WW Recipe of the Day: Easy Healthy Baked Chicken Parmesan
A short time ago I received this recipe for this easy healthy baked chicken parmesan from one of my Weight Watcher's AT WORK meeting members, who said it's a dish her whole family enjoys.
As soon as I read the description, lightly breaded chicken cutlets topped with sliced fresh tomatoes, basil leaves and a sprinkling of mozzarella, and then quickly baked, I added it to my list of "must try" recipes.
The recipe is from the Weight Watchers cookbook (affiliate link), Simply Delicious: 245 No-Fuss Recipes All 8 Points or Less (affiliate link), which has now been added to my Amazon Wish List.
To save fat and calories, I've been baking my chicken parmesan for years, using a more traditional topping of marinara sauce and mozzarella.
This sounded even lighter and healthier!
Baked Chicken Parmesan Recipe Notes
To increase the crispy factor of this healthy baked chicken parmesan, I used Panko instead of the plain dry bread crumbs called for.
And following the instructions to brush the chicken with reduced-calorie mayonnaise before coating with the crumbs kept the chicken incredibly moist and tender.
As you can see from the photo, my chicken breasts were much bigger than 4 ounces, so I used my digital kitchen scale (affiliate link) and divided them into reasonable portions before serving.
A refreshing change from traditional chicken parmesan, Rod and I liked this easy healthy baked chicken parmesan so much we ended up eating this lighter healthier version two nights in a row.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Lighter Healthier Chicken Parmesan?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 297 calories and:
6 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
5 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
8 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you like this healthy baked chicken parmesan, be sure to check out my other easy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including: Simple 2-Ingredient Slow Cooker Italian Chicken, WW Spaghetti with Chicken Meatballs, Crock Pot Chicken Marbella, Chicken & Polenta with Zucchini Tomato Sauce and Easy 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you've made this Low Carb Parmesan Chicken, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
WW Baked Chicken Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 (4 ounces each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even ½-inch thickness
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 large tomato, cut into 8 slices
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 basil leaves
- ½ cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella or provolone cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Coat a baking sheet (affiliate link) with non-stick cooking spray.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and then brush both sides of them with the mayonnaise.
- Place the crumbs in a large zipper-close plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts, one at a time, and shake to coat evenly with the crumbs.
- Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet (affiliate link).
- Top each piece of chicken with the tomato slices and then drizzle evenly with the oil.
- Top each tomato slice with the basil and then sprinkle evenly with the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly and beginning to turn lightly golden, 12 to 18 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.
Recipe Notes
Source: Slightly adapted from Simply Delicious: 245 No-Fuss Recipes All 8 Points or Less (affiliate link) by Weight Watchers
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Video Recipes for Baked Chicken Parmesan
Watch this video to see how Dani from Clean & Delicious makes her own version of Baked Chicken Parmesan:
This video from Betty's Kitchen demonstrates how she makes crispy oven-baked parmesan chicken breasts:
More Lightened-Up Chicken Parm Recipes for Weight Watchers:
- One-Pan Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Broccoli (SkinnyTaste)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan (EmilyBites)
- Chicken Parmesan Pie (DrizzleMeSkinny)
- Pan-Fried Chicken Parmesan (HungryGirl)
- Chicken Parmigiana Burgers (SkinnyTaste)
- Chicken Parmesan Casserole (EmilyBites)
Search for More WW Friendly Easy + Healthy Recipes
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
Subscribe to Get: Top 10 Reader Favorite Recipes
The Top 10 Most Popular Recipes (PDF) on Simple Nourished Living + Weekly Support Emails with Tips & Easy Healthy Recipes Not Found Anywhere Else!
Rosalinda
Love this recipe for baked chicken Parmesan - always turns out very moist and crispy!
Nancy
Easy, fast, healthy and very delicious!!!!
Suzanne
Awesome
Linda
I used to make this recipe years ago, it was in an old WW Cookbook that I owned, I was so happy to find it. It was delicious!!! Such a summery meal, I used my garden tomatoes and basil, probable more cheese than required, but soooo good!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks for letting us know, Linda! Garden tomatoes and basil sound delicious!
Nancy
Yummy and easy!
kathy
So delicious!!! And so easy to make. Thank you.
Stacy Rodman
This recipe looks delicious. Do you have any healthy recipes for the Instant Pot?
Thank you.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Stacy, Here's a great collection of IP Recipes: https://simple-nourished-living.com/weight-watchers-instant-pot-recipes-with-freestyle-smartpoints/
Nancy Ollinger
This was delicious...the panko didn't brown but the chicken was juicy and just the right amount. I am anxious to make more of your recipes; thank you!
Roxanne
This was delicious. We are trying to change our diet and chicken parm is my husband's favorite, which he he didn't think he could have again. He loved it and bonus - so didn't my 3 kids. Thank you for a great recipe.
Eric
Simple, quick, healthy and delicious! Going to add this to the list of weeknight entrees. I used a can of Crushed Tomatoes rather than a sliced tomato for a little extra sauciness.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Eric, Glad you liked it. Love the idea of crushed tomatoes for more sauciness! Thanks for sharing 🙂 ~Martha
Wendy LaRiviere
This is one of our family faves! Easy to make and delicious.
kazy
Am I supposed to add 2 slices of tomato to each breast? For 4 breasts, it should be 4 slices of tomato each but you said to cut the tomatoes into 8 slices.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Kazy,
The recipe is written for 2 slices of tomato for each breast for a total of 8 slices. But you can modify the recipe to suit your tastes. Hope this helps. ~Martha
kazy
This came out great but I did make some changes for my own personal taste. I made it ahead of time, so I brushed one side of each breast with the mayo, then I used breadcrumbs instead of panko. I used the panko the first time but it didn't seem to adhere as well as the breadcrumbs and it didn't have as much flavor as the breadcrumbs did. I patted the breadcrumbs onto the mayo to make sure it stuck, then seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and my favorite all-purpose seasoning. I placed the breasts onto the prepared baking dish, seasoned side down and repeated the ingredients on the other side of the breasts. I followed the same directions as the recipe for all the toppings, except I added sliced mozzarella on top and it melted so wonderfully and tasted fantastic. Put in the fridge and took it out an hour before baking it for dinner. Served with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese as the recipe called for along with a salad. Definitely a keeper. Will certainly make again. Thanks so much for this easy dinner.