Love Chicken Parmesan? This easy Tomato Parmesan Chicken gives you all of the flavor with none of the effort. Whips up in minutes and freezer friendly too!
My family loves Italian-style food, especially Chicken Parmesan. And while I love making them happy, what I don’t love is the time, effort, and mess involved in making the traditional breaded-then-fried-then-baked version. Not. Gonna. Happen. Because, as you probably already know by now, I much prefer simple meals that whip up fast and can be frozen ahead as part of a freezer cooking day.
Luckily this yummy and SUPER easy Tomato Parmesan Chicken gives us the best of both worlds. It’s the flavor my family loves with the convenience that I crave! And let me tell you, this recipe is a home run. No one will ever know you didn’t slave for hours! As always, you can use any type of chicken but my family much prefers the boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which are a darker, juicier meat and also tend to be cheaper than the boneless skinless breasts.
To see the full 10 Meals in an Hour Plan that this recipe is a part of, go HERE.
Here is what you need:
1 24 oz jar tomato/spaghetti sauce (like Ragu) (NOTE: the picture shows 2 jars but I only used 1) 2 15oz cans tomatoes, drained 1-1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese 1 cup mozzarella, shredded (optional) 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced 1/3 cup fresh parsley 3-4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, rinsed and dried.Step 1: Press or mince garlic and chop parsley.
Step 2: Combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, seasoning, parsley and garlic.
Step 3: OPTIONAL: If making as part of a freezer cooking day, remember to label your 2 gallon size freezer bags then divide chicken into 2 bags. Pour sauce over chicken.
Step 4: Thaw if frozen. Pour contents of bag into casserole dish, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese (optional) and bake, covered, at 425 degrees for approx for 35-45 minutes (time may vary based on size of chicken–be sure to check before eating!) Alternatively, you can cook in crock-pot for 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high (but we HIGHLY recommend using the oven–it gives it a much better flavor and texture!)
Thaw if frozen. Pour contents of bag into casserole dish, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese (optional) and bake, covered, at 425 degrees for approx for 35-45 minutes (time may vary based on size of chicken--be sure to check before eating!)
You can cook in crock-pot for 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high (but we HIGHLY recommend using the oven--it gives it a much better flavor and texture!)
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I made this last night and the flavors were very good but the sauce was too watery, even after being cooked uncovered. I froze half, and when I make that, I think I'll remove the chicken pieces and cook down the sauce a bit. Loved the mozzarella on top--not optional for me!
how long can you freeze food items with out them going bad? please advise.
i love your recipes
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! I used homemade tomato sauce and chicken breasts, and when cooked for 45 minutes, it was perfectly juicy. I actually made 150% of the recipe so we could eat dinner tonight and still have two freezer meals. Thanks for posting recipes that meet my meal criteria: freezer friendly, healthy, inexpensive, normal ingredients, and quick to prepare.
ive been making a version of this chicken dish for years . I find recipes to be merely guidelines and suggestions. Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm sorry so many were what I find as disrespectful . Ladies if you didn't like DONT make it again. But don't be so mean to this lady who took time from her day to share.
Now let me say when I make this I bread and brown the chicken first then add my other ingredients which are much like the recipe here. This seems o thicken the tomatoes and sauce helping it stick to the pasta. As for amounts of pasta and chicken it depends on how many I'm feeding. And BTW I rarely have leftovers to freeze.
What are thee calories on this please?
Ok- Final update. Sauce and cheese mixture was EXCELLENT. Chicken tasted rubbery and I ended up having to cook it for over an hour. Again- it was my mistake for not reading the entire recipe through…this should have been split in two. Also would have tasted great with bow tie pasta as seen in the picture, but it was nowhere in the recipe. I am going to make this again because the sauce was that tasty. Next time I will use the correct proportion of chicken and will serve it like the photo over some bow tie pasta.
This is cooking now and I can't wait to taste it. The only thing I am bummed about is I only realized just now that this was supposed to be divided into two as a freeze and eat later recipe. I crammed all the chicken and sauce into one little baking dish. Hopefully it will taste just as good, but might need more time?
Update- 40 minutes was not enough, but that is probably because i put too much chicken in one little pan. Going to keep it in the oven until cooked through. Other than that it looks good.
Thank you so much for updating this Ruth. I love your freezer cooking recipes and so does my family!!!!!
Do you have updated cooking directions for this recipe? Covered at 425 degrees F for 25-30 min wasn't nearly enough. The chicken was raw. I was using fresh chicken tenderloin strips and thighs from fresh, not frozen. And it came out very watery. 1 or 2 bags for freezing? I want to like this recipe, but it needs some clarifications. Thanks!
Hi Tammy, I'm so sorry for the confusion! I have updated the recipe so that hopefully it is much more clear for you and everyone else! :-)
I made this recipe for my husband and kids. I made the first meal in the slow cooker--I thought it gave the chicken a real stringy, mealy texture. None of us liked it that much. In the oven didn't have that much more flavor. We ended up sprinkling it with italian breadcrumbs and more mozzarella and putting it under the broiler to save it. But wasn't a huge fan. Wouldn't make again.
We're not huge fans of chicken in the slow cooker either Elizabeth--I highly recommend the oven version, but some readers really, really want slow cooker options! So sorry you were disappointed!