This Ritz Cracker Chicken Bake will have kids and adults both licking their plates and asking for seconds! This recipe, is simple, easy, and full of the flavors of comfort food making it a perfect weeknight dinner idea.
Oh goodness, there may be little I like in life more than some good comfort food. Macaroni and cheese (homemade, of course!) biscuits and chicken tenders all appear right at the top of the list of foods I adore. I have been making mac and cheese like my mama taught me since I could walk, and good tall southern biscuits are something I finally mastered in my adult life, but chicken tenders can be tricky.
You see, they need to be tender, juicy, and crispy. Which is easy to order up at a restaurant with big commercial fryers, but at home, I just don’t do more than the occasional pan frying and really prefer to bake things. I mean as much as I love good southern fried food, I also really like my waistline, so I have to keep it all in moderation, you know?!
But I wouldn’t lead you down this path without a really crazy delicious recipe of course. And that recipe is Ritz Cracker Chicken. I seriously love this stuff. My kids seriously love this stuff. Even my husband picked this over another dish I made that was smothered in bacon and other assorted goodness.
Simply put… this recipe is a winner. (Ie. use that little pin it button on at the top up there because this one’s a keeper!!)
I make this two ways and both are super tasty. This is my classic Ritz Cracker Chicken, then I also make a Ranch Ritz Cracker Chicken which I will share the recipe for in a few weeks so stay tuned!! Either way, the (not so) secret ingredient is Ritz Crackers. Those things are just really good. You see one sitting there and it doesn’t look like anything special, but then you take a bite and, Dang! It is tender, rich, and buttery. I always forget how good they are! They are even better though combined in this dish! So please for the love of all that is good, don’t sub the crackers for saltines or anything crazy like that. Go get the real thing (they even have whole wheat!) and enjoy every bite!
Ritz Cracker Chicken Bake Recipe
To make this you only need 4 ingredients. How great is that?! (FULL recipe below)
- Chicken Breasts
- Melted Butter
- A Sleeve of Ritz Crackers
- 1 Tbsp Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Dry Mix
You will need to shallow bowls for this. Take one and melt the butter in it. Take the other and pour the cracker crumbs in it. Use this method to make cracker crumbs super fast! Spray a casserole dish with Pam Cooking Spray to prep it.
Now take your trimmed, boneless, skinless, chicken breast and dip it into the butter to coat it well. Then roll in the cracker crumbs then set it flat in the sprayed casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts laying them flat, side by side.
Pour the remaining butter in the remaining cracker crumbs and give it a good stir to get it all mixed in evenly. Pour the rest of the cracker crumbs right over the top of the chicken breasts and spread it out evenly if needed. Then pop them on the middle rack in the oven (preheated to 375˚F) for 30-40 minutes or until it is cooked all the way through.
NOTE: Keep an eye on it, and once it gets to the right level of browness set a piece of foil loosely over it for the rest of the baking time. I usually get about 2/3 through the cook time before covering. Make sure the foil is loose so the dish can breathe and the moisture is not trapped. That would make the cracker crumbs mushy instead of nice and crispy which is what we want.
Once the chicken is done, take it out of the oven and serve it up nice and hot. This dish goes great with mashed potatoes, broccoli, salad, or really any of your favorite sides! We love to dip it in honey mustard but the Italian seasonings give it a great flavor so it doesn’t need dip if you are really a dip kind of person. It is tender, juicy, and delicious and I hope you love it every bit as much as we do!
If you try out the recipe I love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Or if you post a picture of your delicious dinner on Instagram, make sure and tag me (@easyfamilyrecipes) so I can drool over your creation!
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Ritz Cracker Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken breasts
- 4 Tbsp Butter melted
- 1 Sleeve Ritz Crackers
- 1 Tbsp Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Dry Mix
Instructions
- Crush the ritz crackers into crumbs and put them into a shallow bowl and mix in the Italian seasoning into the crumbs.
- Dip the first chicken breast into melted butter to coat all sides, then roll the chicken breast in the crumb mixture to coat well. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
- Spray the dish with Pam and then lay the chicken breasts flat in the baking dish.
- Mix remaining butter with remaining crumb mixture and then sprinkle over top of the chicken breasts.
- Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes or until cooked through. If crumbs start getting too dark, then loosely cover with foil for the remainder of cooking time.
- Enjoy!
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Esther M Bonet says
Great recipe