This oven baked 4-ingredient chicken Alexandra is exactly the kind of dish a Midwestern grandma would slide into the oven every Sunday after church and serve to a crowd without breaking a sweat. The story that comes with it is that my husband’s grandmother made this almost every Sunday for forty years, and the family still requests it at reunions because it’s that comforting and dependable.
It’s just tender baked chicken in a rich, mushroomy cream sauce that bubbles up golden around the edges in a simple white casserole dish. With only four ingredients and almost no prep, it’s perfect for busy weeks when you want something that feels nostalgic and homey but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen all afternoon.
Serve this chicken Alexandra straight from the casserole dish with a big spoon so you can scoop plenty of that mushroom cream sauce over whatever’s on the side. It’s especially good over buttered egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or steamed white rice to soak up the sauce.
Add a simple green vegetable like roasted green beans, a tossed salad, or steamed broccoli to balance the richness. If you’re feeding a crowd, round it out with dinner rolls or crusty bread for dipping and a light dessert like fruit salad or brownies to keep that Sunday-supper vibe.
Ingredients
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch white rectangular casserole dish or similar baking dish.
Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels. This helps the skin brown a bit better and keeps excess water out of the sauce. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish, skin side up. It’s okay if the pieces are snug, but try not to stack them.
In a medium bowl, stir together the condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted), sour cream, and dry onion soup mix until well combined and fairly smooth. It will be thick—that’s what you want.
Pour the mushroom-sour cream mixture evenly over the chicken pieces, using a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it so all the chicken is coated. Some of the skin can peek out; those spots will get a little more golden and bubbly.
Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake on the center rack for 45 minutes. This helps the chicken cook through and keeps the sauce from drying out in the early stage.
After 45 minutes, carefully remove the foil (watch for steam) and return the dish to the oven, uncovered. Continue baking for another 25 to 35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, the sauce is bubbling around the edges, and the top has some golden spots.
Total bake time will be about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
Check for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of a piece of chicken without touching the bone; it should read at least 165°F (74°C). The meat should be very tender and pull away from the bone easily.
Let the chicken rest in the hot dish for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The sauce will thicken slightly as it stands. Serve the chicken with generous spoonfuls of the mushroom cream sauce over the top and over your choice of noodles, rice, or potatoes.
You can easily tweak this old-fashioned favorite and still keep the spirit of the original four-ingredient recipe. For a slightly lighter version, you can use light sour cream, but avoid fat-free as it tends to separate when baked.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs will also work; reduce the covered baking time to about 30 minutes and then bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes more, checking that the internal temperature reaches 165°F. If you like extra mushrooms, you can stir in a small can of drained mushroom pieces to the sauce (this technically adds a fifth ingredient, but it stays true to the mushroomy flavor Grandma would have loved).
To stretch the meal for reunions or larger families, add more chicken pieces and bake in an oversized casserole or two smaller dishes, making sure the pieces stay in a single layer and adding a few extra minutes of baking time as needed. For a touch of color when serving guests, sprinkle chopped fresh parsley or a little black pepper on top right before bringing it to the table.
Food safety tips: Always keep raw chicken refrigerated until you’re ready to cook, and wash your hands, cutting boards, and utensils thoroughly after handling it to avoid cross-contamination. Use an instant-read thermometer to confirm the chicken reaches at least 165°F in the thickest part, and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow containers. Reheat leftovers until steaming hot before eating.