Family Dinners
Gooey Parmesan Chicken Bites
If so you might want to try this twist on the classic ‘nuggets’ with these baked chicken Parmesan bites.
Stuffed with gooey mozzarella pieces and coated in a herby marinara sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs, they’re perfect for family meals.
Summary
Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Intermediate
Makes: 12 bites (serves 2)
How to make chicken Parmesan bites
These chicken Parmesan bites have all the main ingredients of any chicken Parmesan dish wrapped up in each bite.
The chicken pieces are rolled around a small piece of mozzarella cheese. They’re then coated in a quick homemade marinara sauce, rolled in Parmesan breadcrumbs and baked in the oven with a little oil.
You can even dip them in some extra marinara sauce when serving.
How to cook Parmesan chicken bites
We baked these chicken Parmesan bites in the oven with a little oil. It’s healthier than deep frying and as long as there is enough oil on them, they go crispy, crunchy and delicious in the oven too.
However if you prefer you can also shallow fry them in a fry pan with a tablespoon or two of oil. They’ll be just as tasty.
Gooey Chicken Parmesan Bites – your step by step guide:
You will need:
Homemade marinara sauce*
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 200 ml passata
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)
- 1 teaspoon honey
*This quantity is just enough to coat the 2 chicken fillet pieces. If you want to make extra sauce for dipping, then double the quantities.
Chicken fillets
- 2 chicken fillets
- 50 grams mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
Breadcrumb mixture
- 50 grams breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon mild paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Make the homemade marinara sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan.
- Sautee the garlic and onion in the oil for a minute, then add in the herbs and stir.
- Pour in the passata, finely chopped basil leaves and the teaspoon of honey.
- Let it simmer for 10 minutes until it has reduced down to a thick tomato paste.
- Remove from the heat and set aside in a bowl.
Blend the breadcrumbs
Prepare for baking the chicken bites by preheating the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
Then blend your breadcrumbs in a small mixer together with the paprika and garlic granules until you have a fine crumb mix.
Add Parmesan and parsley
Empty the mixture into a shallow bowl or plate and stir in the parsley and grated Parmesan.
Cut the chicken into small pieces
This could be the most important bit to get right. The chicken pieces need to be thin and just big enough to wrap around a small piece of mozzarella (but small enough to still be ‘bites’).
Start by butterfly cutting the chicken breast to get it all to an even thickness.
You do this by laying the chicken breast flat on a chopping board and cutting horizontally, through the thickness of the chicken breast.
Start by the thick end and cut all the way through. Open the fillet out like a book. It should be one even piece.
Then cut each fillet into small strips about 5cm x 2cm.
Cover the chicken in marinara sauce
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl.
Coat them with your marinara sauce.
Roll them up around a piece of mozzarella
Take each coated chicken piece and place a small cube of mozzarella inside it.
Roll the fillet piece over onto itself, wrapping up the cheese. Hold it together at the bottom.
Cover in breadcrumbs
Carefully cover each chicken roll in the breadcrumb mixture until all sides are coated.
Lay it, with the fold down on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
Bake until golden
Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.
Enjoy while warm for the gooey mozzarella centre
Gooey Parmesan Chicken Bites
Ingredients
Homemade marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 200 ml passata
- 1 tablespoon basil leaves finely chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon honey
Chicken fillets
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 50 grams mozzarella cut into small cubes
Breadcrumb mixture
- 50 grams breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon mild paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic granules
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
Homemade marinara sauce
-
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan.
-
Sautee the garlic and onion in the oil for a minute, then add in the herbs and stir.
-
Pour in the passata, finely chopped basil leaves and the teaspoon of honey. Let it simmer for 10 minutes until it has simmered down into a thick tomato paste.
-
Remove from the heat and set aside in a bowl.
Chicken bites
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
-
Blend your breadcrumbs in a small mixer together with the paprika and garlic granules until you have a fine crumb mix.
-
Empty into a shallow bowl or plate and stir in the parsley and grated Parmesan. Set aside.
-
Butterfly cut the chicken breast so that it's an even thickness. This is when you cut through the thickness of the fillet so that you have two sides that open out like a book.
-
Cut each side into small strips about 5cm x 2cm. They should be just big enough to roll around a small piece of mozzarella.
-
Place them in the bowl of marinara sauce and stir until all pieces are covered.
-
Take each coated chicken piece and place a small piece of mozzarella inside it. Roll the fillet piece over onto itself, wrapping up the cheese.
-
Carefully cover it in the breadcrumb mixture until coated on all sides. Lay each piece, fold down on an oven tray lined with baking paper.
-
Drizzle with olive oil.
-
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.
Notes
If you’re making it at home, please note that this quantity is enough to coat 2 chicken fillets. If you want to make extra for a marinara dip, then double the quantities here to make more and set half of it to one side.
