This healthy One Pan Chicken Parmesan (Weight Watchers) is quick, easy, delicious, and Weight Watchers friendly! And you don't have to be following the ww program or even a low-calorie diet to love this easy chicken parmesan! WW is simply healthy eating, and no one will ever suspect it's Weight Watchers approved (my teenage kids/recipe testers didn't know)!
This Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan is popular all year long and makes a great, easy dinner for weeknights or Sunday dinner because it only takes 30 minutes! And sheet pan dinners mean fewer dishes and easy clean up! During the summer, you can easily make this recipe in the air fryer. It pairs perfectly with these Air Fyer Carrot Fries!
🍒Reader Review
"Made this for dinner tonight, it was really good. Love easy recipes like this one!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jump to:
- 🍒Reader Review
- 🥘Ingredient Notes
- 📖Variations & Substitutions
- Top Tip
- 🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan
- Expert Recipe Tips
- 🥗 What to Serve with WW Chicken Parmesan
- 🍽Equipment
- 🌡️Storage
- 👪 Serving Size
- 🔢WW Points
- ❔ Recipe FAQs
- 📋 More Sheet Pan Meals
- 📋 Healthy One Pan Chicken Parmesan recipe
🥘Ingredient Notes
Because this recipe is baked in the oven, you don't need olive oil! You will need the following simple ingredients for this Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan recipe:
- Bread crumbs. I use fine bread crumbs.
- Parmesan cheese. You can use fresh or packaged Parmesan Cheese. Use low-fat or fat-free to bring down the weight watchers points.
- Pasta sauce. Classico brand has no added sugar and tastes great! The tomato and basil is 1 ww point for a ½ cup!
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Pasta sauce- use your favorite store-bought pasta sauce or marinara sauce, tomato sauce, or homemade marinara sauce.
- Breadcrumbs- you could use panko bread crumbs instead or use ww bread to make your own lower point breadcrumbs
- Chicken - you can use frozen or fresh chicken breast or use chicken cutlets (chicken cutlets will require less cooking time),
- Mozzarella cheese- you could use Provolone cheese instead
- Parsley- you could use other fresh herbs instead (such as fresh basil or cilantro)
- Add-ins - you could add some Italian seasoning to the breadcrumb mixture
Top Tip
The biggest variance in this recipe will be the thickness and size of your chicken breasts. While the typical time for a chicken breast cooked at 400 degrees F/ 204 degrees C is about 20 minutes, not all pieces of chicken are equal sized. You can see I used pretty large chicken breasts, but if you are using smaller chicken breasts, you may need less time. Just keep an eye on it and always check the internal temperature to ensure it's done!
🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan
Many recipes out there require that you cook the chicken, then remove it and add the pasta sauce and mozzarella. Then you put it back in the oven again. I tried this and did not find that it made any difference- you still get crispy chicken, without the extra step.
Prep: Spray sheet pan with nonstick spray or line with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C.
Mix breads crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parmesan together in a shallow dish.
Whisk eggs together in a separate bowl.
Dip each piece of chicken breast in egg mixture.
Then dip egg-coated pieces of chicken in dry bread crumb mixture.
Place breaded chicken on a prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
Add 2-3 tablespoon of pasta sauce (depending on the size of the chicken breast)
Then add shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees F/ 204 degrees C for 18-20 minutes (approximately) until chicken is golden brown on edges.
Turn oven up to 500 degrees F / C broil and cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbly - be sure to watch carefully!
Check for doneness with an instant-read thermometer- the internal temperature should be 165 degrees F/74 degrees C
Garnish with fresh parsley over the melted mozzarella, if desired.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Pound the chicken evenly: If your chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them to an even size before breading. This helps them cook at the same rate and prevents dry or undercooked spots.
- Use a wire rack for crispiness: If you want extra-crispy breading, place the chicken on a wire rack set over your baking sheet so heat circulates all around.
- Don't overload with sauce: Stick to just 2-3 tablespoons of pasta sauce per breast. Adding too much can make the breading soggy instead of keeping it crunchy.
- Shred cheese yourself: Pre-shredded mozzarella often has added starches that prevent it from melting smoothly. For best results, grate a block of mozzarella.
- Finish under the broiler: Broiling for 1-2 minutes at the end gives you that bubbly, golden cheese topping-just watch closely so it doesn't burn.
- Check with a thermometer: Chicken is done at 165°F (74°C). Using an instant-read thermometer avoids overcooking and ensures juicy, tender meat.
- Rest before serving: Let the chicken sit for 3-5 minutes after baking. This keeps the juices inside the meat and helps the coating stay intact when sliced.
