This buttery, juicy, crispy dish couldn’t be named anything better than heavenly chicken! Only requiring 4 ingredients and some seasonings also makes this a winning dinner option for me, nothing could be easier. Throw them in the oven or the air fryer for a deliciously meal idea. Slice them into strips and create crunchy chicken strips for lunch. Take this heavenly chicken with ritz crackers and put them on a bun and drizzle them with some honey mustard for an amazing heavenly chicken sandwich!
If you decide to bake them in the oven they will be ready in about 30 minutes, just enough time to make a side dish to go along with them or throw in some fries at the same time.
CAN YOU MAKE THIS IN THE AIR FRYER? You absolutely can. You still want the pieces to be uniform in thickness and will want to check them with a meat thermometer. Once they reach 165F they are done, but the general heating directions are larger pieces like 10 – 14 ounces will take around 20 – 30 minutes while smaller pieces 5 – 9 ounces around 12 – 18 minutes both at 380F. Very important to use a meat thermometer so you avoid dry chicken from over baking.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE HEAVENLY CHICKEN
With only a few basic ingredients and some seasonings you can make juicy chicken with a crunchy exterior.
- Chicken – I am using boneless, skinless chicken breast but you could also make this recipe using chicken legs or thighs.
- Sour Cream – The sour cream is used to bind the crackers to the chicken for baking. Don’t worry if not everyone likes sour cream because you will not taste it after it has been baked.
- Ritz crackers – These salty, buttery crackers will be crushed to form the crunchy exterior for our chicken. You can use other crackers if you prefer.
- Butter – Butter drizzled or brushed over the top of the breaded chicken just gives it that amazing buttery kick that is so mouthwateringly good.
- Seasoning: I skip the salt in this recipes because the crackers are already salted but you can add more if you prefer. My seasoning blend of choice for this recipe is listed below.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
KITCHEN NOTES *You can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream if you prefer. *I omitted salt/pepper because of the salt on the crackers but you can add some if you like. Use seasoned salt or your own blend of seasonings. *You could use plain bread crumbs also but I would add a tsp of salt to the recipe.
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HOW TO MAKE HEAVENLY CHICKEN
Just like with the basic simple ingredients. This recipe only has a few short and sweet steps. Before we get started lets get the oven preheating to 375 F and prepare our 9 x 13 baking dish with a light nonstick spray.
1. Having chicken that is of an even thickness is important to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly without drying out. So you can either use a mallet or rolling pin to pound them or slice them horizontally into a more even thickness. The pieces I had were quite thick, so I sliced them horizontally in half.
2. In one of the shallow mixing containers, mix together the sour cream and seasonings.
3. Crush your Ritz crackers and pour them in the other shallow container. To crush them I just placed them in a plastic bag with most of the air out and used a rolling pin on them.
4. Dredge each piece of chicken in the sour cream mixture coating both sides. Then press them into the Ritz crumbs really pressing those cracker crumbs into both sides.
5. Place each one in the baking dish, side by side and drizzle or brush with the melted butter.
6. Bake at 375F for approximately 30 minutes in the oven or until the chicken reaches 165 F on your thermometer.
7. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 4 or 5 minutes before serving and enjoy.
HOW DO YOU STORE LEFTOVERS? You can store leftovers in a sealed bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 – 4 days.
HOW MANY CRACKERS DO I NEED FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING? This will vary depending on the size of the chicken breasts but you’ll need around 1 and 1/2 sleeves.
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HERE ARE SOME OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY ENJOY! * DUTCH OVEN PORK LOIN *CREAMY LEMON CHICKEN *STUFFED CHICKEN ROULADE *SPAETZLE MUSHROOM GRAVY & PORK CHOPS
HEAVENLY CHICKEN
This chicken is pretty close to heavenly. I prefer white meat, so this plus the buttery goodness makes it one of my favorites ways to enjoy chicken. Dredged in sour cream and then coated with Ritz crackers gives this chicken a crunch on the outside while keeping the chicken juicy on the inside.
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 casserole dish or pan
- 2 shallow containers for dredging the chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 c sour cream
- 2½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1¼ tsp paprika
- 1½ c crushed Ritz crackers
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare your 9 x 13 casserole dish by lightly spraying it with nonstick spray.
- You will want your chicken breasts to be an even thickness. I had two very thick chicken breasts, so instead of pounding them to a thinner even thickness I sliced them lengthwise down the middle horizontally.
- In one of your shallow dishes, combine the sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Stir until thoroughly combined.
- In the other shallow dish, dump in your Ritz cracker crumbs.
- Now dredge each piece, one at a time, in first the sour cream mixture and then in the crumbs coating them completely. Really press the crumbs into each side of each chicken breast and then lay them in the 9 x 13 casserole dish side by side.
- Drizzle the breasts with the melted butter and place in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165° F. You do not want to dry out your chicken so keep an eye on the temperature.
- Remove from the oven and let them rest for a 4-5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
You can use chicken thighs or legs if you prefer.
You can also choose to use bread crumbs instead of Ritz crackers.
Ritz crackers already have salt so you don’t have to add any more to the recipe but it you use plain breadcrumbs you will want to adda teaspoon of salt to the bread crumbs.
**NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER The nutritional information shown is an estimate, and is determined from online calculators.
Nutrition
Serving: 1chicken breastCalories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 52gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 515mgPotassium: 960mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 760IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 2mg
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