Why Chicken Parm Tastes So Much Better From A Restaurant Than Homemade

Chicken parmesan is one of the many dishes that can best be described as easy to make (with the use of your air fryer being a non-traditional way to simplify the dish) but incredibly hard to master. Many people who've compared their homemade version of the dish to ones they get at restaurants know this all too well. There's a lot that goes into the perfect chicken parm, but there's one technique that many restaurant chefs utilize to make a truly exquisite rendition of the dish: By first cooking the chicken on the stove and finishing things in the oven, you create the ideal texture, consistency, and taste for your Italian meal.

We got some elaboration on this strategy from Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, who recently partnered with Barilla to celebrate its new line of pasta, Al Bronzo. He explains that he learned the two-step cooking method in restaurant kitchens, and believes it makes a massive difference for the dish. "Usually when I'm cooking chicken parm at home, I just do it on the stove top," says Beckham. "And something that I have taken [from the chefs] is [that] I really love finishing it in the oven, so the cheese is really melted. It gets crispy on top — which is very hard to do on a stove top." This strategy has been corroborated by some chefs online, although some at-home cooks have also said they prefer to use the broiler setting on their oven to give the dish a quick finish that melts the cheese incredibly well.

Beyond the method of cooking your dish on the stove and in the oven, the most important things to do are to avoid mistakes — like making your chicken parmesan too soggy — and use high-quality ingredients. According to Beckham, looking at the core components of the dish and what you need to make them great are two additional keys to victory when it comes to chicken parm. "You have to have a beautiful piece of chicken, obviously, as your base," he says. "I grate cheese, I love to put some parsley on there, and just — you have to really take your time. You have to, obviously, have a really good tomato sauce."

This focus on patience, good sauce, and flavorful add-ons like parsley is vital to making chicken parmesan taste as good as it does at a restaurant. For Beckham, this includes making your sauce yourself, and while you can follow iconic Italian recipes like Nonna Ginny's Pasta Sauce, it's important that the topping is as flavorful as possible in order to elevate the rest of the dish. "In [restaurant] kitchens, obviously, they have their own tomato sauce," Beckham reminds us. "Really take your time with it — and obviously, you have to make that tomato sauce as tasty as possible, so seasoning is very, very important."