- Add fresh herbs at the end: Parsley, basil, or oregano sprinkled over the finished dish adds brightness and balances the richness of the cheese.
🥗 What to Serve with WW Chicken Parmesan
To keep it lighter, serve this chicken with sides cloud bread, Strawberry Spinach Pecan Salad, or Skinny Coleslaw (shown below) !
🍽Equipment
My most highly recommended piece of equipment (if you don't already have one) is an instant thermometer. It will ensure you have properly cooked (and not overcooked) food every time! Chicken for one is really easy to overcook, which makes it very dry and unpalatable. And instant-read thermometers are great for so much more than meat! I use my Thermapen for everything from baking pie and bread to eggs, casseroles, candy making, and more!
*See recipe card for equipment recommendation links and photos.
🌡️Storage
Store leftover chicken parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
This Healthy Parmesan Chicken recipe freezes well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
👪 Serving Size
This Baked Chicken Parmesan recipe makes 4 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
According to the ww app, this ww chicken parmesan recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 6 weight watchers points, whereas classic chicken parmesan can be up to 24 points! However, you can further reduce the points by using lighter bread and making bread crumbs, using less mozzarella cheese, and fat-free parmesan. Be sure to use a light pasta sauce, such as Classico Tomato and Basil, which is 1 ww point per ½ cup. These changes would bring it down at least a couple of points, depending on the type of bread you use.
❔ Recipe FAQs
What is the difference between Chicken Parmigiana and Chicken Parmesan?
They are essentially the same dish, but there are some variations, depending on where you order it from. Chicken Parmesan can include different toppings (usually ham or bacon), and the type of cheese used can vary.
Yes! You can fully bake the chicken, let it cool, and store it in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat it in the oven at 350°F until warmed through to maintain the crispiness. If you prefer, you can also bread the chicken in advance and refrigerate it (uncooked) for up to 24 hours before baking.
Yes, you can substitute the eggs with milk or a mixture of milk and a little Dijon mustard for dipping before coating in the breadcrumbs.
If you are looking for ww chicken parmesan recipes, and a meal the whole family will love, give this Healthier Chicken Parmesan a try! And if you are interested in additional easy chicken recipes try my Baked Chicken Cacciatore recipe.
📋 More Sheet Pan Meals
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📋 Healthy One Pan Chicken Parmesan recipe
Ingredients
- 4 uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- ¾ tablespoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup pasta sauce (2-3 tablespoon per chicken breast)
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Spray sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray and preheat oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C.
- Mix garlic powder, breads crumbs, salt pepper and parmesan together.¾ cup bread crumbs, ¾ tablespoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Whisk eggs together in a separate bowl.2 eggs
- Dip chicken in eggs.4 uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Then dip chicken in bread crumb mixture.
- Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of pasta sauce to each chicken breast.½ cup pasta sauce
- Then add the grated mozzarella, dividing evenly by all 4 chicken breasts.¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Bake at 400 degrees F/ 204 degrees C for 18-20 minutes (approximately) or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F/74 degrees C.
- Turn oven up to 500 degrees F /260 degrees C broil and cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbly - watch carefully to ensure it doesn't burn.Garnish with fresh parsley (or other fresh herbs)
Notes
-
- Pound the chicken evenly: If your chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound them to an even size before breading. This helps them cook at the same rate and prevents dry or undercooked spots.
-
- Use a wire rack for crispiness: If you want extra-crispy breading, place the chicken on a wire rack set over your baking sheet so heat circulates all around.
-
- Don't overload with sauce: Stick to just 2-3 tablespoons of pasta sauce per breast. Adding too much can make the breading soggy instead of keeping it crunchy.
-
- Shred cheese yourself: Pre-shredded mozzarella often has added starches that prevent it from melting smoothly. For best results, grate a block of mozzarella.
-
- Finish under the broiler: Broiling for 1-2 minutes at the end gives you that bubbly, golden cheese topping-just watch closely so it doesn't burn.
-
- Check with a thermometer: Chicken is done at 165°F (74°C). Using an instant-read thermometer avoids overcooking and ensures juicy, tender meat.
-
- Rest before serving: Let the chicken sit for 3-5 minutes after baking. This keeps the juices inside the meat and helps the coating stay intact when sliced.
-
- Add fresh herbs at the end: Parsley, basil, or oregano sprinkled over the finished dish adds brightness and balances the richness of the cheese.
Edith
Made this for dinner tonight, it was really good. Love easy recipes like this one.
Terri Gilson
Glad you loved it! 🙂