Italian Dressing Chicken
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Baked chicken with Italian dressing is one of the absolute easiest ways to get a home-cooked meal on the table. With 3 ingredients and less than 5 minutes of prep, you could practically make this in your sleep, but you’ll never know it when you taste the tender chicken and zippy Italian flavors.
In case you’ve ever wondered if Italian salad dressing makes a good marinade for chicken, the answer is a resounding YES. This is not only because salad dressing fundamentally tastes good; it happens to also contain acid, salt, and oil, which are three key components of a good marinade. These building blocks work together to tenderize and season protein at the same time, producing a very simple meal that tastes utterly fabulous.
Why You’ll Love Making Italian Dressing Chicken
- 3 ingredients and 5 minutes to prep—seriously
- Works equally well with chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs
- Delicious and versatile Italian flavors that go with countless classic side dishes
- Always easy to throw together from pantry and fridge staples
- The chicken bakes in the dressing to come out tender and moist without fail
This is the perfect meal to keep in mind for those days when you have zero extra time or energy to get dinner on the table. It’s saved me dozens of times!
What Others Say:
“Winner chicken dinner! So easy and quick. Whole family loved it. The Italian dressing recipe is a keeper – so good.” -Gretchen
“Wonderful recipe. Large chicken breasts take a little longer. Used thermometer to make sure they were done. Will make this a repeat.” -Cyndy
Ingredient Notes
Make it your own. I usually follow and love this recipe just as simply as written, but you should also consider it a base to add your own spin. Freely add 1-2 cloves minced garlic to the marinade, chopped peppers, a pinch of red pepper flakes, fresh herbs, etc.
Option for Chicken Thighs
If using chicken thighs, plan on a longer baking time. This recipe does also work with bone-in, skin-on thighs, but it will take extra long to cook, and make sure the skin is facing up when the baking dish goes in the oven. Ideally, it would peek out above the line of the dressing in order to crisp up a bit during the last part of its baking time.
Option for Homemade Dressing
Homemade Italian dressing is surprisingly easy to whip up from everyday ingredients, and there are good reasons to do so: it has the most fresh, zesty flavor; it lacks odd preservatives or additives; and you can control the amount of salt, sweetness, and seasonings to suit your own tastes and dietary needs.
Just like the bottle, homemade dressing keeps well in the refrigerator to be used throughout the week. If you’re going to the effort of making your own for this baked chicken, I would make a double batch of my recipe, so you have plenty for both the chicken and subsequent salads.
How To Make Italian Dressing Chicken
This is literally just about the simplest dish you can make. 🙂
Begin by placing the chicken in a baking dish. You want to choose a dish that is just big enough to fit all of the chicken in a single layer without a lot of extra space, so that the marinade will cover as much of the chicken as possible while it bakes.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then pour the salad dressing on top.
Cover and marinate for as little as 15 minutes or as much as 24 hours. If the dressing doesn’t completely cover the chicken, try to flip the pieces over about halfway through the marinating time.
When ready to bake, transfer the entire dish to the oven—dressing and all. I find the best results from baking uncovered at 375°F. Expect average-sized chicken breasts to take at least 20 minutes to bake; thicker ones may take considerably longer.
Pro Tip
An instant-read thermometer is your best friend to know exactly when chicken is done. It removes all guesswork and prevents overcooking. Just insert the probe into the chicken at its thickest point to get the best reading; remove from the oven when it reaches 165°F. It does help to cut or pound your pieces of chicken into a relatively even thickness, so they cook through in more or less the same amount of time.
If adding Parmesan, sprinkle it on top for just the final 5-10 minutes of cooking time.
For a browned crust on top, turn oven to broil for the final minute or two.
A sprinkling of parsley, a wedge of lemon if you feel fancy, and your main dish is done!
Option To Grill
It’s also extremely easy to grill chicken that has been marinated in Italian dressing. In this case, remove chicken from the marinade and grill over medium-high heat until cooked through. Discard the marinade.
If you still want to use Parmesan, add a light sprinkle right after removing the meat from the grill and tent loosely with foil. The residual heat will lightly melt the cheese.
