Zesty Italian Chicken with Dressing Recipe (2024)

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ThisZesty Italian Chicken with Dressing Recipe is so quick and easy to prepare. With only TWO main steps, you will have this delicious meal on the table in no time! You will love this Italian dressing chicken recipe!

Zesty Italian Baked Chicken with Dressing:

I love a homemade dinner, but with a busy schedule, I don’t always have time to spend hours making a single meal. That’s why this baked chicken with Italian dressing is a perfect choice. You can’t beat a quick, easy, AND tasty recipe! The tender chicken breasts, flavorful seasonings, and light marinade combine for the perfect weeknight dinner!

Fixing this dish might seem overwhelming at first, but with few ingredients and little prep time, you will have no trouble at all! The step-by-step recipe tutorial below will explain exactly how to make this simple Italian dressing chicken.

Is Italian Chicken with Dressing Easy to Make?

This is the simplest baked chicken recipe you will ever make! It requires minimal ingredients and little time spent in the kitchen. Plus, you can even use your favorite bottle of Italian salad dressing to simplify this dinner recipe even more!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

chicken breasts- You can’t have baked Italian chicken without chicken! You could also use chicken thighs, drumsticks, or boneless, skinless breasts
Italian dressing- Gives the juicy chicken breasts a delicious marinade.
garlic powder, pepper, and rosemary- Adds extra flavor to the cooked chicken.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. While the oven is preheating, add your chicken to a plastic bag with the zesty Italian dressing to begin marinating. You can let it marinate for 30-45 minutes if you have time; if you don’t have time to marinate the chicken, skip the zip lock bag and go straight to the baking dish.

Step 2: Place the marinated chicken in a glass baking dish. Add the seasonings and cook for approximately 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Can I cook my Italian chicken with dressing in aluminum foil?

Yes! Cooking Italian chicken with marinade wrapped in aluminum foil will make your chicken especially tender and moist. It will keep the natural juices in the chicken from spreading out, giving you that extra burst of flavor. Plus, the cleanup is easy! When you are finished cooking, you can simply throw the aluminum foil packets in the trash.

How To Store:

Storing Italian dressing chicken after cooking: If you cooked your easy chicken ahead of time or you are saving leftovers for later, you can keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight plastic bag or container. You can individually cover each breast with plastic wrap first if you want to. The chicken can be safely eaten within 3-4 days. If you want to have the chicken for a much longer amount of time, you can place it in a freezer bag where it can be stored for up to four months.
Storing Italian dressing chicken before cooking- If you run out of time and decide not to cook the chicken, don’t worry! You can marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. If you prefer freezing, you can store the marinated chicken for 6-8 weeks in a sealed freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, just allow enough time for the chicken breasts to thaw in the refrigerator, and then follow the directions on the recipe card!

Can you freeze Italian dressing chicken?

Yes, you definitely can! Cooked chicken can be frozen in a freezer bag for up to four months. To get the best flavor, raw marinated chicken can be kept in the freezer for no longer than 6-8 weeks in an airtight freezer bag.

Tip: Tightly wrap your cooked chicken breasts or tenderloins in freezer paper or plastic wrap first. Then cover them with a layer of aluminum foil before placing them in a freezer bag. This will give extra protection to the chicken and help prevent freezer burn.

What to Serve with This Easy Chicken Recipe?

Here are some of my favorite side dishes to go with this chicken recipe.

Can I cook Italian dressing chicken in a CROCKPOT?

You absolutely can! The main difference between using a slow cooker or the oven is the time involved. For Crockpot Italian chicken, you need to allow 7-9 hours on low for the chicken to fully cook or enough time for the internal temperature to be 165°F according to an instant-read meat thermometer. I would suggest searing the chicken breasts first in hot oil to brown the outside of the chicken.

Variations to this Recipe:

spices – You can change up the spices to your preference. Italian seasoning, paprika, lemon pepper, and onion powder are all fantastic.
chicken- Not everyone prefers boneless skinless chicken breasts so that you could use thighs, drumsticks, boneless chicken breasts, or tenders as an alternative. Your baking time will change depending on the cut of meat you choose.
Italian dressing- Both store-bought and homemade Italian dressing will work for this recipe! Since the Italian dressing chicken marinade can be made with either, choose whichever you like best! For those following a keto/low carb lifestyle, use thisZesty Keto Italian Dressing Recipeif you prefer a homemade dressing.

