Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Old school casseroles have like… four ingredients in them…. with potato chips on top. The occasional cornflake topping made an appearance if mother decided father needed to watch his cholesterol. That also meant no pancakes with syrup and butter for breakfast either. Either way you choose, these old school casseroles.. they’re delicious. Like, I-want-to-go-back-for-seconds delicious. It’s weird. Thanksgiving is next week and I can say I’m 99% positive there will be a casserole with cornflakes on top at our gathering. And I’ll throw in the other one percent to say I will be having some of it. I, however, won’t bet on what the actual ingredients are, but it will be delicious- guaranteed.

So, here is my retro four ingredient casserole.. Ok, so not exactly fouuurrr ingredients, but comparative to some of my recipes, this one has a right to claim that number. Sometimes I just love me some bomb-diggity comfort food, and a casserole, no matter what the ingredients, has ‘bomb-diggity’ written all over it.

I saw this recipe on Pinterest with 1834449264 ‘repins‘.

Huh.

I guess I could try that. It had bomb-diggity potential. This one in particular had no potato chips, no cornflakes, but.. wait for it.. croutons on top- a whole bag.

Huh (again).

Well.. Maybe I’ll skip out on the croutons. After all- this dietitian says the phrase ‘refrain from over-doing it with high calorie salad bar items like olives, croutons, eggs, and cheese...’ about 40 times a day. Just practicing what I preach, people. Plus, the Fireman really doesn’t enjoy croutons on his salad- much less as a topping for his chicken concoction something or other. But, croutons are delicious. I refrain when I can. 80/20 rule. If you don’t know what that is, we can talk later.

Back to my casserole. It tasteslike dinner. Dinner tastes delicious.

Especially my casserole in a fancy dish that can go from freezer to oven to dishwasher and back again.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

INGREDIENTS
Cooking Spray
4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) jar tomato basil or marinara pasta sauce
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, rough chopped
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) 2% Italian blend shredded cheese, divided
3/4 cup Italian style panko breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. Place each chicken breast between two pieces of parchment paper and pound with a meat mallet or heavy spoon to 1/4-inch thickness.

Arrange chicken breast in a single layer along the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, black pepper, and garlic. Spread pasta sauce evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil, 3/4 cup Italian cheese, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

In a medium sized bowl, combine melted butter, panko, and remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over entire baking dish. Place in preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes, until bubbly along the sides. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup Italian cheese. Return dish to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes to allow for cheese with melt.

Garnish with additional fresh basil if desired.

Nutrition Information

Serves 6

Calories: 341

Fat: 15 g

Carbohydrate: 23 g

Fiber: 4 g

Protein: 28 g