This Real Housewife’s Easy 1-Pan Chicken Starts With a Store-Bought Shortcut

As home cooks, you might think we make everything from scratch. But, we’ll let you in on a little secret: if we can pass a store-bought item off as homemade, we will. It’s why we shop at grocery stores with bakeries and delis and follow Ina Garten’s easy tricks for dressing up store-bought ingredients.

However, many home cooks—including our Allrecipes Allstars—agree that there are some fantastic grocery shortcuts out there that don’t require the extra zhuzh—and Rao’s Homemade sauces are one of them.

Rao’s Homemade consistently takes the cake as a fan-favorite jarred sauce—even amongst chefs and celebrities. The latest celeb to show her love for the brand is “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Melissa Gorga.

Melissa Gorga’s 1-Pan Chicken Dinner

The Bravo-lebrity recently shared her go-to chicken cutlets recipe, which features Rao’s Homemade jarred marinara. Gorga says her family enjoys the One Pan Chicken Prosciutto Parmigiana dinner “at least once a week.”

While the chicken Parmesan base came from Gorga’s mother’s cookbook, she upgrades the dish with a special ingredient: prosciutto.

“I always recommend this dish because of how yummy and easy it is to make,” Gorga told Allrecipes. “You take the cutlet, put Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce on top in one pan, put some prosciutto on it…it’s delicious. It’s easy, quick to put together, and you don’t have to go through the whole process of making sauce, which can take hours.”

The whole dish—complete with breaded chicken cutlets topped with marinara sauce, melty mozzarella, and salty prosciutto—comes together in about 45 minutes, no simmering required. And, while the chicken cooks, you can prep your easy sides.

“I’m a big fan of penne and thin spaghetti to serve on the side whenever I’m eating meat,” Gorga said. “I also love to serve this with some sort of greens, like a sautéed spinach!”

Melissa Gorga’s One Pan Chicken Prosciutto Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 (6-ounce) portions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups Italian Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 (24-ounce) jar Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce
• 8 ounces fresh Mozzarella, cut into 8 slices
• 3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
• 4 ounces prosciutto di Parma, shaved thin and roughly chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Working in a shallow 9×13-inch baking dish, pour the olive oil into the baking dish and spread all over the bottom. Set it aside.
3. Now, season the chicken breast portions with salt and pepper and set those aside.
4. Create a breading station for the chicken. You will need a shallow pan for the flour, one for the eggs, and one for the breadcrumbs.
5. Working in one flow, lightly dredge the seasoned chicken in the flour, followed by the eggs, and finally, the breadcrumbs. You want to make sure that the chicken is fully coated in each of the items.
6. As you finish breading each piece of chicken, place them in the lightly greased baking dish.
7. Bake the breaded chicken in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 158 degrees F (the chicken is not fully cooked at this stage).
8. Next, remove the chicken from the oven and cover it with Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce.
9. Place 2 slices of the mozzarella on top of each chicken piece, and liberally sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano over the mozzarella.
10. Finally, sprinkle chopped prosciutto over the chicken and cheese and place back into the oven.
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, the cheese is melted, and the prosciutto is crispy.
12. Carefully, remove the chicken from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
13. Before serving, sprinkle the top with the basil leaves. Serve with your favorite Rao’s Homemade pasta and sautéed spinach.

This recipe was provided by Rao’s Homemade.