I think it’s time for another Crazy Easy Chicken Recipe! Today’s “recipe” is one of the first things I ever cooked. Even though this non-recipe recipe is beyond easy and simple, it’s incredibly tasty and versatile. In fact, I don’t know why I don’t cook chicken like this more often.

Italian dressing is kind of magical. It’s one of those ingredients that can quickly add flavor to all kinds of recipes. My favorite uses are in potato salad and for marinating chicken, which brings us to today’s recipe!

All you need is chicken and Italian dressing. That’s it. You’re done. Be sure to stab your chicken as directed. That is the key to making your chicken extra tender and filled with that Italian dressing flavor.

Italian Dressing Chicken

 

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This chicken is great topped on salad and served on a sandwich!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Italian dressing

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Stab the chicken breasts on both sides a TON with a fork.
3. Put chicken in a small bowl and cover with Italian dressing, flipping chicken to cover completely. You can cook immediately but letting it marinate for about 30 minutes in the fridge is even better!
4. Place chicken in a baking dish, pouring any remaining dressing in the bowl over the top.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until inside of chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature reaches 160º F. Don't overcook to keep it moist and tender.
6. I didn't provide measurements because this is a CRAZY EASY recipe and you don't need them! Just eyeball it, you can't mess it up!

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I have another Crazy Easy Chicken recipe for you today! So far we have Creamy Lemon Pepper Chicken (which I posted last October) and Parmesan-Crusted Chicken. Today we’re going to go with a savory-sweet recipe, which happens to be my favorite flavor combo! (As in, don’t put any chocolate-covered pretzels anywhere near me or they will ALL disappear.)

We only need 3 ingredients for this recipe: chicken, maple syrup and soy sauce. That’s it, you’re done. I love how the saltiness of the soy sauce is a perfect balance to the maple syrup. It’s pretty much divine and so easy to throw together.

This chicken would be great on a salad, in a stir fry or maybe even just on its own with a big pile of creamy garlic mashed potatoes. Yeah, that sounds good to me. Do that.

Savory Maple Chicken

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

With only 3 ingredients, this super easy chicken recipe is great for a weeknight and hits the salty-sweet spot!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 part soy sauce
• 2 parts REAL maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Stab the chicken breasts on both sides a TON with a fork.
3. Mix together the soy sauce and maple syrup (you should be using twice as much maple syrup as soy sauce).
4. Place chicken in a baking dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken, turning the chicken several times to make sure it is coated in the sauce. (The little holes from your fork stabbing will help the chicken to take in some of that yummy sauce.)
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until inside of chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature reaches 160º F. Don't overcook to keep it moist and tender.
6. I didn't provide measurements because this is a CRAZY EASY recipe and you don't need them! For two chicken breasts, it will probably take about ¼ - ½ cup maple syrup and ⅛ - ¼ cup soy sauce, but that's just a guess. Adjust accordingly as you put the dish together and suit to your own tastes. If you want more sauce, whip up a little more sauce!

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Today marks the beginning of a new miniseries here on the blog, Crazy Easy Chicken Recipes! I’m kind of a fan of the miniseries (see: Fargo and True Detective), so I figured I’d love it just as much if recipes were involved. 😉

For the first crazy easy chicken recipe we have parmesan-crusted chicken. This chicken comes out so tender, moist and flavorful you won’t believe it only uses 4 ingredients. And, yes, one of those ingredients is mayonnaise. It’s like magic. And I swear to you the chicken tastes nothing like mayonnaise when it comes out of the oven. (Apparently I’m on a cook-poultry-smothered-in-mayonnaise roll – it’s how we cooked our turkey this past Thanksgiving and it worked beautifully then, too!)

Simply serve this chicken with any sides you like and you’ve got dinner! Also, I recommend eating this chicken fresh out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, heat them up in the oven or toaster oven to get the coating crispy once again (microwave just doesn’t cut it in this case!).

Crazy Easy Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Only 4 ingredients and minimal effort yields tender, flavorful chicken perfect for a quick dinner!

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Mayonnaise
• Fresh, grated parmesan cheese
• Breadcrumbs (I prefer Panko for the texture)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. Stab the chicken breasts on both sides a TON with a fork.
3. Spread the chicken on both sides with a layer of mayonnaise.
4. Sprinkle both sides liberally with fresh parmesan cheese, then dip both sides of the chicken in the breadcrumbs.
5. Place chicken in a baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until inside of chicken is no longer pink and the internal temperature reaches 160º F. Don't overcook to keep it moist and tender.
6. I didn't provide measurements because this is a CRAZY EASY recipe and you don't need them! For two chicken breasts, it will probably take about ½ cup each of the mayo, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs, but that's simply a guess. Just use what you need based on the size and the amount of chicken breasts you use!

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I recently discovered a quick “recipe” for lemon pepper chicken that I simply have to share with you. The chicken is tender and flavorful and it’s just so easy to make! This chicken is delicious fresh out of the oven served with rice and a veggie, but I also love it served cold over salad. It would be great in sandwiches, too!

I sort of accidentally created this recipe. I thought I was making a recipe for luscious lemon chicken that I received from a friend 15 years ago. I was going from memory and the final result was what you see here in this post. Only, when I looked the original recipe up later, I discovered I left a bunch of ingredients and steps out! So, now I have two awesome lemon chicken recipes. 😉 And, yes, one day I’ll share the luscious lemon chicken recipe with you, too!

Today’s version of the recipe really is SO easy and delicious. My little Anna especially loves it! Be sure you use the stabbing-the-chicken-with-a-fork trick – that is the key to this tender, flavorful chicken!

Lemon Pepper Chicken

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Super easy with delicious results, this chicken has a nice peppery flavor with a hint of lemon.

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Lemon Pepper
• Salt (kosher preferred)
• Cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Stab chicken breast(s) all over on both sides with a fork (click here for details on this trick).
3. Sprinkle both sides evenly with salt, then sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper on both sides.
4. Place chicken in a baking dish then pour cream over the chicken to coat. Flip chicken breasts in the dish with a fork to coat both sides of the chicken with cream.
5. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and/or internal temperature of chicken reaches 160ºF.
6. Serve hot out of the oven with rice and veggies. Refrigerate leftovers and serve cold on salad or in sandwiches.

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