My MIYM Chicken has got to be one of my all time favorite dinner ideas. Why? Melt In Your Mouth Chicken is an EASY chicken recipe and packs so much flavor into tender chicken breasts. My family devours this recipe.
We eat more chicken recipes in our house than any other meat for sure. Chicken enchiladas, crack chicken, shredded chicken …the list goes on and on. And real talk, chicken nuggets are basically the perfect food…soooo. Chicken is just an easy starting point for dinner, and you only need a few ingredients to make it completely different every night you use it! Today we’re making “Melt In Your Mouth” chicken, which is basically ultra-tender chicken breasts that are full of flavor and served with cheese.
Why You’ll Love Melt In Your Mouth Chicken
- This is hands-down one of my most popular recipes ever. I’ve been making it for over a decade and still get emails from people who can’t believe how good it is with so little effort.
- Made with sour cream. My mom used to make this with mayo, but I always thought it was a bit much. There is a fine line with mayo in my opinion. Anyhow, to sideline that whole debate, I use sour cream in my recipe, which seems to make everyone happy. Sour cream also tenderizes the chicken breasts, so you end up with these incredibly juicy and flavorful cuts of chicken on your plate. So good!
- Prep takes five minutes, tops. Stir, spread, bake. That’s it. And if you’re feeling extra, broil it for a few minutes at the end to get that golden cheesy top.
- Picky-eater approved. The flavors are mild, cozy, and somehow just work for everyone—this one’s been a winner with even the pickiest people in my house.
What You’ll Need
The prep time on this Melt In Your Mouth Chicken Recipe is literally minutes. Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need along with my notes. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Boneless Chicken Breasts: Here’s the deal with chicken breasts, the thinner they are, the faster they bake. I prefer a more “medium” sliced breast, so not ultra thin, but not thick. Be sure to adjust your bake time based on the thickness of your breast.
- Sour Cream: This adds moisture to your chicken. You can sub in Plain Greek Yogurt or mayonnaise in its place.
- Parmesan Cheese: I love using Parmesan Cheese in this dish because it packs a lot of flavor punch. You can absolutely use another type of cheese, but I would recommend using one that is slightly sharper, like a Gruyere, an Extra Sharp Cheddar, or Asiago.
- Seasonings: This is where you can get creative and adapt the recipe to accommodate all the picky eaters in your life! The recipe is written with classic seasonings like garlic powder and seasoned salt, but you can use tons of spices to switch it up! Make it Tex-Mex and use Cumin, make it with a little Italian flair and add Basil or Italian Seasoning, or even add some smoked paprika and cayenne pepper to add a little smoke and heat! I love chicken recipes like this that are so easily adaptable!
How to Make Melt In Your Mouth Chicken
Ok, let’s get cooking! Here’s how to make this super easy chicken recipe:
- Prep your tools. Preheat your oven to 375F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with PAM and set aside.
- Prepare the MIYM mix. In a medium bowl combine the sour cream, garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Add the MIYM mix to your chicken. Put the chicken breasts into your prepared pan in a single line, then spread the MIYM mix on top of them. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.
- Bake. This chicken recipe cooks in 25-30 minutes.
- Broil. I like to broil the chicken for 2-3 minutes, just until they brown a bit on top.
- Serve!
Tips for Success
- Want to prep it in advance? You can do everything up to baking the chicken the day before. Just keep the prepared chicken in the fridge, covered with saran wrap, until you’re reading to bake it. Remove the plastic wrap and continue with the rest of the recipe.
- How can I tell the chicken is done? The answer here is based on the thickness of the chicken you use. If your chicken breasts are trimmed thin, they will bake faster than a thick chicken breast. You bake the chicken until the juices run clear, but if you’re concerned about the doneness, use a meat thermometer and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- What happens if there is a lot of liquid in the pan? This is a very common issue with all baked chicken recipes. Chicken naturally releases juices as it is cooked, and since you’re baking this in a dish, those liquids have no place to go, except for…well…the baking dish. You don’t notice it as much when you are pan frying chicken because of the high pan temperature, the liquid evaporates quickly, but in an oven at 350°F, it won’t evaporate fast. But don’t worry, it’s completely normal! Just drain the liquid, it will be fine! You can drain the liquid before or after you pop it under the broiler.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is a keeper! I enjoy serving it with my Homemade Egg Noodles on the side when I have the time to make them. But here are a few more options:
How to Store and Reheat
- Store in the fridge: Once cooled, pop the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: Warm it up in the microwave or oven until heated through. If you’re using the oven, cover it with foil so the top doesn’t get too brown.
