Discover a delicious new way to enjoy chicken parmesan with Chef Tom's Chicken Parm Sandwich! This easy-to-follow recipe combines the comforting goodness of chicken parmesan and garlic bread for a unique, flavorful, and mouthwatering grilled meal.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Dredging the chicken in flour, then dipping it back in the marinade before breading, gives the panko something tacky to grip beyond the marinade alone, building a thicker, more even crust
- Blending the canned San Marzano tomatoes before cooking them down gives the sauce a smooth, consistent texture rather than whole tomato chunks that would need crushing separately
- Covering the skillet with a lid while the mozzarella melts traps heat around the cheese, helping it melt through fully rather than just browning on top while staying cold underneath
- Toasting the ciabatta in garlic butter on the same skillet the chicken cooked in ties the bread's flavor back to the rest of the sandwich, rather than toasting it separately with no connection to the chicken
Chicken Parm Sandwich
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
4
Prep Time
40 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Calories
1399
Bringing together two incredible comfort foods, Chicken Parmesan and Garlic Bread, Chef Tom walks you through how to make a Chicken Parm Sandwich on the grill.
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
-
1 (16 oz) bottle Smoke on Wheels BBQ Marinade
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan
-
1/4 cup Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 tbsp butter
-
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thin or grated
-
1 (800 g) can Ciao San Marzano tomatoes, puréed
-
1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic, grated on a microplane
- pinch red pepper flakes
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt, to taste
- 4 Ciabatta rolls
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 2 tbsp Calabrian chiles, minced
-
2 tsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic grated on a microplane
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt, to taste
For the chicken parmesan:
For the tomato sauce:
For the sandwich:
For the garlic butter:
Directions
- To make the garlic butter, combine all ingredients and mix well. Set aside (room temperature)
- Place a halved chicken breast in a gallon zip top bag with a little oil. Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken until about 1/2” thick all the way across. Transfer to a shallow container with 1 (16 oz) bottle Smoke on Wheels BBQ Marinade. Repeat with the remaining halved breasts.
- Preheat your Napoleon Grills Prestige 500. Remove one of the standard grates and install a Napoleon Reversible Cast Iron Griddle, flat side up. Light the burners under the griddle and set to medium heat.
- To make the tomato sauce, first puree the canned tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Heat a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and allow to warm. Add the garlic to the oil and cook gently until fragrant and just beginning to brown, about two minutes. Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Turn the heat up to medium. Allow to simmer and reduce to desired consistency, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, to taste. Set aside.
- Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, and Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning in a shallow container (salad plate or shallow bowl). Set up a second shallow container with the flour.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, wiping excess marinade from the surface. Dredge in the flour, then dip back in the marinade. Dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. Transfer to a sheet pan.
Preheat a Lodge 10” Cast Iron Skillet on the side burner of the Napoleon, over medium heat. Add one tablespoon butter and two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to the skillet. When the butter is melted, add two of the breaded chicken breasts. Cook until browned on the bottom. Flip and top with red sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover the skillet with a lid and continue cooking until the bottom is browned, the cheese is melted and the internal temperature rises to 160ºF. Optional - brown the top of the mozzarella with a torch.
- Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- While the chicken cooks, spread the ciabatta with the garlic butter. Toast on the skillet until browned on the cut side of the roll. Flip the bun and place slices of provolone on the bottom halves of ciabatta buns. Remove when the bread is softened and cheese begins to melt.
- To assemble the Chicken Parm Sandwich, cut a chicken filet in half and stack one half on the other. Place the chicken on the bottom ciabatta bun (with the melted provolone). Top the chicken with Calabrian chiles and cover with the top bun. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why dredge the chicken in flour, then dip it back in the marinade, before breading it?
The flour gives the wet marinade something to cling to, and dipping back into the marinade afterward means the panko breading has a tackier surface to grip, building a thicker, more even crust than breading straight from the marinade alone.
Why blend the canned San Marzano tomatoes before cooking down the sauce?
Puréeing them first gives the finished sauce a smooth, consistent texture, rather than needing to crush whole tomatoes by hand partway through cooking.
Why cover the skillet with a lid while the mozzarella melts?
Trapping heat around the cheese with a lid helps it melt through fully, rather than only browning on the surface while staying cold and unmelted underneath.
Why toast the ciabatta rolls in garlic butter on the same skillet the chicken cooked in?
Using the same pan ties the bread's flavor back to everything else in the sandwich, rather than toasting it in a clean pan with no connection to the chicken or sauce.
What internal temperature should the chicken actually reach?
This recipe's directions say to cook until it reaches 160°F, but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for poultry is 165°F. Continue cooking to at least 165°F rather than pulling at 160°F.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
5 out of 5 — this comes together entirely in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop; the grill is only being used as an outdoor heat source for the side burner, not for smoke or char.
Recipe Highlights
Flour-then-marinade dip: Builds a thicker, more even breadcrumb crust.
Blended tomato sauce: Gives a smooth texture without hand-crushing.
Lid-covered cheese melt: Ensures the mozzarella melts fully, not just on top.
Shared-skillet toasting: Ties the bread's flavor to the rest of the sandwich.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 24.32 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 1399
- Carbs
- 70 grams
- Protein
- 60 grams
- Fat
- 101 grams
- Sodium
- 1621 milligrams
