Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken

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Recreate the popular Longhorn’s Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe right in your own kitchen! Pan-seared marinated chicken that’s coated in a cheesy, parmesan crust and baked in the oven for the perfect crunch. Ready in 30 minutes!

Serve this with our delicious Mashed Potato Casserole, Garlic Green Beans and Air Fryer Garlic Bread.

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Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Our copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe is so easy to replicate at home. Its creamy parmesan cheese crust will make you rethink the Longhorn Steakhouse’s reputation!

This crusted chicken copycat recipe starts by searing marinated chicken breast cutlets in a cast iron skillet. It’s smothered in a cheesy, creamy Ranch sauce, covered with buttery panko breadcrumbs, and baked in the oven until melted and crispy golden brown.

Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken breasts cutlets
Italian salad dressing: I used Kraft Zesty Italian dressing. You can substitute your favorite brand of bottled Italian dressing for this recipe. I like to use the Kraft Zesty Italian, but you can use a balsamic vinaigrette, house vinaigrette, or your favorite from-scratch Italian dressing recipe. A small 8-ounce bottle is perfect for marinating the chicken breast cutlets for this recipe.
Shredded Italian cheese blend: I used a four cheese blend of parmesan, provolone, fontina, and asiago. For this recipe, I used a 4-ounce container of BelGioioso brand fresh shredded Italian four-cheese blend. You can use any brand you prefer. Make sure it contains at least the provolone and parmesan cheeses. You can substitute this four-cheese blend with freshly shredded parmesan cheese and freshly shredded provolone cheese. Be sure to use non-smoked provolone cheese.
Ranch dressing: I used a bottle of Hidden Valley Original Ranch brand. When choosing a brand of bottled ranch dressing, I like to use a thicker consistency. When mixed with the shredded cheese, it does not cause the cheese to spread as much once placed into the oven.
Unsalted butter
Plain panko bread crumbs: For a lower-carb crusted chicken, you can use crushed-up pork rinds, keto breadcrumbs, or keto cracker crumbs instead of the panko.
Garlic salt
Dried parsley flakes
Olive oil

Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken on a plate

How to Make Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Marinate The Meat: Marinate the chicken in the Italian dressing for a minimum of 2 hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator. (Image 1)
Make The Cheese Mixture: Combine the shredded cheese blend and the bottled ranch dressing. Set aside.
Make The Breadcrumb Mixture: Mix together the melted butter, panko breadcrumbs, garlic salt, and dried parsley flakes. Set aside.
Cook The Chicken: Cook and brown the chicken on the stove top for 4-5 minutes per side. (Images 2 and 3)
Pro Tip: Don’t worry if your chicken cutlets are thicker than ½ inch, it will continue to cook in the oven. Just make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Top The Chicken: Turn off the heat and top each chicken breast with the shredded cheese mixture (Image 4) followed by the breadcrumb mixture. (Image 5)
Bake: Bake at 475 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are a lightly golden brown and crispy. (Image 6)
Serve: Allow the chicken to rest for 3-5 minutes before plating and serving. Enjoy!

marinate the meat. cook the meat in a skillet. top the meat with shredded cheese mixture. top with breadcrumbs. continue cooking until cheese melted.

Tips & Variations

Be sure to allow as much of the excess Italian dressing to drip off before adding the chicken to the hot skillet.
You can substitute the plain panko breadcrumbs and parsley flakes for an Italian seasoned panko breadcrumb. You will still need to add the garlic salt to it, though. I do not suggest using a standard breadcrumb for this recipe as they do not have the same crunch as the panko.
If your cheese is melting too much in the oven, but your breadcrumbs are not as golden brown as you’d like, you can turn your oven temperature to broil for 1-2 minutes to brown your breadcrumbs if needed. Keep a close eye on your breadcrumbs, as they can burn quickly.

How to SErve

This Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken is delicious served with a side of mashed potatoes, Cauliflower Fried Rice or steamed or roasted vegetables as a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Proper Storage

To Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
To Freeze: Allow the chicken to cool completely before freezing. Once cooled, the browned chicken breast cutlets can be frozen in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Allow the chicken to thaw completely in the refrigerator before topping it with the cheese and breadcrumbs when ready to eat.
To Reheat: reheat in the microwave or oven oven until heated through.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size should my chicken cutlets be?

I often find that they are often very large and thick when I buy my chicken breast cutlets in bulk. If yours are also large and thick, I suggest you cut them in half, lengthwise, to give you two ½ inch thick boneless-skinless chicken breast cutlets. You may also need a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound them out into a uniform thickness. I like buying bags of pre-portioned, individually sealed chicken breast cutlets (Perdue brand is a great one) as they are typically the perfect size to use.

What if I do not have an oven-safe skillet?

