I have a deep love for cheese and crackers that having them on hand in my kitchen is a must! Even better is being able to bring the combination of delicious cheese and crispy crackers for a quick and easy dinner. When I skimmed through my most current Real Simple magazine the other day, I knew I had to make this Cheddar & Cracker Chicken recipe. I’m so glad I did because it was a total hit!
Butter crackers is one type of cracker I have in my pantry… along with an assortment of various cheeses. This recipe pairs this classic snack as a rich, buttery crust for chicken with a nice hint of garlic. It couldn’t be easier to whip this dish together.
I did add some sliced scallions to the mix for a bit of color and a subtle onion flavor. It turned out wonderful and it was served alongside sour cream and chive smashed Yukon potatoes.
Cheddar & Cracker Chicken Recipe
recipe adapted from Real Simple
Cheddar & Cracker Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- 16 buttery crackers (such as Ritz), crushed (about 3⁄4 cup)
- 6 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1-2 stalks scallions, thinly sliced
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheddar & Cracker Chicken Recipe Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F.
- In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, scallions and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Pound the chicken to about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness with a meat mallet. Dip the pounded chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere, and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 20-25 minutes.
* To make ahead/freezer meal – Prepare the chicken as directed above. After coating it in the cracker mixture, place chicken in a gallon sized freezer bag, seal and freeze flat in your freezer. When ready to prepare, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake as directed above from frozen until cooked through, possibly 30-35 minutes depending on thickness.
LOVEEEEE the idea! So making this real soon! 🙂
YUM!!!!!!!!
I added some diced jalapeno good stuff
This looks so delicious! Thanks for reposting from Real Simple. The fat content looks high, but that's the price of a yummy meal sometimes.
Thanks again!
Made this last night with some tenderloins I had in the freezer, and it came out so good! I'll be making this one again!!
I love you blog, I LOVE Chicago. We are from CA but my hubby is a Cubs fan so I took him out there this yr for his bday and we are in love with your city! This recipe was so GOOOD!! Hubby totally approved and since there is only two of us I have threw the other two pieces in the freezer so I'm ahead of the game. Thank you for this recipe, I can't wait to try more of your stuff!!
great recipe, super yummy… but our chicken breasts were a little bigger I guess, and even pounded pretty flat took a lot longer (40 minutes total) to cook at 350.
This looks heavenly!!! 🙂 I LOVE new recipes so I'm so glad I made my way over here courtesy of Ruthie Hart tweeting this recipe! Excited to keep getting new yumminess!
*Krystina
http://www.cupahotchocolate.blogspot.com
This is dinner tonight! Can't wait to try it…looks delicious! 🙂
Hi there! I stumbled upon your blog yesterday & made a version of this recipe. It was incredible! I'm looking forward to adapting some more of your recipes! 🙂
I bookmarked this recipe ages ago. I really wish I would have tried it sooner. My son actually asked for seconds! I usually have to fuss at him to even try a bite of meat. Everyone loved it! I'll definitely be making this again.
I made this for dinner tonight (without the chives & substituted garlic powder for the fresh garlic) and it was AMAZING!!! The chicken was so juicy and buttery and wonderful! Definitely a recipe I'm passing on! THanks so much for sharing it with us! 🙂
Hi from New Zealand! I made this for dinner tonight and was so impressed- even my husband couldn't stop talking about how wonderful the chicken was. I will definitely be making a big batch of these to freeze before my second child is born in July.
This was so delicious. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
*I made this recipe 5/3/2012 and it was a hit & there were requests for seconds! I used 2 large chicken breasts in a 1.75lb pack of 3. I will be making this again!
This sounds delicious!! I plan to make a couple meals of this to freeze and use during harvest! What would you serve with it for a full, hearty meal??
When you say prepare as above, do you just mean make it up but freeze it raw? Or do you cook it first and then just reheat it? Sounds delicious!
Jessica, yes… prepare the recipe as directed as above but do not cook. After coating it in the cracker mixture, place chicken in a gallon sized freezer bag, seal and freeze flat in your freezer. When ready to prepare, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake as directed above from frozen until cooked through, possibly 30-35 minutes depending on thickness.
Robyn, this is good with mashed or roasted potatoes, rice pilaf or even salad. Hope this helps!
I've made this twice now and it was delicious both times. The first time I prepped everything and made a double batch so that I could cook some right away and have another dinner ready to go in the freezer.
Starting from scratch it was AMAZING. Crispy, crunchy, cheesey… Yum!
Last night I started from frozen. In my oven at 350 it took about 1 hr 5 min to cook the chicken through. Not bad since there was no prep work or thawing. It was still pretty tastey. It lacked a little of the crunchy-ness though.
In the future I may try thawing and cooking in the regular time or I may sprinkle a few fresh crackers and cheddar half way through cooking from frozen. My hubby really missed the crunch so I'm gonna find a way to get that back from frozen.
Thanks for a great recipe.
Has anyone ever tried using egg to dip instead of butter?
Anonymous – I've tried egg before which comes out fine if it's not too much and there's enough crackers & cheese to coat completely. If you don't want to use butter, you can also try using PAM spray for similar results/flavor without the added fat and calories.
Another thing you can try is Olive Oil. It's really good on the chicken nuggets I've made (from a WW recipe).
Found this via pinterest today, made it for dinner tonight. It was delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Made this tonight it is yummy! Thanks!
You can actually do egg whites instead of butter. The butter crackers already have a lot of saturated fat. That way you can lower the fat and calories and it will taste just as good.
I just made this for dinner tonight. Outstanding!!
I really like your ideas. I truly appreciate your effort in publishing this article. Keep it up and God bless.
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