Known as Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chicken, Mayo Parmesan Chicken is oven-baked, skinless boneless chicken breasts coated with garlic, Parmesan, mayonnaise, and a sprinkle of Panko bread crumbs. A fast and easy-to-make recipe that's crunchy, moist, and tender baked mayo chicken breasts for a perfect weeknight dinner.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken breasts
Mayonnaise
Parmesan cheese
Italian Panko bread crumbs
Pantry ingredients—seasoning salt, garlic powder, black pepper
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Featured comment from Katherine:
"Five-stars. This recipe has been a go-to since you first posted it. Comes out melt-in-your-mouth perfect every time!"
You can never have too many great chicken recipes; this one has everything. It's extraordinarily moist, has a great taste of Parmesan, and a slight crunchiness. Plus, it has a skill level of 2/10. Anybody can handle this easy dinner recipe.
Sometimes called "melt-in-your-mouth" chicken, this baked garlic Parmesan chicken is perfect for a healthy low-calorie. And since it is a lightly breaded, it is also a great low-carb chicken recipe.
👨🍳How to Make Mayo Parmesan Chicken
Preheat the oven to 375° convection or 400° for a regular oven. Trim and pat dry skinless boneless chicken breasts. If thick, thin it to ¾ inch with a meat mallet.
Mix mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded or grated preferred), seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Prepare a cooking sheet with aluminum foil (to help clean up) and a rack (not required).
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Dip the chicken in the mayonnaise Parmesan mixture.
Lightly sprinkle with some Italian bread crumbs on both sides.
Bake until an internal temp of 165°—about 40 minutes. At 20 minutes into baking, flip the breasts with a fork.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
Baked Chicken Recipes
Check out some of my favorite chicken breast recipes, like How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven, Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts, and Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast.
🐓Ingredients options and variations
Chicken options
This recipe uses skinless boneless chicken breasts. You can use skinless chicken thighs, chicken cutlets, or tenders, but the cooking time varies.
TIPS: Try to use breasts of about the same size and thin if over ¾ inches thick. For other forms of chicken, cook to 180° for thighs for tenderness, but 165° for other chicken.
Mayonnaise options
Use good quality since cheaper versions may be more watery and not stick as well.
Other possible bases for the coating are Miracle Whip®️, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or even cream cheese. People worry about the mayonnaise taste, but even the "mayo haters" love it in this recipe—see the comments.
TIP: DO NOT apply the mayo layer too thick. It will lead to the coating not sticking well and "melting" off. A light coat only, please.
Cheese options
Parmesan cheese is the most commonly recommended cheese. Other cheeses like Ramono, cheddar, or Asiago may be used.
TIP: Grated cheese is usually used, but I prefer shredded cheese for added texture.
Bread crumb options
Panko-type bread crumbs will add some crunch. I prefer the Italian spiced bread crumbs, but use what you want.
TIP: Keep the bread crumbs light. You are not making "Panko chicken."
Seasoning options
Seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper, but modify to your taste.
↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size " recipe
The recipe is now set for two chicken breasts. But this is a very easy recipe to scale to any size. Make it for one, two, or a crowd.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to the number of breasts you are cooking.
- Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
- Cooking instructions remain the same.
🍴Serving
Serve with rice, potatoes, or noodles as a starch—hot vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, or asparagus. A side salad and some crusty bread will round out a complete meal.
Check out these recipes for ideas: Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, and Easy Dinner Rolls.
👨🍳How to get the coating to stick better
- Nothing sticks well to wet chicken, so dry the chicken before coating.
- The mayonnaise needs to be of good quality. Cheap mayo will have more liquid.
- The mayonnaise coating must be thin—too heavy of a coat will melt off the chicken.
- If the chicken is still partly frozen, it will release fluid, and the coat will fall off.
- Never pick up coated or breaded meat with tongs—it will rip off the coating.
❄️How to store leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container for 4 days refrigerated or 4 months frozen, but the crunchiness will suffer.
Reheat in a convection oven or an air fryer for best results.
❓FAQs and Tips
I'm adding a suggested flip of the chicken halfway through the cooking. Some (not me nor many others) have problems with a soggy bottom.
A couple of possibilities occur to me. First, previously frozen chicken or older chicken can release more fluid. Also, too much or thinner mayo could contribute. Or nothing they did.
Either way, the flip should help those cases and won't hurt. Use a fork for the flip. Tongs may remove some coating.
You can cook directly on PAM-covered foil, but it will have a soggy bottom. A rack will help prevent this.
I love cooking my chicken on a rack. You really need to get a rack. For a few dollars, you will become a much better cook. But get one that is "oven-safe." Some racks are cooling racks only and have a coating.
If your local store does not have them, Amazon will. I list a few in Cooking for Two Shop, but others will work.
If you have time, brining it will make the chicken more moist and tender.
The ratio for a brine is 2 cups of water and one tablespoon of table salt. Some people will add some brown sugar equal to the salt. Remember that all salt is not identical, and 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
As little as 15 minutes makes a big difference. But you can brine for up to 2 hours if you want. This is a "heavy brine" in the amount of salt and matches the Cooks Illustrated suggestions. You may see longer brine times suggested, but please limit it to 2 hours maximum.
