Italian Dressing Chicken made with only two ingredients is a simple and mouth wateringly delicious dish with juicy baked chicken thighs smothered in a tangy marinade.
Chicken cooked with Italian Dressing is ridiculously simple to make, but absolutely one of our family’s favorite meals! This recipe makes flavorful and incredibly juicy piece of meat that you’ll want to make again and again! Try it alongside some easy zucchini noodles with blender spaghetti sauce and chocolate chip nutella brownies for dessert!
Italian Dressing Chicken
Italian Dressing Chicken
Click the button above to save this recipe!
Italian Dressing Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken – My preference for this recipe is bone-in chicken thighs with skin. The meat comes out tender and juicy, while the skin browns and crisps beautifully. Drumsticks are also a great option. You can use boneless cuts or breast meat as well.
- Italian Salad Dressing – You can use any kind of Italian salad dressing you prefer, but our favorite for a quick dinner is a super basic Wishbone or Kraft bottle. Store brand is totally fine too! It is fun to play with flavors sometimes too though, try a few different styles (maybe balsamic or red wine vinegar) and find your own fave! Want to get fancy? Try using our homemade creamy dressing.
- Parsley – This is a very tan dish (delicious, but very tan). As such, I like to sprinkle a little fresh chopped parsely, or sometimes green onion on top before serving.
How to you make chicken with Italian dressing? (Step-by-step)
⭐ First, place chicken thighs skin side up in a casserole dish. It’s fine to crowd them in, but they should still be in a single layer.
⭐ Next, using your upright blender or stick blender, blend the Italian dressing until it is emulsified and completely homogeneous (looks the same throughout).
⭐ Then, pour dressing over chicken, making sure to lift each piece and allow dressing to get underneath as well.
⭐ Finally, bake until chicken reaches a safe temperature and skin is turning golden. If you are using a broiler safe dish, you can turn the broiler on for a minute or two (watching very closely) to brown skin further.
Preparation
Can you make Italian Dressing Chicken ahead of time?
You can prepare the chicken in the marinade up to 48 hours in advance of cooking it. Alternatively, you can bake it 3 – 4 days ahead and store the cooked chicken in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Do you have to marinate the chicken in advance?
You do not have to marinate the chicken in this recipe ahead of cooking. We typically do not at our house.
How long can you marinate chicken?
Chicken should be marinated no more than 48 hours in advance. Any longer than this and the dressing will cause the chicken to be tough.
Can I use chicken breasts instead?
You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs in this recipe. Use a meat thermometer to remove the breasts from the oven as soon as they reach a safe internal temperature (165 F) to avoid over cooking. Chicken breasts can become dry and tough if cooked too long.
Leftovers and Storage
How long will Italian dressing chicken last before it’s cooked?
You can marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before cooking it. Do not marinate chicken longer than that as the acids in the dressing will cause the meat to toughen if left too long.
Another alternative is to freeze the chicken in the marinade for up to several weeks.
How long will cooked Italian dressing chicken last?
Cooked chicken will last 3 – 4 days in the refrigerator. Leftovers can also be frozen for up to three months.
Make sure it’s kept in a sealed refrigerator/freezer safe container and has not been left out at room temperature for longer than two hours at any time. If it has been left out in excess of 2 hours, the chicken should be disposed of.
Can you freeze Italian dressing chicken?
You can freeze the chicken either before it is cooked or after. The chicken should be stored in an airtight freezer safe container.
If freezing before cooking, you can keep the uncooked marinated chicken in the freezer for a few weeks. If freezing after cooking, the chicken can be kept in the freezer for several months.
How to reheat?
Reheat in the microwave for 60 – 90 seconds on high power. You may want to cover the dish with a paper towel or other device to avoid splatter.
Complete this meal with our recipe suggestions
I am a chicken and potatoes gal, so you’d better believe I’m going to suggest some oven roasted red potatoes as the perfect side dish for this recipe.
