Sandwiches
Chicken Parm Sandwich
Structurally unsound, deeply correct. Eat it standing over the sink like the rest of us.
Prep
20 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
4
Level
Medium
Ingredients
4 — chicken cutlets (pounded to about 1cm)
150g — flour
3 — eggs, beaten
200g — breadcrumbs (panko, mixed with grated parmesan)
400ml — tomato sauce (see The Sunday Sauce)
250g — low-moisture mozzarella, sliced
4 — seeded rolls, split
neutral oil for frying
There is a version of this within four blocks of me that costs eighteen dollars and I still make it at home, because mine has more cheese and I control the bread.
Use the Sunday Sauce if you have it in the freezer. That is genuinely what it is for.
Method
Set up three shallow bowls: flour, beaten egg, then the breadcrumb and parmesan mix. Season every one of them.
Dredge each cutlet through flour, egg, then crumbs, pressing the crumbs on firmly. Let them sit for ten minutes so the coating sets.
Shallow fry in 1cm of hot oil, about 3 minutes a side, until deeply golden. Drain on a rack, not paper — paper steams the underside.
Spoon warm sauce over each cutlet, blanket with mozzarella, and run under the broiler until the cheese blisters.
Toast the cut sides of the rolls in the residual oil in the pan. This is the step people skip and it is the step that matters.
Build, press down gently, and commit.
A note
Do not sauce the bread. Sauce the cutlet. The bread's only job is to stay structural for the ninety seconds this sandwich exists.
Good to know
More About This Recipe
Nutrition
Calories
720 kcal
Protein
42g
Carbs
58g
Fat
34g
Tips & tricks
Let the breaded cutlets sit for ten minutes before frying — this sets the coating so it doesn’t slide off in the oil.
Drain the fried cutlets on a rack, not paper towel — paper traps steam underneath and softens the crust just built.
Toast the cut sides of the rolls in the same pan’s residual oil. It’s the step people skip and it’s the difference between a sandwich and a mess.
Substitutions
Chicken cutlets
Thin-sliced chicken breast, pounded to an even 1cm — ask the butcher to do this if you don't have a mallet.
Panko breadcrumbs
Regular dried breadcrumbs work, but the coating will be less crisp — panko is worth seeking out here.
Low-moisture mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella, patted very dry first — it's wetter, so drying it matters more than usual.
Storage & leftovers
These are best eaten fresh — the bread goes soft within the hour. If there are extra components, store the fried cutlets and sauce separately in the fridge for up to two days, and rebuild the sandwich fresh rather than storing it assembled. Reheat the cutlet in the oven or an air fryer, not the microwave, to keep the coating from turning soft.
Questions people ask
Can I bake the cutlets instead of frying them?
What's the best sauce to use?
Can I make the cutlets ahead and assemble later?
Postcards from my kitchen
Made this one?
Tell me how it went, or what you did differently. The best changes to these recipes have come from readers.