Simplified Meal Planning
Italian dressing chicken is one of my favorite centerpieces for a “clean out the fridge” kind of meal. Rather than try to find or create a single recipe that uses bits and bobs from the fridge, I prefer to prep one simple but versatile protein, then just cook or reheat all the random items as a smorgasbord of sides—a few extra snow peas, leftover cooked carrots, a couple neglected ounces of pasta, etc. My kids actually love this, because nothing is mixed together and they have lots of choices!
Make It a Freezer Meal
This is a great meal to prep ahead and to freeze! Simply place raw chicken in a freezer-safe bag, grind some salt and pepper on top, and pour dressing directly over the chicken into the bag. Seal tightly and store in the freezer for up to six months.
When ready to cook, thaw the whole bag in the refrigerator overnight, then transfer to a baking dish and bake according to the recipe instructions. No changes necessary.
What to Serve With Italian Dressing Chicken
Serve this with a simple Italian or arugula salad and roasted red potatoes or breadsticks for a simple yet absolutely delectable meal. If you go the breadsticks route, especially, don’t be surprised to hear yourself compared favorably to The Olive Garden!
Make Leftovers Count
Lucky enough to have some extra? Of course you can simply reheat in the microwave (use 50% power for chicken to avoid it drying out) and enjoy on its own, or repurpose in this chicken pesto pasta salad or a spinach strawberry salad with chicken for lunch.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Love this? Try my lemon chicken piccata, creamy Tuscan chicken, lemon rosemary chicken, or chicken Florentine next.
Craving more Olive Garden vibes? This creamy crockpot chicken gnocchi soup is to die for!
Italian Dressing Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts see note
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place chicken in the smallest baking dish that will hold all of the breasts flat in one layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then pour dressing on top.4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, kosher salt and black pepper, 1 cup Italian dressing
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for as little as 15 minutes or as much as 24 hours. If the dressing doesn't quite cover all of the chicken, use a little more, and/or flip the chicken over about halfway through the marinating time.
- When ready to bake, remove baking dish from the fridge and preheat the oven to 375°F. Transfer the entire dish to the oven—dressing and all. Average-sized chicken breasts will take at least 20 minutes to bake; thicker ones may take considerably longer.
- If adding Parmesan, sprinkle it on top for just the final 5-10 minutes of cooking time. For a browned crust on top, turn oven to broil for the final minute or two.1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Serve with lemon wedges and/or a sprinkling of fresh herbs, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken: This works well with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs. In this case, just avoid using thin-sliced breasts; they cook too quickly in the oven. If using chicken thighs, plan on a longer baking time. This recipe does also work with bone-in, skin-on thighs, but it will take extra long to cook, and make sure the skin is facing up when the baking dish goes in the oven. Ideally, it would peek out above the line of the dressing in order to crisp up a bit during the last part of its baking time.
- Italian Dressing: Use any that you enjoy. My go-to is this relatively affordable dressing, or this one for a splurge.
- Homemade Italian Dressing: Can be totally worth it and is surprisingly easy to whip up. If you’re going to the effort of making your own for this baked chicken, I would make a double batch of my recipe, so you have plenty for both the chicken and subsequent salads.
- Instant-Read Thermometer: This is your best friend to know exactly when chicken is done. Insert the probe into the chicken at its thickest point to get the best reading; remove from the oven when it reaches 165°F. It does help to cut or pound your pieces of chicken into a relatively even thickness, so they cook through in more or less the same amount of time.
- Variations: Freely add 1-2 cloves minced garlic to the marinade, chopped peppers, a pinch of red pepper flakes, fresh herbs, etc.
- Option To Grill: Remove chicken from the marinade and grill over medium-high heat until cooked through. Discard the marinade.
- Freeze Before Cooking: Place raw chicken in a freezer-safe bag, grind some salt and pepper on top, and pour dressing directly over the chicken into the bag. Seal tightly and store in the freezer for up to six months. When ready to cook, thaw the whole bag in the refrigerator overnight, then transfer to a baking dish and bake according to the recipe instructions, no changes necessary.
Nutrition Estimate
This post was originally published on May 18, 2022, and has been updated with more specific information on ingredients, variations, and cooking time variables. The recipe itself is unchanged.
Winner chicken dinner! So easy and quick. Whole family loved it. The Italian dressing recipe is a keeper – so good.
