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
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why don’t the comments for this dish that came out watery have any replies?
Hi! Chicken naturally releases juices as it bakes. There is really no way around this. You could bake it on a roasting rack if that bothers you, but it really won’t affect the taste, and can easily be drained 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hi SHELLY. Ive made this recipe three times. The first time, it was perfect and sooo..well, it melted in my mouth . The last two times, it came out watery and the bottoms were pink. Any tips?? How could there be no juices one time, and then watery the other times?
Unfortunately it really depends on the chicken. I have had it happen that way as well. I just drain the liquid if there is a lot. Not sure why it would be pink though! Pink as in raw?
Great weeknight chicken recipe! After reading all the feedback and tweaks for this recipe, I adjusted it just a bit to suit my taste. I cut my chicken in half to make thinner pieces. I used about 2 1/5 lbs of chicken altogether. No pieces overlapped in my 9 x 13” glass baking dish. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper and browned it in a pan with a little olive oil before I placed it in my casserole dish. Used half a cup of sour cream and half a cup of mayo. Seasoning in my creamy mix stayed the same. Added a 1/4 cup of panko crumbs to the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese that goes on top before you set it to broil. It was cooked through in 20 minutes plus 3 minutes on broil just like the recipe said. Super good, super juicy. Just the right amount of crunch. There was a bit of liquid at the bottom but I just drained it out in the sink. The liquid didn’t affect the recipe at all.
This looks like a great recipe, and I’m eager to try it, but I’ll use a metal sheet pan. Pyrex and other glass baking dishes can’t be used under the broiler. They can break, and a recent TV news story showed how newer glass baking dishes are made from different substances and often shatter when not used according to directions. You might want to specify the use of a metal sheet pan or baking dish and delete the photos of the chicken in the glass baking dish.
This is true to an extent. Pyrex is safe in an oven to up to 450degrees, my oven has a “custom broil” option and I am constantly broiling dinners in my Pyrex dishes at 450 without issue! Excited to make this for dinner tonight!
So this is amazing. Me and my boyfriend love it and I make it multiple times in a month.
I did half sour cream and half mayo, and its great just the way you have it listed for the seasoning.
For those who haven’t tried it and are judging whether or not to make it by reading the reviews, just do it! You wont be disappointed. If you are, you messed up or missed a step or ingredient somewhere. 5/5 for sure.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much!!
Hello! I have made this recipe before and my family and I LOVED it. Due to Christmas, I know have an instant pot, so I’m just curious if there would be a way to cook this in there. I’m thinking searing it, then mixing the sour cream and parmesan cheese and seasoning together then coating the chicken with it. Pressure cook for 10-12 minutes and natural release?
Made this on Monday after a long day.
Came out awesome and took 5 minutes o prep. I did get a little water in the pan but I just drained it a little and put it back in the oven to crisp up. It worked perfectly. You can also broil it for a few minutes if you like it extra crispy. Thank you for the great recipe.
So glad you liked it and get feedback!
Love love love this recipe. I substituted 2% Fa?e yogurt for the sour cream and came out amazing. Added to the recipe book. THANKS BUNCHES!!!
Hello, I’m Esther. I tend to make the dinners in my even though I’m still a teen. I would just like to know if you recommend a specific type of chicken breast for this recipe. My mum gets the Perdue-thinly sliced chicken breasts from Sam’s Club. My guess is that you use whole chicken breasts for this recipe. Should I modify the recipe just to make sure the the chicken doesn’t burn on the bottom because it is thinly sliced. If so, how?
It shouldn’t change the recipe at all, except maybe cut a few minutes off the bake time! Love that you are making dinners!! The breasts I use aren’t too thick at all!
I do not like cooking at all, mostly I only microwave frozen meals, or eat out a lot. But I need to start eating healthy and lose some weight, plus I need to watch my budget and cut out picking up meals out. I work full time and this is super easy and very tasty. I made 4 large breast and they took about 20 minutes longer to cook but leftovers is fine. My adult daughter loved it too, she’s going to cook it next week for us. 🙂 very Happy with this recipe.
Came out very watery, even though (1) I washed/drained/dried chicken, (2) cut it into smaller pieces, and (3) baked 10 extra minutes. No way this would be crispy like picture. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!
Why did you wash the chicken?
Recipe was super easy to follow. I didn’t have sour cream so I used may since you mentioned it earlier in the article. I filet my chicken breasts so they are not too thick which means I had tonise two one but it was perfect. Everyone loves it and some went back for seconds. Made this with a bed of yellow rice and veggies. Would definitely make again
My family loved it. They even asked for recipe. I only hated I made a small portion because it didn’t last. One reason why I was skeptical about sour cream and the reviews. Disregard the reviews and try the recipe. I honestly don’t know how the sour cream was clumpy (maybe not mixed well), was far from watery (unless chicken wasn’t drained after wash) or chicken breast tough (unless overcooked). You cook the chicken to size of your cuts. I added 1/2 cup sour cream, spoon of miracle whip, Mexican blended cheese, 3 slices of cut up provolone cheese mixed well added it to my 6 cut chicken breast that I grilled for 2 min (browned for color) in a pan for 15-20 minutes. Broiled top. I personally don’t eat cheese so I did a lil twist with my portions. But my family said it was the best choice… So two thumbs up. I will make again. I wish I could take a photo to prove to others so they won’t be skeptical like I was cause of comments.
Thanks so much for you review and I love your adaptations!
This was amazing… made with cream cheese pasta and garlic bread family loved it! Definitely a new favorite, thank you for sharing.