If you do not have a heavy-duty, oven-safe, large skillet, you can brown your chicken breast cutlets on the stovetop and then transfer them to an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet to finish cooking. You will want to wait until you have placed your browned chicken cutlets onto the prepared baking sheet before adding the cheese blend and bread crumb topping.

5 from 1 vote

Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves —

This Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken tastes just like the steakhouse classic, but better!

Print Rate Pin Save

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 16

Chill Time 2

Total Time 2 26

Ingredients

▢ 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cutlets approximately ½-inch thickness
▢ 1 cup Italian salad dressing Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
▢ 1¼ cups shredded Italian cheese blend parmesan, provolone, fontina & asiago
▢ ¾ cup bottled ranch dressing Hidden Valley Original Ranch brand
▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
▢ ½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs
▢ ½ teaspoon garlic salt
▢ ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Place your chicken breast cutlets and Italian salad dressing into a large zip-top bag or a lidded container, and allow your chicken to marinate in the Italian dressing for a minimum of 2 hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cutlets, 1 cup Italian salad dressing
Preheat the oven to 475°F and remove the marinating chicken breast cutlets from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature.
In a small bowl, you will combine the shredded Italian four-cheese blend and the bottled ranch dressing. Set aside.
1¼ cups shredded Italian cheese blend, ¾ cup bottled ranch dressing
In a separate small bowl, stir together the melted unsalted butter, panko breadcrumbs, garlic salt, and dried parsley flakes. Set aside.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, ½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon garlic salt, ½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
In a large (10-12 inch) heavy-duty, oven-safe skillet on medium-high heat, add the olive oil.
2 tablespoons olive oil
Once the oil is hot in the skillet, add the chicken breast cutlets. Be sure to allow as much of the excess Italian dressing to drip off before adding the chicken to the hot skillet.
Cook and brown the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side. If your chicken cutlets are slightly thicker than ½ inch, that is ok, as your chicken will continue to cook in the oven. You want to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
Turn off the heat to the skillet and evenly add the shredded cheese mixture to the tops of each chicken breast. I like to divide the cheese mixture into four equal portions in the bowl before adding it to my chicken to make sure that I have even proportions.
Top each of the cheese-topped chicken cutlets with 2 tablespoons of the reserved breadcrumb mixture.
Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven, and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are a lightly golden brown and crispy.
Remove the skillet from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 3-5 minutes before plating and serving.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:

To Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the browned chicken breast cutlets in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.
To Reheat: reheat in the microwave or oven oven until heated through.

Tips:

For this recipe, I used a 4-ounce container of BelGioioso brand fresh shredded Italian four cheese blend. You can use any brand you prefer; you just need to make sure it is a blend that contains at least the provolone and parmesan cheeses in it. You can substitute this four-cheese blend with a simple combination of freshly shredded parmesan cheese and freshly shredded provolone cheese. Be sure to use non-smoked provolone cheese.
You can substitute your favorite brand of bottled Italian dressing for this recipe. I like to use the Kraft Zesty Italian, but you can use a balsamic vinaigrette, house vinaigrette, or your favorite from-scratch Italian dressing recipe. A small 8-ounce bottle is a perfect amount for marinating the chicken breast cutlets for this recipe.
I often find that when I buy my chicken breast cutlets in bulk, they are often very large and thick. I suggest that if yours are the same, then you will want to cut them in half, lengthwise, to give you two ½ inch thick boneless-skinless chicken breast cutlets. You may also need to use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound them out into a uniform thickness. I like to buy bags of pre-portioned, individually sealed chicken breast cutlets (Perdue brand is a great one) as I find that they are typically the perfect size to use.
If you do not have a heavy-duty, oven-safe, large skillet, then you can certainly brown your chicken breast cutlets on the stovetop and then transfer them to an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet to finish cooking. You will just want to wait until after you have placed your browned chicken cutlets onto the prepared baking sheet before adding the cheese blend and bread crumb topping.
When choosing a brand of bottled ranch dressing, I like to use one that is a thicker consistency. I find that when mixed with the shredded cheese, it does not cause the cheese to spread as much once placed into the oven. You can make your own ranch dressing from the packet of seasoning mix if you desire, and that will work great too.
You can substitute the plain panko breadcrumbs and parsley flakes for an Italian seasoned panko breadcrumb. You will still need to add the garlic salt to it, though. I do not suggest using a standard breadcrumb for this recipe as they do not have the same crunch as the panko.
If you find that your cheese is melting too much in the oven, but your breadcrumbs are not as golden brown as you prefer, you can turn your oven temperature to broil for 1-2 minutes to brown your breadcrumbs if needed. You will want to keep a close eye on your breadcrumbs, though, as they can burn quickly.