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This easy Italian Dressing Chicken recipe is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Marinate in salad dressing, and grill or bake in oven for a tender, flavorful chicken dinner the whole family loves. It’s budget friendly, simple and delicious! Make extra chicken to use for dinner or lunches during the week.
If you’re looking for simple easy chicken recipes for dinner, this one’s for you! As much as I love to get creative with different chicken marinades, I’ve been using Italian dressing as a marinade for chicken lately because it’s so easy.
This easy recipe is really nothing new. My mom and grandma always used salad dressing to marinate chicken. And, so did I. Nothing like getting back to the basics! We like to serve the chicken with Italian Pasta Salad or Greek Pasta Salad in the summer. Microwave green beans or broccoli and Air fryer roasted potatoes are good year round.
4 Ingredient Recipe
The best thing about this simple chicken recipe is you only need 4 ingredients to make it. If you really want to keep it simple, you can cut it down to just 2 ingredients. Here’s what you need to make it. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts — boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best for grilling
- Italian salad dressing — We like Olive Garden dressing, Wishbone or Kraft Zesty Italian, but any brand works.
- Garlic powder — optional, but adds more flavor
- Italian seasoning blend — adds some extra flavor
How to Make Italian Dressing Chicken
To help the chicken breasts cook quickly and evenly, I like to pound them first. You can slice them in half or buy split breasts to make them even thinner. Just place the chicken in a zip top freezer bag, and gently pound them with a kitchen mallet until they’re even. You don’t have to pound them too thin. We usually keep them around 1/4 inch or so.
Next, place the chicken breasts into a large zip top freezer bag. Don’t reuse the same bag. Sprinkle a little bit of garlic powder and Italian seasoning over the chicken. Then, pour a cup of Italian dressing over the chicken. This is about half a bottle. You can use the whole bottle if you want, but I like to save some to brush over the chicken after cooking. Rub the dressing into the chicken, and close the bag tightly. I like to place the bag into a small baking dish or bowl just in case there’s a leak at some point.
How Long to Marinate
Marinate the chicken for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. You can also leave it in overnight. If you forget to marinate the chicken ahead of time, even 30 minutes will work. I’ve done this before, and it was still tasy — just not as juicy and tender as when I leave it in longer.
Grill the Chicken
When the weather’s nice, we cook Italian chicken on the gas grill or on the griddle. We rub some avocado oil on the grate and cook over direct medium heat (about 350 degrees) for about 10 minutes, flipping over about halfway. When you pound the chicken first, you get even cooking. Larger pieces of meat may take longer. For safety, use a meat thermometer, and make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
Bake in Oven
You can also bake Italian dressing chicken in the oven. After marinating the chicken, place them on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees. This works best for thin chicken breasts. Thick ones may take longer.
No time to marinate? You can also place the chicken into a baking dish, season with garlic powder and Italian seasoning, pour the dressing over the chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. All of these methods are equally delicious!
Recipe Tip
If you’re grilling or using the griddle, pound the chicken breasts to uniform thickness so they cook evenly.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the chicken right in the marinade. This is a great recipe for meal prep, as you can use leftover chicken over salad or in other recipes.
Italian Dressing Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 chicken breasts thin or split breasts work best
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste optional
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in zip top gallon freezer bag, and use a meat mallet to gently pound chicken to about ¼ inches thick and even
- Place chicken into another zip top gallon freezer bag, add garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Italian dressing. Make sure chicken is well coated — add more dressing if needed. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 2 to 3 hours or overnight
- Remove chicken from bag, grill over medium direct heat (around 350°) for 10 to 12 minutes, turning over about halfway. Internal temp should be 165°. Or, preheat oven to 425°, place chicken on foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165° according to a meat thermometer
- Cover, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this with breasts and thighs and baked it. There was carry over on the temperature from when it came out, but it was delicious! Tomorrow the leftovers will be sliced and put on top of fresh green salad.
Made this on the grill last night and was it ever tasty! Huge flavors and juicy with just the right amount of grill flavor! My new BBQ favorite!