Chicken Parmesan is one of Mr. Hungry’s favorite meals, and since Hungry Jr. and I both love it too, I make it pretty often. Making our favorite chicken parmesan recipe over to be low carb and gluten free was relatively easy, and the difference in taste and texture is almost unnoticeable!
To make this low carb chicken parmesan casserole, I replaced the traditional Italian style bread crumbs with a mixture of almond flour, grated parmesan cheese and some herbs and spices – this is now my go-to breading for chicken, pork chops, and even low carb fried eggplant when I’m not in the mood for meat.
Sometimes the guys eat pasta and I just make the spaghetti squash on the side for myself, but in this recipe I decided to do it casserole style. Because I wanted to be able to spoon out portions easily, I cut the chicken into smaller chunks before breading and frying it.
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Smaller chunks of chicken also means more delicious fried coating to chicken ratio, which is always a bonus in my opinion!
Crispy chicken chunks, bright tangy tomato sauce, oozy mozzarella cheese, all nestled into sweet ribbons of spaghetti squash – can you think of anything more delicious and comforting right now???
ME EITHER.
This low carb chicken parmesan recipe is guaranteed to be a hit with kids and picky husbands – and it’s perfect for entertaining your gluten free friends as well!
Since spaghetti squash can get pricey depending the season, you can also opt to make this low carb chicken parmesan with just the cheese and sauce and then serve it over spiralized zucchini noodles, or even regular pasta for family members who aren’t low carb or gluten free.
As mentioned above, this easily translates to eggplant parmigiana for those of you looking for a vegetarian option (or if you just love eggplant like I do!)
Chicken Parmesan Casserole – Low Carb & Gluten Free
This low carb chicken parmesan casserole is easy and delicious – guaranteed to be a hit with picky kids and husbands too! Gluten free, keto, and Atkins friendly!
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Low Carb Chicken Recipe
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 3 Tbsp olive oil for frying
For the casserole
- 4 cups cooked spaghetti squash, well drained
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1.5 cups easy keto marinara sauce (or low sugar jarred sauce)
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella
- Fresh basil, chopped (optional for garnish)
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Cut the chicken into 2 inch pieces.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg.
- Combine the almond flour, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley in another medium bowl.
- Dip the pieces of chicken, one or two at a time into the egg solution and then the breading mixture – then remove to a clean plate.
- Heat the oil in a nonstick saute pan until hot. Cook the breaded chicken pieces on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Combine the cooked spaghetti squash, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley in a medium bowl and toss well to coat. Spread the squash out in a 8 x 12 (or equivalent) oven safe dish.
- Spread the cooked chicken pieces over the top of the squash.
- Spoon the marina sauce over the chicken and squash.
- Cut or tear the mozzarella into pieces and place them over the chicken.
- Bake in a 375 degree (F) oven for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and serve hot.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per serving: 302 calories, 8g fat, 6g net carbs, 28g protein
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I love this chicken parmesan casserole! I made it tonight and it was a huge hit, thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks for this amazing recipe !! I am tracking my food this week since I am getting married next month woo hoo!! And it showes a Lot if carbs, even after I sustract the fiber, and your recipe only shows a few carbs, what can I be doing wrong !? Do spaghetti squash have that many carbs !? Thank you in advance !!!!
★★★★★
Lot a saucy chicken parm!`
I LOVE the flavors of this recipe, but I have a terrible time keeping the “breading” on the chicken when I’m frying it. When I turn the pieces, the breading sticks to the bottom of the pan — at the end I just scraped all that deliciousness from the pan and sprinkled over the top of my chicken, but would love to know the secret. I use a non-stick pan and try to let the chicken get nice and golden before turning over. Other suggestions?
You might need to use a bit more oil Jaymie – or if your almond flour isn’t superfine blanched it won’t bond as well which could be a consideration too!
Could you use chickpea flour instead of almond flour?
It’s possible I suppose – would probably change the flavor and carb count though.
I’d like to make the chicken parm in the classic way with flour-egg-breading. What would you suggest as a low-carb substitution for the flour. The quantity that ends up adhering to the chicken isn’t that large, so that it itself would keep carbs low. I just need something that has similar properties to the role that flour plays in this instance.
I provide a low carb coating substitute in the recipe.
Oh…my…gosh! This was absolutely delicious!! I’ve never made chicken parm before and this was the best I ever ate!
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I featured this recipe in my post 25 Low Carb Dinners the Whole Family Will Love! https://jenniferbanz.com/25-low-carb-dinners-the-whole-family-will-love
This was delicious! I made the spaghetti squash in a separate dish though. Is there something I can do to make sure the crust is crunchy all the way around?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Made this last night for dinner and everyone went crazy over it! It was delicious and it almost felt like I was eating angel hair with it! Definitely going in my recipe book.
This looks great. I see a lot of low carb/paleo recipes using almond flour…I’m allergic to almonds, any suggestions for other flour substitutes??
In this recipe you can sub ground pork rinds for the almond flour in the coating!
Hi, I made this tonight and it was great, only problem it was really watery after I took it out of the oven, it didn’t ruin it, was just a little annoying, any way to avoid this next time?
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You have to make sure your spaghetti squash is well drained before you put it in the casserole dish or it will be watery. You can let it sit in a strainer for a few minutes while you cook the chicken pieces so all the liquid drains out.