Can I marinate frozen chicken breasts? Also, if frozen do I cover with foil to bake?
While I prefer the method in the post of first marinating, then freezing, thawing, and baking, I don’t believe there’s any reason it wouldn’t work to pour the marinade over already frozen chicken and bake – it just won’t start to absorb very much flavor until the chicken is thawed. I would personally opt not to cover with foil, so that the marinade doesn’t become too watered-down with trapped liquid as it bakes, but you could definitely check it towards the end of baking time (it will probably take 1.5 times the cook time as raw, thawed chicken) and cover if it’s getting too dry or brown.
Quick, easy and delicious
Wonderful recipe. Large chicken breasts take a little longer. Used thermometer to make sure they were done. Will make this a repeat recipe.
I wasn’t sure about the receipe because I don’t really like thousand island dressing but I thought I would give it a try. I added peppers and onions and crushed garlic cloves. It came out so good, moist and tender. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Great. Bring Olive Garden Home!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can you marinate the chicken all day?
Yes!
Do you add the parmesan cheese into the marinade or is the cheese only for the sprinkling?
Only for sprinkling!
If I just have chicken tenders, how long should I cook them? Many thanks!
I would just do about 12 minutes then sprinkle with the Parmesan and check them every 3-4 minutes after that! The bake time definitely varies depending on the thickness of your chicken, so the best bet is just to check it periodically, and that’s true of breasts, tenders, thighs, anything.
Do you leave the chicken in the marinade to bake? Or transfer to a baking sheet?
Leave it in the dressing marinade to bake!
Made this tonight to go alongside cheese manicotti and everyone loved it! Used frozen chicken breasts because that’s what I had on hand, only added garlic & onions to the recipe; baked for 40 minutes on 400 degrees and topped with shredded Italian mix cheese, Parmesan and bacon crumbles for another ten minutes. Came out perfect! Juicy, tender, and a great Italian chicken dish!
Made this tonight—
Yummy, but took a LOT longer to bake then what was said.
Bumped my temp to 400 and covered it to finally get it DONE. 🫣
Will ‘save’ for future with my modifications. 👍🏻
Stumbled across this recipe and it reminded me of something we cook. We cut the marinated Italian chicken up in small pieces and add peppers and onions and mushrooms to it to cook. Then we serve it in a baked potato (with butter or sour cream)and top with shredded cheese. All our family and friends love the chicken stuffed taters.
That sounds delicious, Traci!
Thanks for the fantastic recipe
Can you use frozen chicken breat?
Yes! Here are some helpful guidelines on baking chicken breasts directly from frozen: “Average-sized frozen chicken breasts (5-7 oz) may take between 40-45 minutes to bake, depending on your oven temperature. We recommend 400°F, which is hotter than some recipes may call for. But with some extra monitoring, the increased temperature will help you avoid drying out the meat (which can happen when you cook low and slow). The same-size thawed chicken breast may only take 20-25 minutes. Estimating between 40-50% longer cook time when following any recipe is a good idea.” This info is from ButcherBox, FYI, which is a resource I trust!
This is such a great marinade! The chicken came out fantastic. I did use garlic. Last night’s dinner was a great success and we will be making your recipe often. Thank you!
This made a great chicken dinner! Everyone ate this with zero complaints, that is a win in my book!
I can’t believe how simple this is to make. Thank you so much for the recipe, I am definitely making it again this week 🙂
5-star for this delicious chicken recipe. I’m not a chicken person, so I’m always searching for new recipes. One of my kids is a chicken lover, and he LOVED this recipe. Thank you, thank you, than you!
My kind of recipe, easy to make, few ingredients and delicious. The chicken was so moist and tender. Love it!
This was a super great chicken dish to make! Everyone in my family loved it! Will definitely make this again!
My new go to weeknight dinner! This Italian Dressing Chicken was so easy to make and packed with flavor.
Such a delicious recipe! This was my first time making Italian dressing chicken. I followed the instructions in the recipe and the chicken came out perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Such a simple recipe and really tasty, cooked up just right and stayed nice and moist!
This recipe is pure genius!!! I would never think of using Italian dressing as marinade, but it really works!!! The meat was so tender and super flavoursome, it was incredibly quick and easy to make too! A winner!