If you brine, be sure to wash off the salt gently. Also, instead of seasoning salt, use paprika in the coating.
Food safety
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.
We do NOT wash raw chicken routinely due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
Most recipes (including this one) include estimated cooking times. These are provided for planning purposes. You can not cook safely by time—you must use a thermometer.
📖 Recipe
Mayo Parmesan Chicken
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Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts trimmed
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - grated - fresh preferred
- ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt - Lawry’s
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup Italian Panko bread crumbs - Very light coat
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° convection or 400° for a regular oven. Trim and pat dry 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts. If thick, thin it to ¾ inch with a meat mallet.
- Mix ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded or grated preferred), ¼ teaspoon seasoning salt (I used Lawry's), ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Prepare a cooking sheet with aluminum foil (to help clean up) and a rack. The rack will help crispness all around. You can do without the rack, but the bottom will not be crispy. Give the rack a good spray of PAM. If you don't have a rack, they can go directly on PAM sprayed foil.
- Dry the chicken with paper towels. Dip the chicken in the mayonnaise Parmesan mixture. Be sure to get all surfaces coated. Finger use is allowed, but wash well before and after. Note: keep the coating light.
- Lightly sprinkle with some Italian bread crumbs on both sides. You are not coating them but just adding some crispy flavor—about ¼ cup for two breasts.
- Bake until an internal temp of 165°. This will vary by oven but mainly by the size of the chicken. At 20 minutes into baking, flip the breasts with a fork. The total cooking time of about 40 minutes for medium to large. 45 minutes for huge. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Try to use chicken of about the same size. If over ¾ inch thick, flatten it out a bit with a meat mallet.
- Be sure to pat dry the chicken. Very dry. The coating will stick better.
- Keep the coating light and bread crumbs light. You may not need all the coating.
- I added a flip in the middle of the recipes. Some appear to need it. Use a fork, please. Not mandatory.
- Miracle Whip, Greek yogurt, sour cream, or even cream cheese may be used.
- Obviously, an easy recipe to adjust.
- Common problems: Not drying enough, too much coating, too many bread crumbs, cheap mayonnaise, previously frozen chicken will release more fluid.
- Be sure to cook to the final internal temperature of 165°. Or cook to 180° if using chicken thighs for tenderness.
- Storage for 4 days refrigerated or 4 months frozen, but the crunchiness will suffer.
- Reheat leftovers in a convection oven or air fryer.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
The "inspired by" for today goes to Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast at Food.com.
Editor's Note: Originally published December 12, 2012, it has been buried on the blog for a while and needs to see the light of day. The pictures are re-edited. The text is rewritten and buffed up.
Katherine Kelley says
This recipe has been a go-to since you first posted it. Comes out melt-in-your-mouth perfect every time!
regina says
Made this recipe tonight, my two teens and husband and myself all loved it. Thank you! The tips you gave were really helpful. We used breast tenders and cooked for about 20-25 min.
Micki says
We made this last night. I was suprised it was so easy. We loved them. Just perfect for two. Thank you for the recipe, its a keeper.
Lorraine says
I have two bone in chicken breast with skin removed can I still make and how much ingredients for two
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Lorraine,
Welcome to the blog.
The main issue will be the thickness of the breasts. You will notice in the recipe, I suggest flattening to 3/4 inch max. Thicker will tend to burn (or at least overcooked) the outside before the center of the meat reaches the minimum safe internal temperature of 165°.
So if they are thinner, yes you can use this, you won't need as much coating and no flip. The bone-in meat usually takes a bit longer to cook but as always, always use a meat thermometer to be sure you get to a safe internal temperature.
Dan
Janet says
Hi, I made this with previously frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. The taste was really good, but maybe I didn't put enough breadcrumbs? (I don't think it was too much of the mayo mixture,) The outside didn't get crispy. You had mentioned maybe the culprit was the previously frozen chicken having too much moisture. And all I have is a broiler type rack. Do you have any suggestions for making it better next time? Also, would this coating be good on baked pork chops? Ty! I love 101 cooking for two!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Janet,
Previous frozen chicken does release more fluid and coating tends not to stick as well. But overall, they are dryer due to freezing and benefit more from brining.
Too much mayo will tend just not stick or brown as well.
Now to the most probable, the oven. I have two large convection ovens, both are right on with temperature confirmed with oven thermometer but one will brown much better but is slower to reheat so I use it less. I use it more when I will be doing browning pictures like this. It seems to reflect infrared more and brown better. It is the walls (my guess). To "fix" that, convection will brown a bit more and a bit higher temperature will also brown more. Both will cook the outside faster and brown more. The other way is a bit of broiler near the end.
A rack will help the bottom cook better and the chicken will cook more even.
About the pork chops, it would probably be fine but try https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/breaded-pork-chops/ which is one of our favorites.
Dan
K says
How many pounds of chicken is this for and how many oz is a serving?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Most skinless boneless chicken breast run 10-12 oz. In the "good old days" it was about 8 oz and you will still find those at meat markets. So the recipe is written for 3-4 so 2-3 pounds.
