My college roommate taught me this 4 ingredient life saver and it is the only way I eat chicken now.

This oven baked 4-ingredients cheesy broccoli chicken is the kind of recipe that keeps busy weeks from falling apart. My college roommate showed me this little life saver in our tiny off-campus kitchen, and it quickly became the only way we wanted to eat chicken. It’s just chicken breasts, frozen broccoli, a can of condensed cream of broccoli soup, and shredded cheddar cheese. Everything bakes together in one dish, so you get juicy chicken, tender roasted broccoli, and a bubbly cheesy top with almost no effort and hardly any cleanup.

Serve this cheesy broccoli chicken straight from the baking dish with something simple that can soak up the extra sauce—steamed rice, buttered egg noodles, or mashed potatoes all work wonderfully. A side salad or sliced cucumbers with ranch keeps things fresh and helps balance the richness. If you’re feeding kids, warm rolls or garlic breadsticks are great for dipping into the cheesy broccoli bits left in the pan.

Servings: 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or similar casserole dish.

Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Pat them dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper if you’d like (optional, not counted as ingredients).

Spread the frozen broccoli florets evenly around and over the chicken breasts, tucking some down along the sides so every bite gets a little broccoli.

In a small bowl, stir the condensed cream of broccoli soup to loosen it slightly (no water or milk added). Spoon the soup evenly over the chicken and broccoli, using the back of the spoon to spread it so most of the chicken is covered.

Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the top of the soup-covered chicken and broccoli, saving the remaining 1/2 cup for later.

Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. This helps the chicken start cooking through and the broccoli begin to soften.

Carefully remove the foil and return the dish to the oven. Bake uncovered for another 15–20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature reaches 165°F/74°C) and the broccoli is tender.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the top. Place the dish back in the oven, uncovered, for 5–8 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted, bubbling, and just starting to brown around the edges.

Let the cheesy broccoli chicken rest for about 5 minutes before serving so the sauce thickens slightly. Serve the chicken breasts topped with plenty of the cheesy broccoli and pan sauce from the dish.

For picky eaters, you can chop the broccoli into smaller pieces so it blends in more with the sauce, or serve the broccoli on the side from the pan and let kids scoop as much or as little as they like. If your family prefers milder cheese, use a mild cheddar or a Colby-Jack blend instead of sharp cheddar. To stretch the meal for more people, cut the chicken into large chunks before baking so it cooks a bit faster and everyone gets more cheesy broccoli mixed in; just start checking for doneness a little earlier. If you like a bit of crunch, sprinkle a handful of crushed butter crackers or plain breadcrumbs over the cheese for the last 5–8 minutes of baking. You can also swap in cream of chicken soup if you’re out of cream of broccoli, but the flavor will be slightly less “broccoli-forward.” Leftovers reheat nicely in the oven or microwave; add a tiny splash of milk before reheating to keep the sauce creamy.