Gooey Parmesan Chicken Bites
Baked chicken Parmesan bites stuffed with gooey mozzarella pieces and coated in a herby marinara sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs. A great dish for family dinners and lovers of all things chicken nuggets.
Servings 2 servings
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
Homemade marinara sauce: if you prefer you can replace this with ready made marinara sauce.
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.