More Chicken Recipes:

Easy Mozzarella Chicken Recipe
Keto Baked Chicken Thighs (If you are not following the Keto/low carb lifestyle, use regular bbq sauce.)
Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks W/ Marinade

How to Make Zesty Italian Chicken with Dressing Recipe:

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4.82 from 11 votes

Zesty Italian Chicken with Dressing

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Tender Italian Baked Chicken, Zesty Italian Chicken with Dressing

Ingredients

4.5 lbs bone-in split chicken breasts
2 cups Italian dressing
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp rosemary

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 13 X 9 baking dish.
Place the chicken in a large zip lock bag with the Italian dressing, and marinate it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. If you do not have time to marinate, the chicken go ahead and add the chicken and dressing to a greased 13 X 9 baking dish.
Add the seasonings to the chicken, and place the baking dish in the middle rack of the oven.
Bake for 45-55 minutes on the middle rack or until a digital meat thermometer reaches 160°F degrees. Then move the baking dish to the top rack to broil for 5 minutes so that the skin crisps. After you have removed the chicken from the oven, use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches 165°F.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Zesty Italian Chicken with Dressing Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Italian dressing and zesty Italian? ›

FAQs. What's the difference between Italian dressing and zesty Italian dressing? Regular Italian dressing and zesty Italian dressing use the same base recipe, but the zesty version has added flavor for more zing.

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Can I use salad dressing as a marinade? ›

Any pourable dressing works as a marinade, so try them all! Be creative and vary the taste even more by adding Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard, wine, herbs, spices, or some other personal touch. But take care not to overly dilute the vinegar or lemon juice in the dressing if you want to tenderize as well.

How long to cook chicken breast in the oven at 350 degrees? ›

Cooking tips

Bake a 4-oz. chicken breast at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature is 165˚F (74˚C).

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How long to marinate chicken breast? ›

You can marinate chicken anywhere from 2 hours up to 24 hours, though marinating chicken for even 15 to 30 minutes can impart flavor and moisture into smaller pieces of meat. Generally, bone-in cuts of chicken, such as wings, drumsticks and breasts, will require a longer marinade time than their boneless counterparts.

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What does Italian dressing do to meat? ›

Italian dressing is one of the best steak marinades you can use, and it's a flavorful shortcut to perfectly juicy and flavorful steaks. The combination of oil and vinegar with herbs and spices makes it a delicious and powerful tenderizer. The dressing is especially handy when you're dealing with tough cuts of beef.

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What is zesty Italian dressing made of? ›

Distilled Vinegar, Vegetable Oil (Soybean And/Or Canola), Water, Sugar, Salt, Contains Less Than 2% Of Garlic,* Garlic, Red Bell Pepper,* Onion,* Onion, Spice, Xanthan Gum, Monosodium Glutamate, Natural Flavor, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor), Annatto Extract (Color).

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What dressings are good for marinating chicken? ›

Did you know that most salad dressings also make great marinades? Not creamy ones. But pretty much all non creamy ones do, including French Dressing, Honey Mustard Dressing, this Asian Sesame Dressing and Balsamic Dressing. Today I'm sharing an Italian Dressing Chicken Marinade.

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How much dressing to use as marinade? ›

The simplest way to marinate any protein is to remember the one-to-one ratio: If you have one pound of meat, use 1 (16-ounce) bottle of dressing.

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Which should be avoided when marinating? ›

Avoid marinating in metal containers as the metal can chemically react with the marinade and change the flavor of your dish. Not marinating in the refrigerator. Marinating in the refrigerator will help to prevent the growth of bacteria. Never marinate food at room temperature.

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Should you bake chicken covered or uncovered? ›

Larger cuts, such as whole chickens or bone-in pieces, often benefit from covered baking to ensure thorough and even cooking. Smaller cuts, like chicken breasts or tenders, can be baked uncovered for quick results. Lastly, think about the desired texture and flavor you're trying to achieve.

Is it better to bake chicken at 350 or 400? ›

Given the fact that drumsticks and thighs are dark meat and won't dry out as easily as breasts, the range from 350 to 450 degrees is okay for baking them. 350 to 375 is generally best for breasts. The best answer to these questions? Simply check the chicken for doneness using an instant read thermometer.

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Should I cover chicken breast with foil when baking? ›

It delivers mouth-watering results: By using foil to bake chicken, you seal in its juices as it steams. This keeps your chicken moist and wonderfully flavorful. It gives you a complete meal in a packet: While you can bake your chicken alone, using foil allows you to build a delicious, all-in-one meal.

Can you marinate chicken too long in Italian dressing? ›

Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

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Is Italian Dressing Mix and Italian Seasoning the same? ›

No, the two are not the same. Italian seasoning is a blend of dried herbs, including basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sometimes marjoram. Italian dressing mix includes similar dried herbs as well as salt and additional seasonings that will create a flavorful salad dressing when mixed with oil and vinegar.

Is zesty italian dressing good? ›

Italian dressing is a must for making the cold pasta salads that accompany picnics and potlucks. The best dressing for these recipes, according to our Test Kitchen, is Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing. Opening up a bottle, you'll find it's a classic grocery store-style Italian dressing.

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Is zesty italian salad dressing healthy? ›

Italian dressing is often considered a healthy option when compared with creamy dressings because it's lower in calories and fat. But because it can be high in sodium and the calories quickly add up if you use more than the serving size, it's still important to watch the amount you eat.

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Why is it called Italian dressing? ›

Italian dressing is likely only Italian in name, borrowing inspiration from classic Italian ingredients. Though this dressing may have closer ties to Olive Garden Italian dressing, than Italy–it is thought to have been created specifically for restaurant service.

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