Crispy Cheddar Chicken is coated in sour cream, cheddar cheese, and ritz cracker crumbs and baked to crispy perfection. Top it with a creamy sauce, and it’s to die for!
One of our go-to chicken recipes, this crispy Ritz cracker chicken is cheesy and covered in a delicious sauce. We love to serve it with garlic bread and mashed potatoes for a perfect Sunday meal.
A family favorite dish
I was recently assigned to bring a chicken dish for a big Luna Family dinner, and my mom requested this Crispy Ritz Cracker Chicken recipe. We had just tried it not too long ago, and I was happy to make it again because it was easy and really was so delicious.
It may be because the chicken is smothered in sour cream, cheese and crushed crackers and then topped with a creamy sauce that makes it so good, but we’ll take it!. 😉
The recipe actually calls for chicken breasts, but since I was trying to feed a lot I ended up using chicken tenders. They are about the third, or even a quarter the size, of large chicken breast, but they worked perfectly for our family dinner!!
I was excited to see that the chicken was all gone in a matter of minutes and several family members asked for the recipe. We had gotten it from Just a Pinch, but we made a few adjustments that we think made the recipe even better!! Give it a try yourself and let us know what you think. 😉
AKA crispy cheddar chicken
This recipe goes by many names – Ritz cracker chicken, crispy cheddar chicken – but no matter what you call it, it’s so delicious! Oh yeah – and it’s super easy to make!
3 Step Breading. Set up a station so you have 3 shallow dishes—one with the sour cream, one with the cheddar cheese and one with the crushed ritz crackers. Dip each chicken tender (or breast, if that’s what you’re using) in the sour cream, then the cheese, then the ritz crackers making sure they are well coated.
Bake. Place breaded chicken in a 9×13 baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 375° F for 50-55 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Sauce. As chicken is finishing cooking, place sauce ingredients into a small pot and cook on medium high heat. Stir until well combined and serve over chicken along with fresh parsley.
Substitutions and variations
Cooking with an Air Fryer: Spray the basket with non stick cooking spray and place the chicken in the basket. Because a fryer cooks by circulating air around the food be sure that the pieces are not touching.
Bake tenderloins at 360º for 12-14 minutes. Bake breasts at 350°F for 15 minutes then turn and cook 5 to 8 minutes longer. To be certain your chicken is cooked, use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature is at least 165º F.
What to use instead of Ritz Crackers? One sleeve of ritz crackers contains about 35 crackers and makes 1 ½ c of crumbs. This recipe calls for 2 sleeves (or 3 cups of crumbs). With that in mind you can use an equal amount of bread crumbs, crushed corn flakes, crushed potato chips, or panko. However, be aware the substitutions will create a slightly different flavor and texture.
Change up the Flavor: You can easily change up the flavor of this dish by using a different cheese. Mozzarella or pepper jack would be great. Even adjusting the cheddar with mild or sharp would make a bit of a difference. For a hotter change, spice it up with red chili flakes.
A great freezer meal
You could prepare this chicken ahead of time, and even bake it before freezing, if you want a quick and easy meal right out of the freezer!
- To freeze raw breaded chicken: wrap each piece with plastic wrap. Store pieces in an airtight freezer safe container for 6-9 months. Thaw for several hours in the fridge, but bake before the juices turn the coating soggy.
- To freeze baked coated chicken: allow the chicken to cool and place in the freezer in a single layer. Freeze for 2-3 hours and transfer pieces to an airtight freezer safe container. Pre cooked chicken can be reheated from a frozen state. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake breasts for 20-25 minutes flipping halfway through. Tenders might cook even faster than that.
If you have leftovers that you don’t want to freeze: Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for for 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or, if you’re in a hurry, the microwave.
So excited to have another go-to chicken dish for the monthly menu. We eat chicken at least once a week, so it’s always nice to have good recipes for it!!
We love to serve this chicken with:
For more chicken recipes, check out:
- Chicken Parmesan Bundles
- Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake
- Lemon Butter Chicken
- Crispy Chicken with Arugula
- Ranch Chicken
Ritz Chicken Recipe
Crispy Cheddar Chicken is coated in sour cream, cheddar cheese, and ritz cracker crumbs and baked to crispy perfection. Top it with a creamy sauce, and it's to die for!
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half
- 2 sleeves Ritz crackers
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- fresh parsley for garnish
Sauce
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1/8 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375.
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Place crushed crackers in a shallow dish along with salt and pepper. Also place sour cream in a separate dish, and cheese in another dish as well.
