This elegant chicken recipe is one you’ll be making on repeat. The chicken is as tender as chicken can possibly be and the sauce is so savory and creamy, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. If you’re looking for a simple, budget friendly, delicious dinner, you’re in luck.
Why you should make this elegant chicken dish:
This baked chicken is a family favorite for using skinless chicken breasts. This recipe is one I grew up having as a weeknight dinner but I loved it so much that I would ask my mom to make it on special occasions too! The name may fool you into thinking it’s a classy chicken recipe but all you need is a baking dish and a few simple ingredients to have the most tender and delicious baked chicken ever!
What’s in elegant chicken?
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Bacon
- Chipped beef
- Cream of mushroom soup
- Sour cream
What makes this different from other elegant chicken recipes?
Any other elegant recipe would want you to use things like white wine, lemon juice, and dijon mustard to create a flavorful end result but the truth is that you don’t need all of that to have a delicious chicken dish! In addition to that, the fancier recipes will call for more steps, including things like crisping the piece of chicken skin side down, butterflying it, pounding it out, etc. There is nothing wrong with recipes like that… I think they are usually delicious, but the great thing about this version of elegant chicken is that you don’t have to fuss around with many steps or spend a bunch of money on ingredients to still have one of the best chicken dinners ever!
Out of all the easy chicken recipes out there, I think this is as easy as it gets.
- It starts by partially cooking the bacon so that it can finish cooking and get crispy in the oven. Set aside.
- Combine the cream of mushroom soup and sour cream in a small bowl. Save it for later!
- Rinse and dry the chipped beef, then tear it into small pieces.
- Spread the pieces of beef into an even layer on the bottom of a 9×11 baking dish.
- Wrap the bacon around each chicken breast and set them on top of the chipped beef.
- Spread the sour cream mixture over the chicken and cover the dish with foil.
- Bake for 3-4 hours and serve with rice and broccoli.
FAQ:
I know, the name seems so ironic since this is such a budget friendly meal! I grew up eating this chicken and have just always called it elegant chicken. I’m not sure if that’s something my family just referred to it as or if there is an actual meaning behind it. I never asked… I was always just happy to have it because it’s THAT GOOD!
Yes! I recommend pre-cooking it so that the end result is more crispy, but if you don’t want to take the time then you can definitely go ahead and just wrap raw bacon around the chicken breasts before baking.
You can use full fat or reduced fat. I’ve made this using reduced fat sour cream AND reduced fat cream of mushroom soup and the sauce still tastes delicious but ends up being pretty thin. If you don’t mind that, then either way will be fine!
My favorite way to eat this is with steamed broccoli and chicken flavored Rice a Roni, which you can find in most grocery stores. I know it’s not fancy but it’s the way it was always served to me growing up so now i’m biased! The most important thing is just that you ladle the leftover sauce that’s in the baking dish on top of whatever sides you’ve made… it’s the best part!
Sure! You can fully assemble the dish, then cover with plastic wrap and keep it in your fridge up to 2 days. When you’re ready to eat, follow the regular baking directions. This method is perfect after a long day when you just don’t want feel like cooking!
Elegant Chicken
Equipment
- 1 9×11 baking dish
- 1 skillet
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 8 slices bacon
- 4 oz chipped beef rinsed and torn
- 1 can full-fat cream of mushroom soup 16 oz
- 1/2 pint full-fat sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, pre-cook the slices of bacon until they just start to crisp but are still bendy. Lay the slices on a paper towel to remove the excess grease, then set aside for later.
- Open the chipped beef and rinse it well under cold water to remove some of. the salt.
- Rip the chipped beef into quarter sized pieces and spread them on the bottom of the 9×11 baking dish.
- Wrap two pieces of the cooked bacon around each chicken breast, then lay them on top of the beef.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the sour cream and cream of mushroom soup.
- Spread this mixture in top of the chicken breasts. Cover with foil and bake for 3-4 hours.
- Serve with rice and broccoli!
Hello, I have made this recipe for chicken elegant for 40 years. I have always made it to serve the next day. I need to travel with it for 7hours. I planned to make it and cook it before I leave. Is it ask to freeze it before the trip? Please reply as I need to make tomorrow!
Hi Linda! If I were you, I’d make the elegant chicken as directed, let it cool completely, then transfer to an airtight storage container. Freeze it until solid, then place it in a cooler for the duration of your drive. Hope this helps!