Take it easy for dinner tonight with this delicious meal that’s ready in a flash. Ritz cracker chicken takes ho-hum boneless, skinless chicken breasts and two common pantry staples—mayonnaise and Ritz crackers—and turns them into a crisp and juicy main dish. It’s a chicken dinner that you’ll find yourself making again and again.
What sets this recipe apart is how the chicken is breaded and baked. Chicken breasts often end up dry and tough, due to the challenge of cooking unevenly thick meat. I remedy this by pounding each breast to an even 1/2-inch thickness. On top of that, I skip the traditional three-step breading process, opting instead for a quick coating in seasoned mayonnaise. The best part: Both of these steps can be done in the same gallon-sized zip-top bag! Coat the chicken breasts in a mixture of buttery, crushed Ritz crackers, then bake on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet so that the coating turns toasty and brown all over.
Can I only use Ritz crackers?
Coating chicken breasts in Ritz crackers imparts every bite with crunchy, buttery flavor. While the recipe calls for Ritz crackers, you can substitute your favorite crushed crackers, chips, or cereal like Cheez-Its, saltines, tortilla chips, and corn flakes cereal.
If you’re substituting another cracker for the Ritz crackers, make sure to weigh the crackers using a food scale first, before coarsely crushing them with your hands or a rolling pin. Once crushed, double check the volume of your crumbs before dredging the chicken; you should have 1 3/4 cups of crumbs.
What does butter do for Ritz cracker chicken?
Instead of topping the breaded chicken breasts with a pat of butter before baking, mix the crushed Ritz crackers with melted butter to produce an evenly brown, crunchy coating with a robust buttery flavor.
Ritz Cracker Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