- Can I freeze it? I don’t really recommend it—sour cream doesn’t always freeze great and can get a little weird when it thaws. Fresh is best with this one.
Melt In Your Mouth Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
A retro/nostalgic & easy MIYM (Melt In Your Mouth) chicken recipe that is in constant rotation in my house!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 3 pounds boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Lightly coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream, garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper, and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese.
- Place the chicken breasts evenly into the pan. Spread the sour cream mixture on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Turn the oven to broil and place the pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned on top.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat on microwave or in oven at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 642.2 mg
- Fat: 12.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.2 g
- Protein: 46.1 g
- Cholesterol: 145 mg
Want To Save This Recipe?
Find more recipes like this:
PIN for later:
Do you cover the chicken with foil in the oven?
This recipe didn’t disappoint!!*****. My husband said this was the best chicken I ever made, & he’s extremely picky, & critiquy;) I was amazed with as few ingredients as it called for how flavorful it was. Going in my special recipe book with credit to Shelly of course:) One special note, when I opened my sour cream it was spoiled. I didn’t have the other ingredients to substitute so I used cream cheese with a little mayo added in, & my whole family loved it!
This recipe is a family favorite! I make it almost exactly as written. I use a blend of cheddar, parmesan, and gruyere cheeses (which honestly I could’ve sworn is what the recipe called for when I first stumbled upon this gold mine recipe). I also sprinkle a little Italian seasoning on top before putting in oven. The sour cream and cheeses blend perfectly to make the chicken flavorful and juicy. This is the most requested dish in the house! I’ve used this recipe for years and just realized I’ve never left a review. It is truly melt in your mouth delicious!
Making this for the first time. I’m a very novice cook!! Recipe calls for “seasoned salt”. Can u share what kind of “seasoned salt” you use please:):)?
Buy seasoned salt, a mixture of different spices or Google, or try something like this (adjust to personal preferences, especially salt)
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp salt (May need more)
1/8 tsp ground chili flakes
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried parsley
Tried this out, and knew when I was able to cut with my fork it definitely lives up to its name! I halved (just me & the Mrs), and used some mayo (ran out of sour cream). Went heavy on the garlic because, garlic ❤️.
Have this recipe bookmarked and plan on coming back frequently, both to make as written, as well as some tweaks (but it’s delicious as is… Earns every bit of those 5 stars)
i made this last weekend and it was so good! I followed the original recipe but i added one can of cream of chicken soup and i used chicken tenderloins. I also used shredded parm instead of grated. I put all of my chicken in a glass baking dish and then put all of the mixture on top. it was a lot but it was sooooo good. The mixture didn’t stick to the chicken like it looks like in this recipe but it was delicious any way. It was more like a gravy. We made mashed potatoes and used the mixture on the chicken as gravy. Will definitely make again! Side note: It took wayyyyy longer than 25 minutes. i’d say it was more like an hour but that’s if you make it the way i did.
I would recommend adding way more seasoning to this dish if you like flavorful chicken. I added much more but it was still very bland. I also used recommend pan size but still ended up with way too much liquid. It was tender and i was able to doctor it up.
I have never before left a comment on any recipe, but I felt the need to come back to rate this because it was absolutely heavenly! I followed the recipe exactly as directed, just cut in half. I have never had chicken this juicy. I will make this recipe so many times in the future.
Thank you so much for the review! So happy you enjoyed it!
This recipe is so good and I make it at least once a month!
Question though: I can never get my chicken to look like yours in the picture when I broil it. The sour cream mixture stays really white and just little specks on top get REALLY dark, almost black when I broil it. Not a pretty brown all over like yours.
Any tips?
My family and I love this recipe. It’s a regular in my house. So flavorful and it’s ingredients I always have on hand. I use shredded parm instead of grated. Gives it a better flavor.
Tasted “meh”. It had a weird flavor that I didn’t like. Husband enjoyed it. Definitely won’t be cooking it again.