Easy Cheesy Baked Chicken is a perfect weeknight dinner recipe. Juicy chicken breasts seasoned with garlic and ranch, smothered in three kinds of cheese, and baked to perfection -- a ridiculously delicious comfort food meal.
Serve with Zesty Quinoa Salad and Roasted Green Beans for a complete meal.
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Cheesy baked chicken is a super simple dinner recipe that's loaded with flavorful, tender chicken and tons of gooey cheese -- perfect meal for family dinners any night of the week.
This cheesy baked chicken recipe starts with chicken breasts that are pounded to an even thickness for consistent cooking, then seasoned to perfection.
Next, they're smothered in a garlic ranch cheesy sauce, topped with shredded cheddar cheese, and baked until the chicken is tender and juicy and the cheese is gooey.
Try These Easy Chicken Recipes Next
- Swiss Chicken Casserole -- easy casserole topped with herbed stuffing mix
- Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili -- easiest slow cooker chili recipe ever
- Crispy Panko Chicken --- thin chicken cutlets breaded with Parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs
- No-Boil Chicken Stuffed Shells -- Easy oven cooked pasta with cheesy sauce and rotisserie chicken
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Baked chicken with cheese on top is cheesy comfort food at its finest
When you need an easy dinner for a busy night, an easy baked chicken casserole is always a winner
Easy cheesy chicken casserole comes together with simple ingredients
Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts. Boneless skinless chicken breasts stay tender, juicy, and moist in this easy baked cheesy chicken breasts recipe.
Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Even though this baked chicken has a savory garlic, ranch, and cheddar cheesy topping, it's important to season the chicken, too.
Cream cheese. Let the block of cream cheese soften at room temperature so it's easy to stir together with the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients.
Mayonnaise. A little bit of mayo softens the texture of the cream cheese mixture and adds a little tang.
Fresh garlic. Freshly minced garlic enhances the flavor of the ranch cream cheese mixture.
Dry ranch dressing mix. Dry ranch seasoning from the packet adds delicious flavor with herbs and spices like onion powder, onion flakes, dill, parsley, garlic powder, and chives.
Shredded mozzarella cheese. Mozzarella cheese melts to gooey perfection in the creamy sauce. Use freshly shredded cheese, if possible. You can also use Monterey Jack, Swiss cheese, or your favorite melty cheese.
Green onions. Sliced green onions are mixed into the cheese sauce and sprinkled on top of the melted cheddar cheese.
Shredded cheddar cheese. Chicken and cheddar cheese is a match made in heaven. I like to use sharp cheddar cheese on chicken, but mild cheddar also works. Covering the cheesy chicken bake recipe for the last 10 minutes keeps the cheese topping super creamy and gooey.
How to Make Cheesy Baked Chicken
1. Preheat the oven.
Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 or similar sized baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Prep the chicken.
Place the chicken in a ziptop bag or between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin to an even thickness.
This will ensure the chicken bakes evenly and is tender and juicy throughout -- not dry on one end and raw on the other.
Place the chicken in the prepared casserole dish. Season both sides of the chicken with the salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
3.Make the creamy cheese mixture.
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or sturdy spatula to mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, and dry ranch seasoning together. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and 2 sliced green onions.
4.Assemble the cheesy chicken bake.
Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle one cup cheddar cheese on top of the chicken.
5.Bake.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cover in foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165.
Sprinkle the top with one sliced green onion.
Serve and enjoy.
Storage & Reheating
Serve leftover cheesy baked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Reheat covered in foil in a 350 degree oven or covered in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until warmed through.
Expert Tips
Use freshly grated cheese if possible. It has better flavor, melts better, and is more economical than pre-shredded cheese.
Let the cream cheese come to room temperature so it combines well with the rest of the creamy cheese mixture.
Cover the cheesy chicken bake for the last 10 minutes to keep the cheese topping soft and melty.
FAQs
These baked cheesy chicken breasts take 30-35 minutes to bake in a 350 degree oven. The baking time may vary depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts and your oven. Be sure to use an instant-read thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees.
I like to use a blend of cheeses with chicken -- one for meltiness and one for flavor. In this garlic cheddar chicken bake recipe, mozzarella adds gooeyness to the cream cheese mixture and sharp cheddar cheese on top of the chicken adds flavor.
The key to making this easy cheesy chicken recipe that's filled with flavor is to season every layer. Season the raw chicken with salt, pepper, and spices. Season the cheese sauce with herbs, aromatics like garlic and onion. And finally, top the melted cheddar cheese topping with fresh herbs or sliced green onions.
More Easy Chicken Casseroles
Get the Stuff I Use
This handy-dandy OXO Cheese Grater comes apart for easy cleaning and stores flat in a utensil drawer.
My KitchenAid Meat Tenderizer is perfect for pounding chicken breasts into even thickness and making chicken cutlets.
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Easy Cheesy Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 sliced green onions, divided
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Place the chicken breasts in a ziptop bag or between two layers of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin to an even thickness. Place the chicken in the prepared baking dish. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika.
- In a medium bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, and ranch mix together until completely combined. Stir in 2 sliced green onions and mozzarella cheese.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the chicken breasts. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the chicken.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the dish with foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer is 165. Sprinkle the top with one sliced green onion.
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