Mississippi Chicken

This Mississippi Chicken recipe is EASY + DELICIOUS!  There is no better busy weeknight meal, than one that comes together quickly, is packed with flavor and leaves little to clean up.  This Mississippi Chicken hits the mark on all three!  In this one dish meal, tender chicken breasts are flavored with ranch seasoning, then covered in banana peppers and topped with butter and cheese for a simple but flavorful meal that you can have from the fridge to the oven in just minutes. Read on for the recipe and lots of serving ideas to complete your easy dinner.

Mississippi Chicken Recipe

I have said it before, and I will probably say it again soon, I like to cook (probably even more than most) but getting dinner on the table every single night can be a real struggle.  When you are in a rush, have cranky kids (or spouses) waiting, and are in a hurry to get to the next activity it can really suck the fun right out of meal time.

I started making chicken bakes years ago as a way to cook all of the ingredients for dinner in a one dish meal so it was quicker and easier to make and, maybe even more importantly, quick and easy to clean up.  You can see tons of my baked chicken recipes here including my all time 10 favorite recipes.

If you are a banana pepper lover, today is your lucky day! This Mississippi Chicken Recipe is all of that and packed with flavor to seal the deal.  It really exemplifies what an easy dinner can look like since you can get this from the fridge to the oven in as little as 10 minutes.  It is a little bit cheesy, a little bit tangy and an all around good dinner.

As a bonus this is also super low carb and can easily be made gluten free to cater to dietary needs.

How to serve Mississippi Chicken

The great thing about these chicken bake recipes are that you can pair them with whatever you like to make them work for your diet, lifestyle, and time you have to cook.  There are so many great serving options ranging from classic sides to low carb ideas to round out the meal.

Here are some of my favorite classic sides:

• Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, or smashed potatoes!  Both are great options depending on what kinda mood you are in.
• Rice or your favorite grain- this is our classic go to for this recipe.  Everyone likes it and you can spoon the juices over the rice to add tons of flavor.
• Garlic toast- My kids are obsessed with garlic bread and I have occasionally been known to bribe them to finish their dinner in exchange for an extra slice.
• Corn casserole– This is one of our all time favorite sides and it really goes well with anything.

Low carb serving ideas:

• Cauliflower rice- You can see how I make and freeze cauliflower rice here
• Roasted veggies- Use any veggies you have on hand.  Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven until tender.
• Zoodles- You could go with classic zucchini, carrot, or even butternut squash.
• Over Sauteed Spinach- pictured above, and my personal favorite way to eat it.
• Side salad with ranch or even this homemade broccoli slaw

You can choose one side item, or serve this with a few options to make a well rounded meal.  If you have another favorite side item or serving idea I missed, please leave me a note in the comments so I can try it out!

How to Make Mississippi Chicken

This recipe is super simple as promised.  I am going to walk through a few things with you here to answer any questions that may come up as you cook.  There is a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

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Mississippi Chicken Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast– This will be about 3-4 average sized chicken breasts.  If you get extra thick ones you may want to cut them in half so they are half the thickness.  This will help them to cook more quickly and evenly and give you are more tender result.
• 1 tbsp ranch seasoning- You can use Hidden Valley Ranch Mix or use my homemade ranch seasoning.  If you are gluten free I recommend going homemade.
• 1 jar (16 oz) banana peppers, drained- You will want to quickly drain the juice out of these.  When they bake over the chicken they will release more juice that will flavor the dish, but too much will make it more watery than desired.
• 2 tbsp butter- This just gets cut into pats and sprinkled over the top.  It melts through everything as the chicken cooks and brings it all together.
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded- You can sometimes find this pre-shredded at the store, but if not look in the cheese block section.

Mississippi Chicken Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
2. Lay the chicken in the  bottom of a large casserole dish so that it is flat and not overlapping.  This will help the chicken to cook quickly and evenly.
   Sprinkle the ranch seasoning over the top of the chicken as evenly as possible.
   Next spread the banana peppers over the ranch seasoning. The peppers shouldn’t have too much liquid left.  If there is too much it might “wash” the ranch off the chicken into the bottom of the pan.
   Then top the banana peppers with pats of butter.  Top it all evenly with the shredded cheese.  You can add more or less cheese to taste.
3. Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temperature.) I do not generally cover my chicken dishes.  I have never had a problem with them burning.  I like to cook them uncovered because it helps the extra liquid to cook off rather than being trapped in the pan.  Since each oven cooks differently based on size, brand, climate etc, if you notice the cheese getting more browned than desired, you can cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil at any time to protect it for getting any more browned.
4. Serve hot over rice, cauli rice, sauteed greens, or with your favorite sides. Check above for more serving suggestions. Enjoy!

I really hope that your family enjoys this Mississippi Chicken as much as mine does!

If you do get a chance to try it, I would love it if you let me know!  You can leave me a comment below, or if you post a picture on Instagram, make sure to tag me @easyfamilyrecipes so that I can see what you are cooking up! It makes my day to see others enjoying the recipes that I share!

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5 from 3 votes

Mississippi Chicken

This Mississippi Chicken is quick, easy, and delicious!  It is packed with bold ranch flavor and the tangy flavor of banana peppers combined perfectly to cover the tender chicken.  This can go from the fridge to the oven in as little as 10 minutes for a simple week night meal.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Serves:8 servings

Hover over "serves" value to reveal recipe scaler

Calories:197

Author:Kimber

Print Review Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 tbsp ranch seasoning see note
• 1 jar 16 oz banana peppers, drained
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese shredded

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
• Lay the chicken in the  bottom of a large casserole dish so that it is flat and not overlapping.  Sprinkle the ranch seasoning over the top of the chicken. Next spread the banana peppers over the ranch seasoning.  Then top the banana peppers with pats of butter.  Top it all evenly with the shredded cheese.
• Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temperature.
• Serve hot over rice, cauli rice, sauteed greens, or with your favorite sides. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• I use either Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning or homemade ranch seasoning.  If you are gluten free make sure to use homemade ranch seasoning.
• If your chicken breasts are thick, you may want to slice them in half lengthwise so that they are half as thick.  This will help them cook more quickly and evenly.
• You can also use chicken tenderloins, chicken thighs or other cuts, however the cook time may change.
• Nutrition facts provided based on my best estimation for the recipe and may not be accurate depending on what brands you use or modifications you make to the recipe.  I recommend using a nutrition calculator with the exact brands and measurements you use for the most accurate calculation.
  ©2018 The Pinning Mama- https://www.thepinningmama.com/mississippi-chicken/
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Nutrition Information:

Serving: 4oz chicken + ToppingsCalories: 197kcal (10%)Carbohydrates: 3g (1%)Protein: 26g (52%)Fat: 11g (17%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 78mg (26%)Sodium: 451mg (20%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)

(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)

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