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Chicken Parmigiana With Spaghetti Squash

The trick to a crisp but healthy parmigiana is bake-frying.

Recipe and photo provided by CanolaInfo.org

4 servings /1 hour 25 mins

Prep 15 min / Cook 1 hour 10 min

Canola oil is ideal to bake-fry breaded chicken with in a very hot oven because of its high heat tolerance (smoke point 242°C/468 °F). Using spaghetti squash instead of angel hair pasta provides four times fewer calories per cup (174 versus 42 calories).

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
  • 1/2 tbsp (7 mL) canola oil
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) whole grain flour
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) dried oregano
  • 3/4 cup (175 mL) whole grain bread crumbs
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) black pepper
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 4 chicken breasts (3 oz/90 g each), pounded until uniform thickness/about 1/2 inch (1 cm)
  • canola oil cooking spray
  • 2 cups (500 mL) your favorite marinara sauce
  • 1/4 cup (50 mL) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
  2. Brush squash with canola oil and place squash flesh side down on baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes or until squash is tender.
  3. While squash is baking, combine flour and oregano in shallow bowl. In second shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs with pepper. In third bowl, add whisked egg.
  4. Dip chicken into flour mixture, then egg, then bread crumbs shake off excess with each step.
  5. Mist breaded chicken with canola oil cooking spray on both sides and place on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, top with marinara and Parmesan cheese and bake additional 15 minutes until heated and cheese is melted.
  6. Once squash is cooled, pull fork through flesh, creating spaghetti-like strands.
  7. Serve chicken on top of spaghetti squash and sprinkle with fresh basil.