Mayo Parmesan Chicken

This mayo parmesan chicken is a delicious chicken dish made with just 5 ingredients! All you have to do is mix mayo with grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian herbs, then spread it over chicken breasts and bake. It really doesn’t get easy easier! Prep time is literally 5 minutes!

Mayo works some kind of magic on the chicken as it comes out so tender and juicy it’s unbelievable. This recipe is also loved by kids and is easy to make for a crowd.

Ingredients

• I used chicken breasts for this recipe but you could also use chicken tenders, boneless chicken tights, or turkey breast/tenderloin. Chicken tenders will need a shorter baking time, chicken thighs or turkey breast/tenderloin – longer baking time (I would also reduce the temperature to maybe 375°F/190°C to not burn the mayo-cheese paste since they need to be baked longer than chicken breasts).
• grated Parmesan cheese (you can sub for Grana Padano or Pecorino)
• mayonnaise (real mayonnaise, I used Hellmann’s)
• garlic powder
• Italian herbs (you can sub for Herbes de Provence)

I’ve also seen some recipes calling for breadcrumbs or crushed crackers for this recipe. I’ve tried this out but I prefer the version without breadcrumbs – they tend to get a little bit soggy from the mayo paste.

You could also add some lemon zest to the mayo-cheese paste!

Some readers also mentioned that this recipe is delicious sprinkled with crispy bacon bits!

What does mayonnaise do to chicken? It makes it more moist and adds flavor, but the chicken won’t taste like mayonnaise!

How to make it step by step

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C / Gas Mark 7 (no fan, if you have a convection oven reduce the temperature by about 20° or follow the manufacturer’s instructions).

STEP 2: Pound the chicken breast in its thickest part slightly (it will bake more evenly). Don’t pound it too much – it should still resemble chicken breasts and not chicken cutlets.

Season with salt and pepper on both sides (be careful with salt, Parmesan cheese is already salty).

STEP 3: In a small bowl stir the mayo, grated cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder together.

STEP 4: Spread the mayo-cheese paste on the chicken, making sure it’s covered on all sides (spread more paste on top of the meat than on the bottom).

STEP 5: Bake for about 17-19 minutes depending on the size of the breasts.

If the cheesy crust is browning too much, you can cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.

How to know if the chicken is cooked: To be sure the chicken breasts are done, measure the internal temperature of the meat with a meat thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat – it should read 158°F/70°C (the safe temperature for poultry is 165°F/74°C, the meat should come to this temperature after the resting time). If you don’t have a thermometer just cut the meat in half in its thickest part – it should be white and not pink and the juices should run clear.

STEP 6: Let rest for 5-10 minutes then serve.

Enjoy!

What to serve it with

• I served it with these sour cream mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.
• Roasted butternut squash with cranberries, rosemary, pecans, and feta
• Green beans almondine
• Zucchini gratin (cheesy scalloped zucchini)
• Instant Pot Corn on the cob or Oven-roasted corn on the cob with herb and chili butter
• Baked ratatouille (confit byaldi)
• Roasted cauliflower
• Ricotta gnocchi

Storage

You can keep the chicken in the fridge for up to 2 days (in a tightly closed container). You can reheat it in an oven at 327F/160C until warm or steam it until warm.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!

Mayo Parmesan Chicken

Well-seasoned chicken breasts covered with a mixture of mayo, Parmesan, and herbs then baked in the oven. The meat comes out extremely moist, tender, and simply delicious!

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4.88 from 8 votes

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes minutes

Total Time 24 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Calories 416kcal

Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 chicken breasts
• ▢ ¼ cup mayo real mayonnaise (50g)
• ▢ ¼ cup (22g) grated Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbes de Provence
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ salt and pepper

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C / Gas Mark 7 (no fan, if you have a convection oven reduce the temperature by about 20° or follow the manufacturer's instructions).
• Pound the chicken breast in its thickest part slightly (it will bake more evenly). Don’t pound it too much – it should still resemble chicken breasts and not chicken cutlets. Season with salt and pepper on both sides (be careful with salt, Parmesan cheese is already salty).
• In a small bowl stir the mayo, grated cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder together.
• Spread the mayo-cheese paste on the chicken, making sure it’s covered on all sides (spread more paste on top of the meat).
• Bake for about 17-19 minutes depending on the size of the breasts. To be sure if they're done, measure the internal temperature of the meat with a meat thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat – the temperature should be 158°F/70°C (the safe temperature for poultry is 165°F/74°C, the meat should come to this temperature after the resting time).
• Let rest for 5-10 minutes then serve.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• This recipe can be easily doubled, triples etc.
• If the cheesy crust is browning too much, you can cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.
• Calories = 1 chicken breast/1 serving (1/2 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

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