Vodka Sauce Chicken Parmesan Sliders with Mozzarella and Pesto Recipe

I started a slider series on Instagram in anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday and I am loving all the recipes! They were so fun to make and even more fun to eat! I love planning menus for entertaining and these sliders could not be more perfect for Super Bowl Sunday or any game day or movie night or whatever. Check out my Instagram for the other recipes and I have an epic breakfast sliders recipe in my newsletter!

Why You’ll Love These Vodka Sauce Chicken Parmesan Sliders with Mozzarella and Pesto

Perfect for game day!
Easy to make for a crowd;
Fun finger food fit for a party;
You can even buy all the components and assemble at home very quickly!

Ingredients

Rolls – slider rolls of choice. Anything small roll that you can find – small hamburger buns, brioche rolls, King’s Hawaiian Savory Butter Rolls rolls….
Chicken – boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin or cut into cutlets
Flour – your choice of all-purpose, GF flour blend or a paleo flour blend in a shallow bowl
Eggs – beaten in a shallow bowl or aquafaba or mayonnaise
Breadcrumbs – regular or gluten free (I personally don’t care for seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, but they work fine)
Cheese – I used mozzarella and Parmesan
Vodka sauce – you can use a store-bought sauce, but stay tuned for my vodka sauce recipe coming soon! Or use marinara
Pesto – store-bought or recipe of choice. Would be great with my Kale Pesto, Basil Parsley Pesto, or Broccoli Pesto

How to Make Vodka Sauce Chicken Parmesan Sliders with Mozzarella and Pesto

Pound chicken to an even thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. OR if the pieces are huge, cut into cutlets. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Beat the egg in a shallow dish (I like to use a pie plate). Take a second shallow dish and add the flour. Take a third shallow dish and for breadcrumbs.
To assemble: take the chicken breasts, one at a time, and dredge into the flour mixture, coating both sides, then dip into the egg mixture. Lastly, coat with breadcrumbs. Transfer coated chicken pieces to a sheet pan.
Preheat a large skillet (12-13 inches) over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the chicken without overcrowding the pan. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your cutlets. Cook for 5 minutes per side, or until each side is a deep golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a cooling rack. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the sliders in half and place the bottom half on a baking sheet cut side up. Bake until lightly toasted, about 7 minutes.
Completely cover one half with mozzarella and grated Parmesan on the other half. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
Spread vodka sauce on top of mozzarella. Add chicken to the bottom half of the buns. Drizzle with pesto. Add the bun tops.
Cut sliders into individual pieces and serve.

Tips

Whenever I am dredging, I like to use a pie plate – it is the perfect shallow bowl
If the chicken breasts are small, pound out the thick end to make them even thickness. If they are really large, slice in half into thin cutlets. The chicken will plump up when it cooks, so you want them on the thin side to start.
Many Italian markets and some grocery stores sell already cooked chicken cutlets. Buy them if it makes your life easy and reheat in the oven on a wire rack at 350 until heated through.
You can also buy prepared sauce, prepared pesto, and pre-sliced cheese!
This is really easy to adjust up or down in terms of measurements. You kind of don’t even need a recipe. You just want to cover the slider buns generously.

Substitutions

- Rolls – focaccia or hoagie rolls
- Chicken – tofu, roasted eggplant slices, or my Vegan Crispy “Chick’n”
- Flour – all purpose, GF blend like Bob’s or King Arthur or Bob’s Paleo Blend
- Eggs – aquafaba or vegan mayonnaise
- Mozzarella/Parmesan – Sliced provolone, or a vegan mozzarella and Parmesan
- Vodka sauce – a marinara sauce would work well too

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Vodka Sauce Chicken Parmesan Sliders with Mozzarella and Pesto Recipe

Pamela Salzman

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Servings sliders

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded thin or cut into cutlets*
Salt and pepper to taste for seasoning
4 eggs beaten
1 1/2 cups flour your choice of all-purpose, GF flour blend or a paleo flour blend
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
Olive oil for pan frying
16 sliders rolls of your choice. Any small roll that you can find - small hamburger buns brioche rolls, King's Hawaiian Savory Butter Rolls
6 oz of mozzarella OR provolone OR vegan cheese I used 6 slices of mozzarella
⅓ cup grated Parmesan
1 cup vodka sauce or marinara adjust to your liking
1/2 cup pesto

Instructions

Pound chicken to an even thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. OR if the pieces are huge, cut into cutlets. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Beat the egg in a shallow dish (I like to use a pie plate). Take a second shallow dish and add the flour. Take a third shallow dish and for breadcrumbs.
To assemble: take the chicken breasts, one at a time, and dredge into the flour mixture, coating both sides, then dip into the egg mixture. Lastly, coat with breadcrumbs. Transfer coated chicken pieces to a sheet pan.
Preheat a large skillet (12-13 inches) over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the chicken without overcrowding the pan. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your cutlets. Cook for 5 minutes per side, or until each side is a deep golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a cooling rack. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the sliders in half and place the bottom half on a baking sheet cut side up. Bake until lightly toasted, about 7 minutes.
Completely cover one half with mozzarella and grated Parmesan on the other half. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
Spread vodka sauce on top of mozzarella. Add chicken to the bottom half of the buns. Drizzle with pesto. Add the bun tops.
Cut sliders into individual sliders and serve.

Notes

*If the chicken breasts are small, pound out the thick end to make them even thickness. If they are really large, slice in half into thin cutlets. The chicken will plump up when it cooks, so you want them on the thin side to start.

Make it vegan:
Make my Vegan Crispy “Chick'n" linked above
Use aquafaba or mayonnaise instead of eggs
Use a vegan mozzarella and Parmesan, dairy-free pesto
Use marinara instead of vodka sauce

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!