Ritz Cracker Chicken uses crushed buttery crackers instead of bread crumbs for a delicious coating. This Easy dinner recipe takes 30 minutes to bake and is super kid friendly!
Looking for a quick and easy chicken recipe tonight? Coat chicken breasts in crushed Ritz crackers, toss in some butter, bake, and you’ve got a delicious dinner the whole family will love!
If you want to bake chicken breasts that are not dry, this is the recipe for you. The last time I made this baked chicken, it was practically fork tender — seriously!
We had this growing up, but I changed a few things. Actually, this is such a versatile recipe that you can easily change it up to suit your tastes. Best of all, you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge to make it!
How to Make Ritz Cracker Chicken
First, crush up a sleeve of Ritz or any buttery type of cracker. I like to crush them in a freezer bag and use that to bread the chicken.
Kids can help with this part. Mine love crushing crackers with a rolling pin! Then, season the cracker crumbs for extra flavor.
Dip the chicken in a beaten egg. This will help the crackers stick to the chicken.
If you don’t want to use an egg, you can substitute a little mayo for the egg. I do this sometimes — it also works well with baked breaded pork chops!
Dip each chicken breast into the crumbs in the bag. Then, place the breaded chicken into a casserole dish.
Next, add cut-up butter. Mom used to dip the chicken into melted butter, but I like adding it on top of and around the chicken.
As the chicken cooks, the butter melts and makes an awesome sauce. You can spoon some over the chicken when you serve it if you want!
Bake the chicken for about 30 minutes. I usually try to get smaller chicken breasts, but if your chicken is large, it may take a little longer to bake.
Ritz cracker chicken has a gorgeous golden brown crust. It’s tender, juicy, super flavorful and absolutely delicious!
It’s also picky eater approved. My family gobbled this chicken dinner right up without one single complaint!
Ritz Cracker Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts about 1 pound
- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, cubed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Remove crackers from sleeve, place in large zip top freezer bag, and crush with rolling pin. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
- Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, place in zip top bag, and coat each piece well with the cracker crumbs
- Place chicken into lightly greased 13×9 casserole dish ( I use non stick cooking spray ) and place cubes of butter around and on top of chicken
- Bake for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 165° according to a meat thermometer
Notes
Nutrition
More Recipes with Baked Chicken Breasts
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My Dad’s requested birthday meal was when Mom made baked ritz cracker crusted pork chops with coconut banana cream pie for dessert! The ritz cracker coating was tried and true for many years and I cannot wait to try this with chicken!
I’ll have to try the pork chop version. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Dee,
Well, I tried this recipe with chicken and it was very, very good! The chicken was extremely tender and flavorful and my son and I loved it! Made the recipe as written and I wouldn’t change a thing. Had parmesan risotto and steamed broccoli along with the chicken. The coating is great with pork chops that I grew up eating and equally great on chicken!
Thank you so much for the awesome review, Jean. So glad you enjoyed the Ritz chicken!
This is such an easy and kid-friendly recipe! My family loves Ritz crackers and chicken, so this was an instant hit at our house! We will definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much, Jesse! I’m glad it was a hit with your family!
Made this for dinner last night. Everyone enjoyed it . Tender and juicy. Will be making this often.
So happy to hear this, Jim! Thanks for writing in!
A new favorite at my house!! It is really delish!
Thanks, Sandra! It’s a favorite at our house now, too.
What a great recipe for busy weeknights! Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit all around the table! So unique and unexpected!
Thank you so much, Sara! I’m happy to hear this!
My family loved this Ritz Cracker Chicken! I will definitely be making this again! Thank You! 🙂
I am loving this Ritz Cracker Chicken! It looks amazing!
This Ritz Cracker Chicken looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
What a perfect way to prepare chicken, I need to try this immediately!
Those buttery crackers are so smart! I am always excited to find more chicken dishes my crew will love!