Ranch Chicken is a kid approved meal that is delicious. Chicken breasts dipped in ranch dressing and coated in a crispy, crunchy, savory breading. Pair it with some mashed potatoes or steamed veggies and you have a meal that everyone will love.
1 lb.chicken breasts, pounded out for even thickness and cut into larger pieces *I get about 5-6 pieces out of 1 lb. of chicken(see notes)
3/4cupranch dressing
BREADING
1/2cupcornflake crumbs(see notes)
1/4cupbread crumbs, plain
2tbspparmesan cheese(bottled is fine, I prefer it)
1 1/2tspseason salt (more or less to taste- see notes)
1/2tspgarlic powder
1/2tsponion powder
1/2tsppaprika
1/4tspgarlic salt
1/8tspblack pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a half sheet/ jelly roll pan with parchment paper. A baking sheet works great too!
Mix up your breading ingredients. We like our breading a bit saltier and flavorful, so start with less season salt and work your way up to the amount you like, taste the breading to know how you like it. SEE NOTES ON SEASONING.
Place the ranch dressing on a paper plate or in a shallow dish or plate. Place the breading mixture on a paper plate or shallow dish or plate.
Take each chicken breast piece and coat the piece in ranch dressing. Make sure it is evenly covered. You don't want it too thick or thin. You should be able to see the chicken through the dressing. You just need enough ranch to make the breading stick.
Take the ranch covered chicken and place it in the breading mixture and make sure it is evenly coated. Place the breaded chicken on the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Repeat with all chicken pieces. Make sure the chicken is evenly spaced on the pan so it will cook evenly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check it at the 20 minute mark (each oven cooks differently). You will know when the chicken is done when it is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear. The best way to make sure it is done is to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees. You only need to check the thickest chicken breast. If the thickest piece is done, they all should be done.*If you want the tops of the chicken extra crispy you can place some small pats/pieces of butter on the tops of each piece of chicken for the last 8-10 minutes of cooking time.
Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, garlic bread or a side salad.
Notes
I use a half sheet pan/jelly roll pan for this chicken... I usually double it and it fits perfect on this size pan. A larger baking sheet will work too!I use 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut the chicken in to larger pieces. I pound them out if needed so the chicken is an even thickness so it can cook more evenly. I get about 5-6 pieces out of 1 lb. depending on how big my pieces are. We love our chicken on the saltier/seasoned side. This recipe is the perfect seasoning for us, but everyone's tastes are different. I find that once the breading is actually on the chicken, the chicken soaks up some of the salty seasonings. So when you taste the breading by itself, it may seem salty but it won't be as salty once you have a bite with chicken- if that makes sense. That being said, you can still easily get it too salty. My advice is to start out with less of the season salt and adjust little by little, tasting it as you go, until you find the perfect seasoning for you.The Cornflake crumbs are found on the baking aisle at my grocery store by the bread crumbs. If your store doesn't carry them, you can buy a little box of cornflake cereal and crush it into fine crumbs. (see post above to see what the box looks like). Or see link above in post to buy yourself some on Amazon.You may have some extra breading and ranch dressing leftover. Do not keep it. Once it has touched the raw chicken it needs to be tossed! (that is why I use paper plates)See the blog post above to see what we love to eat this Ranch Chicken with!This chicken is yummy the next day and is good even in a chicken wrap. Get a flour tortilla and the leftover chicken, some lettuce, ranch dressing, grated cheese and bacon bits.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.