Cheezy Parmesan Chicken Strips - 21g Protein
It is 5:15, the kids need dinner, and you are standing at the fridge staring at three chicken breasts with no plan. This is the fix. Three ingredients, one bowl, one pan, and it comes out of the oven at 21 grams of protein for 4 grams of fat and 0 carbs per portion. Twelve portions from one batch, which means tonight's dinner is also Tuesday's lunch and Wednesday's protein box without you touching the stove again.
Why This Meal Works for Fat Loss
Parmesan is doing double duty here. It is the coating, so there is no flour or breadcrumb carb load to track, and it is also adding its own protein, roughly 10 grams per ounce. Pair that with lean chicken breast and a single egg to bind it, and you get a dish that lands almost all of its calories as protein. That matters because most of the women I coach are undershooting their protein target by 30 to 40 grams a day, and a zero-carb, easy-to-grab protein like this one closes that gap without them having to think about it.
Zero net carbs per portion also means you get to choose the carb side based on what the day calls for. Training day, add rice or potatoes. Rest day, add a big pile of greens. The chicken does not change, only what sits next to it. The fat number is small and honest too, 4 grams per portion, all of it from the cheese and the egg. Nothing hidden in a sauce or a marinade you cannot see. Most women I coach are not struggling because they lack discipline, they are struggling because their meals have invisible fat and carbs stacked into sauces and coatings they never think to log. This one has nowhere for the numbers to hide.
Easy Cheezy Parmesan Chicken Strips
Protein 21g | Fat 4g | Carbs 0g per portion (recipe makes 12 portions, 227g protein / 4g net carbs / 44g fat total)
Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts (roughly 767g, or 1 lb 11 oz)
1 large whole egg
1 cup (120g) grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 1 to 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and set a sprayed cooling rack inside each pan.
Cut each chicken breast into 4 to 5 strips.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg really well.
Add the chicken strips and use tongs to toss well, until they are thoroughly coated with the egg.
Add half the parmesan and toss again.
Add the rest of the parmesan and toss until all of it sticks to the chicken.
Transfer the strips to the prepared pans. Distribute and pack on any moistened cheese left in the bowl so none of it goes to waste.
Bake 25 to 28 minutes, or until the tops are browned.
Macros are from Cam's cookbook and will vary by brand and by product. One portion is one twelfth of the batch, so weigh the finished strips and divide if you want it exact.
How to Fit It Into Your Day
One portion is a protein add-on, about two strips. Three or four portions is a full meal at roughly 65 grams of protein for 12 grams of fat, which is the kind of lunch that holds you through a 3pm slump without a snack drawer detour. Because the dish itself carries zero carbs, you decide the rest of the plate based on the day. A big bowl of roasted vegetables and a scoop of rice on a training day. A salad with a real dressing on a desk day. The strips do not care either way, which is exactly what you want from a batch-cooked protein.
They also work cold, straight out of the fridge, dunked in whatever sauce you keep around, which makes them one of the easier proteins to grab on a day that has gone sideways. If you are someone who skips lunch when things get busy and then overeats at dinner, having a container of these ready removes the excuse entirely.
Swaps and Variations
No oven rack? Bake directly on the lined sheet, just flip the strips halfway through so both sides crisp. Want them crunchier? A few minutes under the broiler at the end does it, watch closely so the cheese does not burn. Dairy sensitive? This one is harder to sub since the parmesan is the coating, but a dairy free parmesan alternative will work in the same ratio, just check its protein count because most run lower than the real thing. Want more flavor? Mix a teaspoon of garlic powder or Italian seasoning into the parmesan before coating, or add a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like heat. Chicken thighs work in place of breast if that is what you have on hand, the fat number goes up a little and the protein per gram goes down, so log what you actually cooked rather than assuming the original numbers hold.
Meal Prep Notes
This is built for batching, which is the whole point of twelve portions from one bowl. Let the strips cool for 10 minutes before you portion them so they do not steam themselves soft in the container. They keep 4 days in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or air fryer at 375°F for 5 to 6 minutes to bring the crunch back, the microwave works in a pinch but the coating goes soft. They freeze well for up to 2 months, portioned flat in a bag so they thaw quickly and reheat straight from frozen in the oven.
If you want the numbers and the order to run them in without waiting for a coaching spot, The Ultimate Guide to Macros is the whole method for $37, lifetime access.
The recipe is the easy part. The harder question, the one that actually decides whether you lose fat this fall, is how many of these portions belong on your plate and what sits next to them based on your training and the rest of your day. That is what coaching answers, and it looks different for every woman who walks in the door. If you are ready to stop guessing and start eating with a plan built for your body, book your call here.
The Pan I Cook This In (and 10% Off)
Quick one, because it matters more than people think. On the nights I pan-sear chicken instead of baking it, or reheat sliced leftovers with a splash of water, it goes into Caraway ceramic non-stick. It is the best non-stick pan I have used, full stop. Food slides off with barely any oil, it works on gas, electric and induction, and it goes straight into the oven up to 550°F.
Here is why a nutrition coach cares about a pan. Cooking oil is the calorie leak nobody logs. One tablespoon of oil is about 120 calories, and most of us pour it without measuring, two or three times a day. On a real non-stick surface a teaspoon does the job a tablespoon used to, which is about 80 calories saved every time you cook. Two cooked meals a day and that is over 1,000 calories a week you never tasted, gone, without eating a single bite less. That is the kind of deficit I want for you: the food stays, the calories you cannot taste go.
And the part I did not know for years: traditional Teflon-coated non-stick starts breaking down above about 500°F, which is exactly where a hot sear or an empty preheating pan lands, and the fumes it gives off are what doctors call "Teflon flu." Caraway's ceramic coating is made without PTFE, PFOA, PFAS, lead, or cadmium, so I stopped thinking about it.
Grab yours at rstr.co/caraway/coachcam and use code coachcam at checkout for 10% off. That is an affiliate link, so I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It is the pan every recipe in this series is cooked in.
