Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
Make delicious Chicken Parmesan with your Air Fryer. Serves 4.
Every one favorite Italian dish, Chicken Parmesan, is super easily cooked in an air fryer, making it a super quick and easy meal. Using just 1 tbsp of butter for the entire recipe, this Chicken Parmesan has the taste and texture of a fried version without frying. Serve with pasta and a glass of red wine, and the night ends.
Ingredients:
Before knowing the process, let’s have a look at the ingredients.
● Egg:
Eggs are a rich source of protein. Eggs leaven, bind, coat, and emulsify the food. Eggs help to coat food with crumbs, as it allows ingredients to adhere.
Eggs are rich in nutrients. It fulfills the 40% of the daily requirement of vitamin D, 25% of the daily requirement of folate, 12% of the daily requirement of vitamin B2, and 20% of selenium. Being rich in vitamins (11 vitamins) and minerals, eggs are an easy way to intake nutrients. It is also among the ones that are sources of vitamin D. Eggs are also very economical and easy to make.
HDL (high-density lipoprotein ) level increases with the help of eggs as lower HDL levels can cause heart ailments. Eggs are a source of omega 3S, which helps in cell membrane works.
In this recipe, beaten eggs are used as a coating.
● Marinara sauce:
Marinara sauce is a blend of tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions and is widely used in Italian-American cuisines.
– Are tomato sauce and Marinara sauce the same?
Marinara sauce is a mixture of garlic, onion, basil, and red pepper. The marinara sauce tastes like fresh tomatoes and has a loose texture after wholly cooked.
Tomato sauce, on the other hand, is a mixture of tomato puree mixed with onion, carrot celery, and bay leaf. The taste is sweeter and complex.
– How to make Marinara sauce?
Place a medium-sized pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add diced onion and saute till soft, then stir in garlic for 1 minute till sweet-scented. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer partially covered for 15 minutes, and stir in chopped basil, and remove from heat.
In this recipe, Marinara sauce is used for toping.
● Italian Breadcrumbs:
Breadcrumbs are used for coating purposes. It provides a definite shape and avoids breaking the chicken piece. Breadcrumbs give a crispy texture and a golden brown color. Italian breadcrumbs are just ordinary breadcrumbs with Italian seasonings like oregano and basil. They also contain salt, pepper, parsley flakes, onion powder, and garlic.
Fresh breadcrumbs are best for topping as it gives crispy texture. It is a fantastic binder, therefore, can be used in meatloaf and stuffing recipes.
In this recipe, breadcrumbs are used for coating purposes.
Cut sides of bread and add in the food processor and grind them. Add parsley flakes, salt, black pepper powder, onion powder, garlic, oregano, basil, and breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix them thoroughly. Italian breadcrumbs are ready.
● Parmesan:
Parmesan cheese is a rich source of vitamins such as vitamin A, and Vitamin B6. Parmesan cheese has a considerable amount of protein and fats. One ounce of parmesan cheese contains 10g of protein.
Parmesan can be used in different ways, like sprinkling it on dishes, using it in your soup, or eating it as a snack. In this recipe, parmesan is mixed with breadcrumbs for coating.
● Mozzarella:
Mozzarella is a cheese that is soft with higher moisture content. It is originated initially in Italy. Mozzarella is made from Italian buffalo milk. After comparing Mozzarella with other cheese, it can be said that it is lower in sodium and calories than others. 1 ounce of Mozzarella has calories (85), protein (6g), fat (6g), carbs (1g), sodium (276mg i.e., 7% of the RDI), calcium ( 14% of the RDI).
Mozzarella contains probiotics, which are immunity boosters.
Mozzarella cheese can be added to many dishes and can be used for seasoning purposes.
In this recipe, Mozzarella is used for topping.
– Parmesan or Mozzarella?
Mozzarella cheese is made from cow’s milk. One low-fat mozzarella cheese stick has 80 calories, 7g protein, and 222mg calcium. Parmesan cheese has 333mg calcium that is almost 33% more than Mozzarella cheese.
If Parmesan cheese is replaced with Mozzarella cheese, it will bring out a different taste and texture because Mozzarella is very mild and barely has any taste.
● Chicken thighs:
Chicken thighs are very nutritious. It is rich in protein. 13.5 grams of protein can be found in 1 chicken thigh, or it can be calculated as 26 grams for every 100 grams. Chicken thigh is a rich source of protein as well as fat. If you are eating chicken thigh with the skin, you are consuming more fat than chicken breast.
Chicken, in general, is a rich source of protein, and if we calculate the percentage of protein in different cuts of cooked chicken, it will be like:
- Chicken breast: 54 grams in one breast, or 31 grams per 100 grams
- Chicken thigh: 13.5 grams in one thigh, or 26 grams per 100 grams
- Chicken drumstick: 12.4 grams in one drumstick, or 28.3 grams per 100 grams
- Chicken wings: 6.4 grams in one wing, or 30.5 grams per 100 grams
– Chicken breast or thigh?
Chicken breast and chicken thigh differ nutritionally. Chicken breast is undoubtedly the better part as it contains low fat and high protein than a chicken thigh.
If we talk about the flavor, chicken thigh has more votes. This is because it is also called dark meat, which is inherently more flavorable. As chicken thigh has more fat and fats are a significant source of flavor.
● Butter:
Butter is nutritionally rich. It has beneficial compounds such as butyrate and conjugated linoleic acid. It is high in calories and fat and is rich in vitamins A and E.
It also contains cancer-fighting properties, reduces fat, and improves the immunity system. Butter reduces the risk of obesity, heart ailments, and Diabetes. Butter decreases inflammations and helps in weight control.
● Cooking oil spray:
Cooking oil spray is essential as it prevents food from burning and sticking to the pan without making it greasy. Cooking oil spray is used as a lubricant, emulsifier, and lecithin.
In this recipe, cooking oil spray is sprayed to prevent the chicken from drying and sticking.
