March 23rd, 2012
Cheez-It Chicken
I haven’t mentioned this on my blog yet, but my all-time favorite food happens to be fried chicken. In fact, I think I can safely say that fried chicken is a part of my heritage. I was born in the great state of Kentucky. You know—-the home of Colonel Sanders and his famous Kentucky Fried Chicken. Well, the colonel wasn’t the only one making great fried chicken in Kentucky. I come from a long line of women who claimed fried chicken as their specialty dish. Before my grandmother passed away, my husband used to say, “Your grandmother’s chicken is the best. Your mom’s is the second best, and yours is third!” Now, don’t get me wrong. He loves my fried chicken, too, but he noticed that with each step backward along the branches of the family tree, the fried chicken got better! And guess what. It just so happens that my grandmother and Colonel Sanders were buried in the same section of the same cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. We think of it as a tribute to the wonderful fried chicken dinners she made for our family for so many years.
My grandmother, Louise Brooks
Well, I have a chicken recipe for you today. It’s not fried chicken, but it’s still crispy and delicious. It’s made with Cheez-It crackers! And it not only tastes great, it’s easy to make, it only has four ingredients, and it’s kid-friendly to boot. I just love it when a recipe has everything going for it, and this one definitely does. To make Cheez-It Chicken, you’ll need chicken tenders, butter, sour cream, and of course some Cheez-It crackers.
Crush the Cheez-Its by placing them in a large ziploc bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin.
Preheat the oven to 375. Roll the chicken tenders in the sour cream and then in the Cheez-It crumbs. Place them in a baking dish.
Drizzle with the melted butter.
Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.
Cheez-It Chicken
Recipe by: Origin Unknown/Slightly Adapted by Winner Dinners
Serves 4
8 chicken tenders
1 cup sour cream
3 cups Cheez-Its, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
Crush the Cheez-Its by placing them in a large ziploc bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin. Preheat the oven to 375. Roll the chicken tenders in the sour cream and then in the Cheez-It crumbs. Place them in a baking dish. Drizzle with the melted butter. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.
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Posted under Main Dishes
I love this recipe! It’s delicious!
I made 2 big pans of this for dinner tonight (4 pounds of chicken!) and the family LOVED them! Every single piece GONE! And, they want me to make it again!
Lisa, the same thing happens at my house. There are never any leftovers!
Thank you for this! I’ve got three 10-year-olds in the house at the moment, and chicken. Don’t have some of my stand-by ingredients on hand, but I’ve got lots of Cheez-its … and sour cream and butter. Perfect!
Rebecca, they are going to love it!! Good luck with all the kids!
Thanks for a great recipe that all my kids will love! My eldest daughter is allergic to eggs, which is so often used when breading meat, so the sour cream is a great idea!
You’re welcome, Paula. You’re right, the sour cream will be a great substitute for eggs, and the best part is that I bet she will love it, too!
Turned out amazing! I edited it by marinating overnight in Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, and since I can’t eat sour cream, I used egg. Breaded with smoked cheddar, Monterey jack, and original Cheez-its! Simple to make, too!
I am actually making this for dinner tonight, only difference is we add garlic salt to ours. I usually sprinkle chicken with garlic salt, then add the butter, sour cream and Cheez-its.
I made this for dinner last night, and my kids LOVED it! They ate 4 pounds of this fried goodness! OMG! THANK U!
Love this recipe as we are big cheese it fans! I read your story and found it interesting … My mother is also a Brooks born in Kentucky! Her name was Sarah Louise Brooks born in Pikevilke in 1927 to Earl and Lena Brooks! I know there are lots of Brooks in Kentucky…. We could be “kin” folks! Thanks for the great recipe!
Jill, thanks so much for your comment. Wow! I’m amazed at the similarity of the names in our two families. Aside from the fact that my grandmother was Louise Brooks, my mother is Sara Brooks. In fact, she still is because she’s using her maiden name again. What a coincidence. And all from Kentucky. I was born there, too, but my family moved to California when I was just a baby. Come back and visit any time.
My mom used to make this for us growing up (25 years ago, at least!) and I now make it. To make it extra cheesy, slice a pocket in the chicken and stuff it with cheddar before coating it in the crushed bread crumbs. I’m pretty sure I have that version on my blog – soo good!!!
Will have to try this!
This looks great & I love Cheez-its! I am possibly going to either marinate it in the Lea & Perrins &/or add garlic powder. I was also going to use Greek yogurt for the sour cream & butter spray instead of the butter to save some calories. Thanks again for it!
This was so good! We bought the store brand cheez-its and they just didn’t taste as good as the name brand ones. My husband wondered if we could find a recipe that used them up since neither one of us wanted to eat them as a snack. I stumbled across your blog and viola! Our dinner tonight was great. Thanks for sharing!
That’s funny, Courtney! I’m glad the store brand Cheez-Its didn’t ruin the chicken! You’ll have to use the real Cheez-Its next time and see if it’s even better. Thanks for visiting. Come back anytime!
Cheez-it chicken and buffalo chicken dip for dinner in the same night… I can only imagine.
Well, Smudge, I’ve never had those two together, but I hope it was good.
I love this so so much, but if you want a little zest to it, add green chilies to the sour cream in a blender, and then roll the chicken in it.
Thanks for your suggestion, Lauryn. It sounds good, and I just might have to try that next time.
Just made this for dinner. It was really good. I added pepper and garlic powder. We dipped it in hot sauce and BBQ sauce. So good!
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I make what I call ‘Cheese It Chicken’ but it is made differently than this. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts (could use tenders I guess). I crunch the Cheese Its up in a bowl and add cream of chicken to it, along with my seasonings: salt, pepper and a little chili powder and garlic powder. Stir it up and after placing the chicken on a tinfoil-lined pan, I spoon the mixture over the chicken with an even layer, cover and bake at 425 for 20 min-30 min. Take cover off so that chicken browns a bit during the last 15 mins. Chicken is done when the juices run clear. YUMMO! Not crunchy like the above recipe makes it, but it’s VERY good. My son requests this for his birthday meal or any time I ask him to choose what he wants me to fix! Must be a little good, huh?!
Thanks for sharing your version of Cheez-It Chicken, Sett!
No Problem. It really IS good and I’d be honored if someone (outside my family) made it and reported back as to how they, and their family, loved it!
….Forgot to mention…it’s good cold too (you know – for those times when you sneak into the fridge at midnight or after. . . when you can’t just lay there and ‘think’ about food any longer…you just HAVE to have it!) Lol Enjoy! (hot OR cold!).
Ha ha! This recipe is a definite favorite in my family (been in my family for years!!). I was shocked to see someone else knows what I thought was a family secret recipe. P.S. My family came from the Carolinas.