One-Pan Baked Chicken and Asparagus With Parmesan

This One-Pan Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Asparagus is crispy, healthy, filling, easy, and delicious. The chicken is simply breaded with a mixture of parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Asparagus is lightly seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Finally, the scallions give a mild onion flavor. This dish is loaded with amazing but simple deliciousness!

The best part of this recipe? It’s ONE PAN!!

What Season is best for Asparagus?

Asparagus crops are harvested from late February to June, with April being the prime month. However, you can find asparagus anytime of year, you just may pay a bit more for it. If you cannot find affordable, fresh asparagus, DO NOT USE frozen, it will not be crisp, it will instead be mushy. I would swap with green beans or broccoli instead.

Do your kids eat asparagus? Roasting it brings out all of the natural sugars, gives it a soft enough texture, but also an almost crispy-crunchy outside so that kids can pick it up and eat it like french fries. For my kids, being allowed to pick up food with their fingers ALWAYS increases my chances of successfully getting them to eat it!.

Asparagus is Super Good For You!

After receiving my Certification in Nutrition and Healthy Living, I am always looking at the nutrition from foods that we eat. Asparagus is low in calories (ehem, for those of us that caught a glimpse of ourselves in swimsuits over spring break🙄), but it’s loaded with vitamins! It has vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, as well as folate, iron, copper, calcium, protein, and fiber (Health.com, 10 Reasons Why You Should Eat More Asparagus).

Time Saving Prep Ahead Steps for Baked Chicken and Asparagus

You are busy, so these are the steps you can do a day or two in advance to prepare food ahead! (See the recipe below for more details)

For this recipe, you can really prepare everything ahead in either storage bags or containers. If you’re not prepping in advance, then you do not need to place the ingredients in bags or containers, simply place in bowls or leave on the cutting board.

First, rinse the asparagus, cut off the woody ends and then place in a storage container or bag. Add to the asparagus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Slice the scallions into thin strips and mix the parmesan crumb mixture. Finally, slice the chicken breasts into 1 inch wide strips and put in a 1 gallon sealable bag.

If you are prepping ahead, place all baggies and 1 egg on the sheet pan for storing in the fridge.

Cooking Steps for Parmesan Baked Chicken and Asparagus

Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees and spray a large sheet pan with olive oil cooking spray. Pull your ‘kit’ out of the fridge.

Crack the egg into a medium size bowl (big enough to fit a couple pieces of chicken at a time). Or beat the eat and add to the container with the chicken to make this even easier!

Pour the parmesan-breadcrumb mixture into a pie pan, deep dish, or large bowl.

Ok, now put it all together! Dip each chicken strip into the egg wash and then coat with the parm-breadcrumbs. Then place on sheet pan that has been coated with olive oil cooking spray. Spray the top of each chicken piece lightly as well and then put into oven.

After the chicken has cooked for 15 minutes, take it out and flip each piece over. Then and add the Asparagus to the pan with the chicken and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

The Chicken will be browned and crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside. The asparagus will be slightly tender, but still slightly crisp and fresh with a delicious gentle roasted char to the outside.