Hoagie-Style Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Recipe

Sometimes, the easiest way to make any dish any better is to turn it into a sandwich. Chicken Parmesan is as close to perfect as a recipe can get; the crispy breading, melty cheese, and flavorful tomato working in tandem to create a balance of flavor and texture that hardly needs any improvement. While you can experiment with marinating the meat or mixing Parmesan into the breadcrumbs, the best way to truly take a chicken Parmesan to the next level is to sandwich it in between the layers of a hoagie roll.

In this hoagie-style chicken Parmesan sandwich recipe written with developer Michelle McGlinn, crispy panko-breaded chicken cutlets are topped with gooey mozzarella and homemade tomato sauce before being toasted inside hoagie rolls for the ultimate Italian dinner. The result is a decadent, crispy, gooey version of the classic that can be eaten without the help of a fork and knife — but maybe with just a few extra napkins instead.

Though it comes together quickly, chicken Parmesan is made in a few parts: First, the chicken is breaded and fried, for which you'll need chicken cutlets, oil, flour, egg, panko, Parmesan, salt, and Italian seasoning. Next, the tomato-based sauce slathered on top is made with olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, and sugar. The rest is easy: From there, you only need a few hoagie rolls, fresh mozzarella cheese, and a generous amount of basil leaves to serve.

Heat the frying oil in a deep skillet over medium heat.

Arrange the flour, eggs, and panko in three different shallow bowls. Mix the Parmesan, salt, and Italian seasoning into the panko.

Working one at a time, dredge the cutlets into the flour.

Coat the cutlets with egg, letting any excess drip away.

Dredge the cutlets in the panko mixture, pressing the crumbs firmly into the chicken.

When the oil is hot, add the chicken cutlets and fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

Remove and reserve the breaded chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate.

To make the sauce, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and sugar and stir. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and then let it reduce for 5 minutes.

Preheat the broiler to high and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.

Add the hoagie rolls to a baking sheet and fill them with the breaded chicken.

Add the mozzarella and tomato sauce to each sandwich.

Broil until the cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes.

Top with shredded basil to serve.

• Lemon Garlic Green Beans Recipe
• Air-Fryer French Fries Recipe
• Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe
• Carrot Slaw Recipe
• Creamy Tangy Apple Slaw With Blue Cheese Recipe

Perfect as the dish might be, there is one downfall to chicken Parmesan: It isn't very healthy. Besides the mound of gooey cheese and generous helping of tomatoey sauce, the chicken is also fried, though the shallow fry helps avoid the greasiness of a deep fryer. To avoid the extra oils completely, you can bake or airfry the chicken for similar, but lighter, results.

To bake or airfry the chicken, prepare the dredging station the same way and dredge each piece in flour, egg, and panko as written. Preheat the oven and air fryer to 400 F and lightly grease a sheet tray or air fryer basket. Add the panko breaded chicken and lightly spray with oil, then bake or airfry for about 16 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping once halfway through. The airfryer's convection heating will fry the cutlets closer to the crispy golden brown of the skillet, so if you have to choose one method, we recommend making it that one.

There are a few ways to elevate a chicken Parmesan sandwich further, giving it a boost of extra flavor on top of the already rich, gooey, and punchy cheese and tomato sauce combination. For example, you can add pepperoni, giving the sandwich a pizza-like flavor. Along the same lines, you can also add black olives, cooked bell peppers, or large pieces of onion. For a spicy layer, consider adding giardiniera or pickled banana peppers, which will make the sandwich pop in a really unique way.

You can also make more noticeable changes to the sandwich, like swapping the meat, cheese, or bread. You can make the same recipe using eggplant or pork cutlets, dredging them first and frying them until golden brown. You can change the cheese to pepperjack for added heat, or simply use fresh mozzarella for an even more gooey melt. Lastly, you can swap the bread for ciabatta, hamburger buns, or a baguette for a slightly different sandwich with a little more — or even less — crunch.

• Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
• Crispy and Saucy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
• Parmesan-Crusted Fried Chicken Recipe
• Crispy Pork Loin Tonkatsu (Rosu Katsu) Recipe
• Cajun-Inspired Catfish Sandwich Recipe