do (I can’t be alone in that, right?). This dish definitely requires some additional steps when it comes to the breading and frying of the chicken and isn’t the quickest one on my website, but it is still totally manageable and holy hell is it worth it.
When Joe and I discuss potential future “food traditions” for our family, we had the idea of designating certain nights for certain food groups / themes. No surprise, Sunday night has been decided as our Italian-inspired comfort food and pasta night. To me, nothing says this like a big plate of chicken parm and spaghetti. Safe to say we were both incredibly pleased with this outcome and it will absolutely be a part of our future weekly rotation.
I want to note that in this recipe I don’t use a ton of spices or seasonings because I was using a very flavorful tomato sauce (my favorite, this spicy one). If you are using a bland-ish tomato sauce be sure to up the spices and seasonings to guarantee a delicious dinner.
Chicken Parm and Spaghetti
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts (3) – boneless and skinless
- Eggs (2)
- Spinach (1 cup)
- Ricotta cheese (1/2 cup)
- Shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
- Spaghetti (1 box)
- Almond flour (2 cups)
- Avocado oil (2 tbsps)
- Tomato sauce (2 cups)
- Red pepper flakes (2 tsp)
- Salt (2 tsp)
- Oregano (2 tsp)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Mix the 2 cups of almond flour and 1tsp each of oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt on a plate and set aside
- Whisk the 2 eggs together in a bowl and set aside
- Butterfly the chicken breasts so that each one becomes two thinner pieces
- Dip each piece of chicken in the egg wash and then place each side in the plate of the almond flour mixture and then back into the egg wash and back into the almond flour mixture and then set aside
- Repeat with all the pieces of chicken so that they are all coated in the egg and flour combination
- In a baking dish, layer down ¼ cup of tomato sauce and spread evenly across the bottom
- On a hot skillet, add 2 tbsps of avocado oil
- Place the chicken on the skillet, without overcrowding the pan so this should take a few separate rounds, and cook on each side for ~5 minutes on medium-high heat, or until they are browned
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and place alongside one and other in the baking dish on top of the tomato sauce
- Once all of the chicken have been crisped on both sides and are in the cooking dish, pour 1 cup of tomato sauce on top of the chicken and evenly distribute so that all the chicken is covered
- Top the sauce with ½ cup of ricotta and evenly distribute
- Place the dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes
- While the chicken parm is baking, bring water to a boil and make your spaghetti
- Once the spaghetti is cooked to your liking, strain the water out of the pot but be sure to leave around ¼ cup of cooking pasta water in the pot with the pasta
- Add ¾ cup of pasta sauce, 1 cup of spinach, and ¼ cup of mozzarella into the pot and stir over low heat until the sauce has coated the pasta, the cheese has melted, and the spinach has wilted
- Remove the chicken parm from the oven and evenly top with ¾ cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Place the dish back in the oven on broil for ~5 minutes (every oven is different so be sure to watch yours), or until the cheese on top is browned
- Remove from the oven and top with 1tsp each of red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt
- Serve alongside the spaghetti and enjoy!
- Gluten Free (depending on pasta chosen)
- Nut Free
- Soy Free