A Fun Twist on a “Tra-Dish” – No-Fry Chicken Parmesan Sandwich with Ragú #NewTraDish

We love eating Italian food – whether it’s a simple spaghetti and meat sauce or a savory ravioli. At the same time, I’m always looking to find ways to mix things up a little – find a fun way to add my own twist to a dish that we eat so frequently, if I didn’t switch it up, it would become “What, again?” But not only that, I like recipes that are easy to follow and – above all things (other than deliciousness) – quick and easy to prepare.

Today, I decided to do my own lunch-version of Chicken Parmesan, based on Ragú’s No Frying Chicken Parmesan recipe. My new “Tra-Dish” is the no-fry Chicken Parmesan Sandwich.

No-Fry Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Recipe

5 from 1 vote

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No-Fry Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

A lunch-time twist on a traditional Italian dish.

Course Sandwich

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6

Author Miriam Tirips

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast halves (about 2 lbs.)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 jar 1 lb. 8 oz. Ragu® Old World Style® Traditional Pasta Sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 loaf French Bread

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in shallow dish.
3. Dip chicken in egg, then crumb mixture; turn to coat.
4. Arrange chicken in 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Bake 20 minutes.
5. Remove chicken from oven and pour Ragu® Old World Style® Traditional Pasta Sauce over chicken.
6. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the pasta sauce.
7. Top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
9. Cut French Bread into portions about the width of your chicken and then slice into half horizontally (to create a top and bottom).
10. Using a knife, CAREFULLY cut out some of the inside of the bread on both the top and bottom pieces.
11. Sandwich chicken between bread slices.
12. Serve hot with a salad on the side.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it isn’t complicated and is totally delicious, so everyone in the family will love it.

You start off creating your bread mixture by combine the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

Next, dip the chicken thighs (or chicken breasts – we prefer dark meat) into the beaten egg and then coat both sides of the chicken in the crumb mixture. Place the coated chicken in your baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

When the chicken comes out of the oven, top it with Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce. This Ragú sauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes and is packed with flavor. One of the tricks I learned from Gil was brown sugar. Whenever I cook up any pasta sauce, I add brown sugar for a little mystery oomph. “Brown sugar in pasta sauce???” you ask? Yes. Try it. Love it. I used about half a jar of Ragú and only used 1/8 cup of brown sugar, but if you like saucy chicken parm, then use the whole jar of Ragú and sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

After sprinkling the chicken with brown sugar, top it with mozzarella cheese and return it to the oven to finish baking.

While the chicken is finishing, you can prepare your bread. We’d just picked up a loaf of French bread from the store so I decided to use it to make sandwiches. First, cut the loaf into portions about the width of a piece of chicken. Then cut the pieces in half so you create a top and bottom of the sandwich. I didn’t want to overpower the chicken with bread, so I used my knife to cut out little widgets in the middle of each piece of bread (yes, you can totally eat the pieces of soft bread you cut out.)

Finally, put the cooked chicken between the bread, serve with a nice Caesar salad, and you have yourself a delicious No-Fry Chicken Parmesan sandwich that’s perfect for lunch or dinner! You can also add your own twist to this Tra-Dish by making an open-face sandwich or cutting it into slices for finger Chicken Parmesan sandwiches.

If you’d like to discover more Italian recipe ideas, visit Ragú’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ragusauce

Ragú Online

• Visit the Ragú Website
• “Like” Ragú on Facebook
• Follow Ragú on Twitter

Disclaimer: This post consists of my (and/or fellow tester) opinions only. Your experiences may be different. No compensation was given for this review/giveaway. I did receive a free product from the manufacturer or their representing PR agency to use and test for the purposes of this review. This did not affect the outcome of this review.