Made exactly as written. This recipe is simply scrumptious. Thank you so much for posting, Mellissa. Looking forward to more of your recipes.
★★★★★
Is the Almond Flour used in this recipe Blanched or Unblanched?
I always used blanched and super fine grind for my recipes Lyn, though this one might work ok with the almond meal if that’s what you have on hand. For baking though – always blanched!
Thank you so much Melissa. I have both on hand and am making this tonight for daughter and myself. I assumed it was the blanched, but just wanted clarification. Again, thanks and I’ll post our review tomorrow, however, I’m sure it will be simply scrumptious!
Is this an E for THM?
Sorry, I’m not familiar with the THM guidelines so not sure where this would fall in!
I don’t have any almond flour at the moment and don’t want to wait for it to make this recipe. Could I sub in coconut flour instead of almond flour?
same here Michelle – did you make it last night with coconut flour?
No I haven’t yet making tonight.
Happy new year, in the recipe says Por 8 portions. But for the nutrients info what is a portion? A cup?
Thank you
I wish I would have seen this before my pork rind disaster last night.
This is awesome. First time making spaghetti squash perfect for low carb. Will make again.
★★★★★
AWESOME RECIPE. The sauce is amazingly simple and delicious. I’m used to the old school cooking it down on the stove all day. Great recipe except I didn’t have any leftovers. Everyone cleaned it out, to include my dad scraping the pan with a piece of garlic bread. God that bread smelled so good. Oh well, I kept my resolve and skipped the garlic bread.
★★★★★
This was beyond incredible. I used chicken thighs, and they were great. I plan on serving this often! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
This was absolutely delicious. My two and three year old got seconds and thirds. Make this people! Make it now! I swear you won’t be disappointed!
★★★★★
This is one of my favorite low carb recipes so far!! My non-low carb husband and my gluten-free parents all adored it. Thank you!
★★★★★
This dish looks incredible, all of our favorite things! Do you think it would freeze well to be thawed and warmed up later? I am attempting to stockpile recipes that I can prepare just before our first baby arrives in January so that we have easy, delicious dinners ready without thinking!
I would just make sure you get as much liquid out of the spaghetti squash as possible before freezing, but yes it should freeze well Cara! And congrats on the upcoming new addition to your family! :)
hi! I just wanted to confirm that your carb counts are correct and how you are getting those counts. When I import your recipes into My Fitness Pal the carb counts are A TON MORE. I’m just very worried about making correct counts. Thanks!
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Could the tomatoes not been calculated as no sugar added???
I made this recipe. The chicken was super tender and tasted amazing when I took it out of the frying pan. However, when I put it in the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese, the chicken totally dried out and got tough… I want to make it again because overall I love it. I think I might melt the cheese over the squash next time then put the pan fried chicken on top.
Made this tonight and OMG was it delicious! I’ve never had success breading chicken, so I was a bit turned off by that step, but this gave me the best crust I’ve ever achieved! Fed it to my picky, high-carb husband and he liked it! It was nice having the same thing for dinner for a change ^_^
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I’ve been wanting to make something similar to this for my readers on my website but can’t seem to find the Almond flour. When I do find a store that carries it I discover it is out of stock.
I’m thinking I should take the buy online route. Your dish looks absolutely yummy! I love when comfort food gets slimmed down.
Excellent recipe.
★★★★★
Amazon has it and if you have Amazon prime you can have in 2 days free shipping.
Delicious. Made this for company and received wonderful comments! I did have to double the recipe for the almond breading because I cut my chicken in quarter size pieces. We fought for the leftovers the next day. ;)
★★★★★
I’m not so creative on low carb dishes, I’m pinning your recipe to try later. Looks delicious :)
Another winner! The breading is delicious and my non-keto hubby had two helpings…which sort of interferes with my leftovers but I was just glad he loved it as much as I did. So good.
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Sigh – No spaghetti squash available in my country – I so wish I could try all the lovely recipes I see with it!
I wish I could mail you one! Could you get seeds and try to grow your own?
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How do you cook the spaghetti squash? I have never tried it before.
You can cut the sp.squash in half and scoop out the seeds, put it on lightly greased baking sheet open face down (or poke holes in a whole one and bake in a dish) Bake on 375F for approx 1 hour. Its ready when a fork or knife poke through easily. If you cooked it whole let cool a bit before cutting open and scooping the seeds out.
I absolutely LOVE Spaghetti squash… All by itself with butter, salt & pepper. Or to replace pasta. It’s delish!!
Depending on the size, steam on microwave with a 1/4 to 1/2 water in a 9×13 glass dish
Small 7 minutes–medium 9–large 12
I like mine with a but of crunch so I time mine for less than this
★★★★★
Depending on the size, steam on microwave with a 1/4 to 1/2 water in a 9×13 glass dish
Small 7 minutes–medium 9–large 12
I like mine with a but of crunch so I time mine for less than this
★★★★★
Isn’t it funny how kids love spaghetti squash but adults hear SQUASH and refuse to even try it?!?
We even love it plain with just butter and onion & garlic powder or parmesan cheese.
★★★★
Looks good. How many/much spaghetti squash did you use for this recipe? I have 1 large squash at home, but don’t know how many cups that would give me as I’ve never measured the amount before.
I adore spaghetti squash.
(That is all.)
This looks so good! If you have an Aldi in your area, they sell spaghetti squash for $1.99 each, not by the pound.
Or eggplant