You can use the 8 oz ones if you have them. We are cooking to a final internal temperature so use what you have.
Don't over do the coating. Try to cook breasts of about the same size and thickness. If they are really thick, pound them down a little.
Dan
Viviana says
Thank you for this recipe. I was looking for an easy recipe and to bread chicken without using eggs. I found a few, but this one really caught my attention and I will be making it soon. Just one question. If I do not own a rack, will turning on the broiler for a bit at the end be okay or will it burn breadcrumbs?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Viviana,
Welcome to the blog.
You can do this without the rack but the bottom gets a bit slimy since there is a bit of fluid drainage but flipping will help that some. Your assumption about a touch of broiler is correct, you will burn the bread crumbs before significant browning.
Dan
Susan A says
I really enjoyed this recipe tonight. My husband and I both thought it was moist, well seasoned, and tender. Super!!!
KatherineK says
I've been making this for years now, following your original recipe. It turns out great every time. I never use a rack anymore as first couple tries using one a lot of the mayo mixture fell through it. I'm not looking for crispness, but moist chicken & it comes out soooo moist! Thank you for all your recipes.
Suze says
I made this for dinner tonight. The flavor was fabulous, but the bread crumbs stuffed off when I turned the pieces over. Also, how thick should the mayo coating be? Thanks for a delicious dish!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Suze,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you liked it but sorry you had issues.
Comments:
The flip is optional especially if you use a rack.
Be sure the surface of the pan or rack have a nice spray of PAM.
The coating should be thin and the mayonnaise a good quality. Too much or generic will become watery and not thicken and crust.
Be sure to dry the chicken breast as much as possible before starting.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Dale says
Well done sir loved it very much and will be making it regularly. I opted to use my air fryer and it turned out great in less cooking time. Thanks for sharing.
Susan Hamilton says
What temp did you use , & for how long?
Jerri says
I like to make this by putting the chicken and mayo in a gallon bag and squishing it around. Then I dredge both sides in a mix of Parmesan with a little panko. i guess it’s the mayo that gives this its wonderful moistness. Never any leftovers!
Kathy says
Can I use the Parmesan in the green container (the one that’s more like powdered Parmesan)?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kathy
Welcome to the blog.
The "green container" Parmesan will have less taste. Having said that, it will still have a nice taste. Try fresh sometime and you will appreciate the difference.
Dan
Michelle says
I have made this recipe several times now and have shared it a lot as well. So amazing! Best way to cook chicken breasts. My husband dislikes mayonaise so I didn't tell him the first time I cooked it otherwise he wouldn't have tried it. He loved it and still eats it even though he now knows it has mayonaise.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad that everybody is enjoying this chicken. You may notice that I have cut back the volume of the mayonnaise coating being made since about half was not being used and people were tending to try to use all of it leading to the coating falling off.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Kristina says
I'm giving this 5 stars cause it was delicious.. i dont know what I did wrong.. it was soggy.. it did not ruin it it was still super yummy! But I'd appreciate a pointer to make it more crispy 😁 I did light on the mayo sauce and the breading.. i thought about broiling for a min but didn't want to over cook it.. idk
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kristina,
Welcome to the blog.
A couple of comments. There may be an issue with the chicken or the oven. Ovens that run cool will not brown well so you might want to check the oven temperature with an oven thermometer. Thinner chicken will cook faster and not brown as much. And previously frozen chicken will release more fluid making the coating run.
Lastly, it is always ok to turn a broiler on for a few minutes to finish browning if the internal temperature is good.
Hope that helps. Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Dan
Linda says
I am curious Why you use more products than you need for this recipe. Seem like a Waste of both mayonnaise and parmesan cheese. Both expensive. I use about 1/2 of what you have suggested. I'm not much on wasting food. I make this all the time. Great taste 👌
Lauren Kelly says
Hello,
Just looking to see if I could sub sour cream for half the mayo?
Thanks,
Lauren
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Lauren,
Welcome to the blog.
I have doubts if the coating would hang in there. They are so totally different. I think it will just fall off the chicken.
Dan
Sue says
Hi, I’ve made this several times, as I am tonight, actually almost done. I’m adding 1 ingredient tonight (not that it needs it) but I’m adding Marinara sauce on the side. Thanks for this great recipe, it’s a favorite!!! Sue
Katherine says
I've been making this for years since you first posted it, Dr. D! Absolutely wonderful, so moist & tender & juicy, amazing flavor. I leave out the seasoned salt as my husband has to watch his sodium, but make up for it with a lot more garlic & some white pepper. Also found that the Panko crumbs were tasteless, so use regular generic Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. Best chicken ever!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Katherine,
Welcome to the blog, I should say welcome to commenting... and sorry for the delayed reply.
This is a recipe I tend to do a lot, when I'm looking at those chicken breasts and just don't want to work. I do love the white pepper idea, I did it a few times and my wife loved it.
On a lot of recipes where I use seasoning salt, if I brine, then I just use some paprika and garlic powder.
Thanks for the note and rating. And again, sorry for the delayed response.
Dan