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Begin by dipping each breast half into sour cream, coating all sides and then place in cheese dish, coating with shredded cheese. Then, place each breast into cracker mixture until well coated.
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Place into a greased 9x13. Cover and bake for 50-55 minutes.
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Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
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As chicken is finishing cooking, place sauce ingredients into a small pot and cook on medium high heat. Stir until well combined and serve over chicken along with fresh parsley. ENJOY!
Recipe Video
Recipe adapted from Just a Pinch.
One great recipe after another. I can’t stop searching for new recipes from your site. You’ve got to stop-I’m gaining too much weight :)????
Awe..you are so nice!! Thanks so much for coming back! I’m so glad you have found some recipes!!
Great dinner recipe!! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome!! Hope you like it!
Hi, This looks awesome! About slicing the chicken, is it in half lengthwise like making cutlets or keeping the thickness and cutting it in half? Thanks!
Lengthwise 🙂 But, those are with large chicken breasts, so they aren’t left too thin. Hope that helps you 🙂
Good morning,
The Crispy Cheddar Chicken definitely looks great and I would truly like to make this for May family, however a few of the family members have some dietary issues.
Is there anyway to make this in a Lactose and Gluten Free process? I’m wishing that you could help me make this dish for my family.
You might want to ask your family what they are avoiding & maybe they can suggest what they use instead of certain ingredients. I wouldn’t know exactly, since I don’t have those diet restrictions in my family. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Hi on your crispy baked cheddar chicken recipe you mentioned that you used chicken tenders (which is what I would prefer). How long would you bake them
verses the chicken breasts. Sounds and looks so delicious. Thanks! Love your
blog.
It really is so good!! They won’t be in too much less than the breasts. You could start at 40-45 min, then continue on. I always cook chicken longer than not..nothing like raw chicken.
I just tried this recipe and it was sooo yummy! ???? thank you sooo much for sharing. ❤️
You are so welcome!! I’m glad you liked it!
This is really GOOD! My hole family loves it!
That makes me happy to hear!! It’s a favorite around here! Thank you for letting me know!
Oh my gosh. I made this tonight and it was amazing. My family loved it too. I will definitely be making this again.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for letting me know!
I have a question about the cheddar chicken recipe. I plan to try that tonight but I don’t have Cream of Chicken soup on hand. I do have Cream of Mushroom. Do you think that would work for the sauce? Would you combine that with the same sauce ingredients? Thank you!
I am sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I hope you tried it. It should be ok & yes, I would just add the rest of the ingredients. Hope it turned out!
I am going to try this crisspy cheesey chicken in my air fryer.
I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
I’m new to using an Air Fryer and haven’t figured out how long to cook in air fryer as opposed to baking. So how did it turn out? How long did you end up cooking? Thanx!
Your dish photos are the best.
Saved my dinner tonight =)
Thank you so much!!!
yummy
I hope you try it..It is super yummy 🙂
This looks delicious! It is sure to be a dinner time favorite!
It is!! Even for picky eaters. Thank you so much!
Holy [email protected]!!! That was amazing. Didn’t have the soup to make the sauce so we just had the chicken. My son doesn’t love chicken so I made his favorite potatoes on the side. Didn’t touch anything else on his plate until the chicken was gone. Super love!!! It’s a keeper!!!
Love hearing that!! Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂
I tried this and my husband loved, loved it!!!! Taste just as delicious as it looks!
Yeah!! I am glad he liked it! Thank you so much!
Hello, quick question, what do you do with the dried parsley?
Sorry, add it with the salt & pepper 🙂
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Thank you for the recipe
You are so welcome! I am glad to share 🙂 Thank you!
Made this last night and it was So good! My husband said it might be his new favorite! Really simple but the flavor was amazing. Chicken turned out perfectly crispy following the directions. Another hit! Thank you!
Yay, I am so glad!! Thank you for sharing that! 🙂
So I made this with boneless pork sirloin chops and rice and my hubby loved it!!! I added fresh parmesan cheese to the sauce as well and it was a hit!!
Sounds yummy! Thank you for sharing that!
tried this tonight turned out great super yummy even this 4 year old was happy with it..thanks
Woohoo..glad it’s a win! Thank you for trying it!
Probably a silly question, but I don’t have any foil and don’t have time to get any. Can I cover it with parchment paper instead? I’m super excited to try this but I’m more of a baker and less of a cook so I really want to do it right!
I have not tried, but it could work 🙂 One way to find out 🙂