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This Oven-baked 3-ingredient Chicken is creamy, comforting, and easy enough for busy nights. Tender chicken bakes in a simple sauce of condensed cream of chicken soup and sour cream, with paprika for warm golden color. You’re going to love how little prep it takes and how good it is over rice, noodles, or mashed Potatoes.
Why You’ll Love It
- Only 3 main ingredients — chicken, condensed cream of chicken soup, and sour cream make the creamy sauce.
- Easy oven dinner — stir, cover, bake, and let the oven do the heavy lifting.
- Tender chicken — baking covered in the sauce helps keep the chicken juicy.
- Feeds six — serve it over rice, buttered noodles, or mashed potatoes to catch every bit of sauce.
- Mild and family-friendly — the creamy sauce and sweet paprika are gentle without being bland.
Ingredient Notes
Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs here. I tend to use breasts because that’s what I usually have in the freezer—thawed first, naturally—but thighs are more forgiving and stay juicy even if you get distracted folding laundry and leave the dish in a few extra minutes. Not that I’ve done that. I have absolutely done that.
For the soup, regular condensed cream of chicken soup is what this recipe calls for. Don’t add water or milk to it; the chicken gives off enough juice as it bakes. Full-fat sour cream makes the richest, smoothest sauce. Light sour cream will work if that’s what you have, but it can look a little separated after baking. A good stir brings it back around, mostly.
Sweet paprika is important for that warm golden color. It’s not meant to make the chicken spicy. Use the regular sweet kind, not hot paprika unless you’re trying to wake somebody up. Fresh parsley is pretty on top, but I will be honest: I buy parsley with good intentions and then find it liquefied in the crisper drawer. Optional means optional.
Ingredients
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into large bite-size pieces—about 1 1/2-inch chunks is right
- 2 (10.5-ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or a little less if your family is sensitive to salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, plus another little dusting for the top if you like
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil or softened butter, for greasing the baking dish
- Fresh chopped parsley, optional, and I mean truly optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch glass or Pyrex baking dish with the oil or softened butter. You can use whatever baking dish fits, but the 9×13 is the dependable old station wagon of casserole dishes—nothing glamorous, always useful.
Trim any obvious excess fat from the chicken and cut it into large bite-size pieces, roughly 1 1/2 inches. Pat the pieces dry with paper towels before they go in the dish. I used to skip this because I thought, “It’s all baking in sauce anyway,” but the extra moisture can make the sauce thinner than you want.
Spread the chicken in an even layer in the greased dish. Sprinkle it with the kosher salt and black pepper, then toss it lightly with a spoon or clean hands so the seasoning reaches most of the pieces. It does not have to be perfect. Dinner is not a courtroom deposition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and 1 teaspoon sweet paprika until smooth and pale golden. Don’t thin it with anything—no broth, no milk, none of that. The sauce will loosen as the chicken cooks and releases its juices.
Pour the creamy sauce over the chicken, using a spatula to nudge it into the corners and make sure the pieces are coated. Sprinkle a little extra paprika over the top if you want that deeper golden look. I suspect it looks so pretty because of better lighting in the kitchen, but we’ll blame the paprika.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake it on the middle rack for 25 minutes. This covered part is what keeps the chicken tender, so don’t get impatient and peek every six minutes. Go sit down. Call your sister. Watch half an episode of something you don’t have to pay attention to.
Carefully remove the foil after 25 minutes—there will be steam, and it will find your face if you give it the opportunity. Gently stir the sauce around the edges of the dish, then return the chicken to the oven uncovered.
Bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling, lightly thickened, and golden on top. Cut into one of the thicker chicken pieces to check that it is white and opaque throughout, or use an instant-read thermometer and make sure the largest piece reaches at least 165°F.
Let the chicken rest on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. The sauce thickens a bit as it sits, which is exactly what you want. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if using, and spoon plenty of chicken and sauce over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.
Variations
If you want to stay close to the original version, I would. It’s simple for a reason. But a teaspoon of garlic powder or onion powder stirred into the sauce is nice when you need a little more oomph. You can swap cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup for the cream of chicken, too, though cream of chicken is still my favorite here.
Boneless thighs with sliced mushrooms added before the sauce goes on are also nice. Frozen peas work too, maybe a handful, for color.
I tried adding shredded cheese once. It was not terrible, but it was not this dish anymore. It became one of those casseroles that feels like it should come with a pamphlet and a nap afterward. So I don’t do that now.
Storage & Reheating
Cool leftovers within two hours and store them in a shallow covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The sauce will thicken quite a bit overnight, which is not a failure—it’s just what creamy sauces do when they’ve been sitting around judging you from the fridge.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave gently, stirring once if you can. Add a splash of milk or broth if the sauce seems too thick. You can also reheat it on the stovetop over low heat, again with a little milk or broth to loosen things up.
If you’re taking this to someone who just had a baby, surgery, or one of those weeks where the dishwasher dies and your car makes a noise nobody can identify, send it in an oven-safe covered dish with a little reheating note. I used to think that was overdoing it. Then I became the person staring at a casserole in somebody else’s dish, wondering whether it could go in a 400-degree oven. So. Notes are kindness.
Final Notes
There’s nothing trendy about this chicken, and that may be what I like most about it. It doesn’t need a fancy garnish or a dramatic name. It just shows up warm and creamy and ready to be spooned over something starchy.
Make this when somebody needs dinner. Make it when you need dinner. Make it on a night when the house feels a little too quiet, or too loud—those are often the same night somehow. And don’t skimp on the sauce.
Oven Baked 3-Ingredient Creamy Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs Cut into large bite-size pieces, about 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 10.5-ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup Do not add water or milk
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream Light sour cream may be used
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt Use a little less if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika Plus another little dusting for the top if desired
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil or softened butter For greasing the baking dish
- fresh parsley Chopped and optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass or Pyrex baking dish with the oil or softened butter.
- Trim any obvious excess fat from the chicken, cut it into large bite-size pieces roughly 1 1/2 inches, and pat the pieces dry with paper towels.
- Spread the chicken in an even layer in the greased dish, sprinkle it with the kosher salt and black pepper, and toss lightly to distribute the seasoning.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika until smooth and pale golden.
- Pour the creamy sauce over the chicken, use a spatula to spread it into the corners and coat the pieces, and sprinkle extra paprika over the top if desired.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake it on the middle rack for 25 minutes.
- Carefully remove the foil, gently stir the sauce around the edges of the dish, and return the chicken to the oven uncovered.
- Bake uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and lightly thickened and the largest chicken piece reaches at least 165°F.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes, sprinkle with chopped parsley if using, and serve over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.