This oven baked 3-ingredient chicken Ritz is the kind of dish that makes people think you fussed all afternoon, when really you barely messed up a bowl. My father-in-law asks for it every single Father’s Day, and he always brags about it like it came from some fancy supper club instead of my little country kitchen. It’s pure Midwestern comfort: tender chicken tucked into a creamy base and covered with a buttery, golden Ritz cracker topping that bakes up crisp and flaky on a simple foil-lined pan. I started making it in the late ’80s when recipes with just a few pantry staples were all the rage at church potlucks, and it’s stuck around because it never fails to make folks go back for seconds.
I like to serve this rich, creamy chicken with something simple and homey: buttery mashed potatoes or plain white rice to catch the extra sauce, and a green vegetable like steamed broccoli, peas, or green beans for balance. A crisp lettuce salad with a tangy dressing helps cut through the richness. Warm dinner rolls or slices of soft white bread are nice for scooping up the creamy bits left on the pan. For a full Sunday-style spread, add a fruit salad or a simple Jell-O salad and a pan of brownies or pie to finish.
Oven Baked 3-Ingredient Chicken RitzServings: 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3–4 small to medium pieces)
1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve), plus 3 tablespoons melted butter stirred in
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, and lightly grease the foil so the chicken doesn’t stick.
Place the boneless, skinless chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer, leaving a little space between each piece. If any pieces are very thick on one end, gently pound them to an even thickness so they bake evenly.
Spoon the cream of chicken soup over the top of the chicken breasts, spreading it with the back of a spoon so each piece is well coated in a creamy layer. It’s fine if some of the soup spills onto the foil around the chicken; that will turn into a tasty, bubbly base as it bakes.
In a medium bowl, combine the crushed Ritz crackers with the melted butter, stirring until all the crumbs are evenly moistened. The mixture should look like damp, sandy crumbs that hold together slightly when pinched.
Sprinkle the buttery cracker mixture evenly over the tops of the soup-covered chicken, pressing it very lightly so it adheres. Try to cover each piece completely with a generous layer of crumbs; this will form that flaky, golden crust.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 25–35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. The exact time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. The cracker topping should be deeply golden and crisp, and the creamy base around the chicken should be bubbly.
To check doneness safely, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of a piece of chicken; it should read at least 165°F (74°C). If the topping is browning too quickly before the chicken is done, you can loosely tent a piece of foil over the top for the last few minutes.
Let the chicken rest on the pan for about 5 minutes so the creamy base thickens slightly. Then slide a spatula under each piece, lifting it carefully so you keep that crispy Ritz crust on top and reveal the moist, tender interior underneath. Serve warm, spooning some of the creamy sauce from the pan over each serving if you like.
Variations & Tips
If you’d like a little more flavor without adding extra ingredients to the main recipe, you can lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper before adding the soup, or use a low-sodium cream of chicken soup to keep things from getting too salty. For a slightly different twist that still feels very Midwestern, you can swap in cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup, or use a mix of white and dark meat chicken pieces as long as they’re boneless and skinless and cut to similar sizes for even cooking. If your chicken breasts are very large, slice them horizontally into cutlets so they cook through before the cracker topping gets too dark. To make cleanup even easier, be sure to line the pan with foil and discard it after everything has cooled. For food safety, keep raw chicken and its juices away from ready-to-eat foods, wash your hands, knives, and cutting boards with hot soapy water after handling raw poultry, and never rinse raw chicken in the sink (it can spread bacteria). Always bake until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F (74°C), and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours; reheat thoroughly until steaming hot before eating. If you want to stretch the dish for a crowd without changing the basic idea, you can slice the cooked chicken into strips on the pan and gently toss it in the creamy base before serving, still keeping plenty of that golden Ritz topping on each portion.
