Chicken Parmesan Panini

Chicken Parmesan Panini – Grilled sandwiches filled with crispy, breaded chicken breasts topped with marinara sauce, provolone, and roasted red bell peppers.

Hello peeps!  Hope you guys are enjoying your week!  I am happy to be back in my normal routine.  I still haven’t updated you guys on my little blogging trip I took last weekend.  I can’t wait to share pictures with you, but I thought I’d do that in a separate post…just as soon as I have time to put it together.

The end of school is approaching, and that is such a busy time!  I have things due left and right, papers to grade, emails to get to, and lessons to plan.  But we are in the home stretch!  In addition to all that, I am having a wedding shower at my house this weekend AND we are leaving for a big road trip next weekend.

So while I’m running around like a crazy person, I could wait to also bring you this panini recipe. I love a good panini so much! I have several on the blog, which you can see here. This one was inspired by a visit to a restaurant recently. I felt like it left a little out in the flavor department, so I decided to make my own at home 🙂

I knew it would be good because it has all those great ingredients like crispy chicken, marinara, provolone, and my favorite panini ingredient…roasted red bell peppers. They take it to a whole other level! Please don’t leave that ingredient out! They are so worth it. I even put them in these low calorie wraps for lunches too.

Ingredients

• 3 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 1/2 tsp creole seasoning (divided)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup panko
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 4 slices provolone cheese (non-smoked)
• 1 Italian bread loaf (found in bakery section)* slice into 1 in. thick slices
• jarred roasted red bell peppers

Instructions

1. Pound chicken breasts out to 1/4 inch thickness. You can do this by placing them in between two sheets of plastic wrap or in a plastic storage bag. Remove and season with 1 tsp creole seasoning.
2. In a shallow dish, beat egg and season with 1/2 tsp creole seasoning. In another shallow dish, stir panko, shredded parmesan, and 1 tsp creole seasoning. Dip each breast into egg and then press into panko mixture to evenly coat.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 7 to 8 minutes per sides. Lower heat if chicken is browning too quickly. Remove from pan and let rest a few minutes and then slice.
4. Heat marinara sauce in a small sauce pan. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel.
5. Build panini sandwiches: Onto one slice of bread, spread 2 tbsp marinara sauce. Top with sliced chicken, a slice of provolone, a little more sauce, and a few red bell pepper strips. Top with other slice of bread. Drizzle both sides with a little olive oil.
6. Place in preheated skillet and press down with another skillet (no need for a panini press). Cook until golden brown on each side.