I tried chicken Parmesan recipes from Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, and Ree Drummond, and the best one took 30 minutes

Though De Laurentiis' recipe took the second longest at one hour and 45 minutes, her ingredient list was the simplest of the three.

I gathered the chicken breasts, herbs and spices, and cheeses alongside the equally basic supplies for her homemade tomato sauce.

The recipe called for chicken cutlets, which I couldn't find at my store.

Instead, I made cutlets out of full chicken breasts by cutting them down the center and flattening them.

De Laurentiis has a "light" chicken Parmesan recipe, void of breading.

Instead, herb oil made of olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and Italian parsley is painted across both sides of the chicken.

I also added salt and fresh-ground black pepper to make a flavorful coating for each cutlet.

This particular recipe called for an oven-proof skillet to thoroughly cook the chicken.

I started by searing the cutlets in the pan over high heat for about two minutes on each side.

De Laurentiis' simple tomato sauce is made using olive oil, a small onion, two cloves of garlic, a stalk of celery, a carrot, salt and pepper, two cans of crushed tomatoes, basil leaves, bay leaves, and unsalted butter.

But I used fresh, organic tomatoes instead of the canned option and opted for no butter.

I had to cook everything in a pot for an hour, so I'd recommend starting the sauce before digging into the chicken prep.

Once everything was ready, I covered the seared chicken with the sauce and cheese and baked it at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for about four minutes.

Although it's much different from any chicken Parmesan I've had before, I think this recipe is perfect for those trying to eat a lighter diet.

It also seems like a great substitute for those avoiding gluten since it isn't breaded at all.

Brown's version is all about precision and flavor. It takes a whopping two hours and 30 minutes and calls for "boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded to ⅛-inch thick."

Because I purchased chicken breasts, I was responsible for cutting them into smaller pieces.

After butterflying them, the recipe said to cut them even further, effectively turning them into chicken strips.

After cutting the chicken into strips, I salted both sides and placed them in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes.

After refrigerating the chicken, I submerged each piece in flour, then into a pan of beaten eggs, and then directly into the breading.

Brown's recipe called for a breading made of breadcrumbs, salt-and-vinegar potato chips, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder. But I found Italian-blend breadcrumbs at Aldi with most of those seasonings, so I just added the crushed chips.

This is also when I prepped the sauce, which called for garlic cloves, a Parmesan rind, San Marzano tomatoes, red-pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and anchovy filets.

Brown's recipe required me to sauté each piece of breaded chicken for two minutes per side. I also had to pour some of the tomato sauce into a broiler-safe baking dish and broil it for two minutes.

Then I added the chicken, remaining sauce, and shredded fontina and mozzarella to the top before broiling for another 60 to 90 seconds.

Although Brown's recipe took a lot of time and effort, I was pretty pleased with the results.

The extra flavors from the salt-and-vinegar chips and anchovies made it stand out.

Drummond's recipe called for chicken tenders, which saved me some prep time and allowed the breading to touch more of the chicken's surfaces.

The chef also encouraged using a jar of premade marinara, making the total prep time only about 16 minutes.

For those who enjoy the quintessential chicken Parm experience, Drummond also includes angel-hair pasta in her recipe.

The meal came together quickly, so I started boiling the water for the pasta while I prepped the chicken.

To coat the tenders, I mixed ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs, ¼ cup of grated Parmesan, ⅛ cup of parsley, and some salt and pepper.

I dipped the chicken in egg whites before dropping it in the breading, as instructed.

Once everything was coated, I cooked the breaded chicken on the stove over medium-high heat for about three minutes per side.

Then I covered the tenders in tomato sauce and cheese and broiled everything until it was bubbly.

When it was ready, I poured everything directly over the cooked pasta.

My family taste-tested the plates with me, and there was a clear winner.

Drummond's crispy Parmesan-panko breading was delicious on a pile of warm pasta. It was everyone's favorite recipe, and the 16-minute prep time didn't hurt.

Brown's sauce was my favorite of the group — even if it was my first time cooking with anchovies — and the texture of the breaded chicken was exactly what I was looking for.

After this success, I might even add some flavored chips to my next breaded dish.

De Laurentiis' chicken Parmesan was my least favorite of the three, only because it didn't come with that heart-warming crunch that I've come to love from this meal. But I still think it'd be good in the right context.

Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.