But if you don’t have two ovens and still want potatoes, try using a larger casserole dish and cooking the potatoes right alongside the chicken. They’ll be totally delicious!
For something green, try our broccoli salad recipe, easy sauteed vegetables, or shaved brussel sprouts salad. I also love chicken alongside this easy cranberry sauce recipe. And you’ll definitely want to end on a sweet note with a thick slice of our cinnamon sour cream coffee cake!
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Pan seared chicken thighs
- Teriyaki chicken thighs
- Crockpot honey garlic chicken thighs
- Peanut butter chicken thighs
- Honey mustard chicken thighs
- See all our easy chicken thigh recipes!
Other Italian inspired dishes
Tools we love
- Stick blender – Possibly the most used gadget in my entire kitchen. The key to making a hand blender useful versus a giant pain in the butt is to rinse it immediately after using. That way you’re never trying to get crusty dried goop out from under the blades.
- Digital meat thermometer – The best way to get a quick reading on your meats and make sure you don’t serve overcooked food!
Get our FREE Easy Casseroles Ebook!
Follow us below!Use #mamalovesfood on Instagram!
How to Make Italian Dressing Chicken
Italian Dressing Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 large chicken thighs bone in/skin on
- 1 bottle Italian dressing 16 ounces
- Chopped fresh parsley or green onion optional
Instructions
- Blend Italian dressing with a stick blender or in an upright blender until emulsified (when the oil is no longer separated and it all looks the same throughout).
- Place chicken thighs in single layer, skin side up, into a 9 x 11 roasting pan. It’s fine if they are packed in tightly, just make sure they are in a single layer and not stacked on top of one another.
- Cover with Italian dressing, lifting each chicken thigh to make sure sauce is on all sides.
- Bake on middle rack of oven at 350 degrees uncovered for 45 - 50 minutes, or until chicken reaches a safe internal temperature (165 F).
- If using a broiler safe dish, turn on broiler for 1 - 3 minutes to brown and crisp skin. (Watch carefully to avoid burning).
- Garnish with chopped parsley or green onion.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t get enough chicken? Try our smoked chicken legs recipe!
Italian Dressing Chicken
Click the button above to save this recipe!
Stephanie says
This is one of my all time favorite chicken recipes! The combo of the dressing with the chicken is divine!
Rita Staten says
The chicken recipe looking good we will be trying it. I normally buy my Italian dressing from the store, but I’m going to make it with your recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us
Krissy Allori says
This is one of our favorite go to meals for my family. It’s easy to make and tastes so good.
Tara says
This was so good! I’ve marinated my chicken in Italian dressing but never actually cooked it IN it. Definitely making again!
Erica says
We have been doing this for a while now but grilling the chicken instead and it always comes out amazing! Reminds me of Chickfila grilled chicken lol
April Woods says
Yes! We grill it sometimes too! Yum 🙂
BT says
What’s the purpose/benefit of blending the dressing? Can you cook it the same way without blending? This recipe is intriguing…
April Woods says
Blending makes the sauce/marinade more uniform and a little thicker. I find it’s a but more flavorful that way, but you could absolutely just give the bottle a good shake and then use it without blending if you prefer 🙂
Kim says
Hi April,
I loved your Crockpot Honey Garlic chicken thighs, so I can’t wait to try this easy recipe! I’ll bet it comes out so tender and juicy. I am going to make this for dinner this weekend. Thank you for sharing!
Monay Douglas says
Made it yesterday gross never again! Made a salad with raddichico, green onions and cucumbers to go with it lost my appetite.
April Woods says
Hi Monay – I’d love to know what it was you didn’t like about the recipe. It’s one of our most loved on the site and, personally speaking, a family favorite that we make several times a month.
Patricia says
I have been making this for years using boneless chicken cutlets and Wishbone Italian Dressing. Always a winner.
Pam says
I would use chicken thighs without skin. I am definitely going to try this!
Alyssa McClurg says
Ohh this looks yummy- I will try it with Thighs for the Hubby and a Breast for me!
Barbara Miller says
I would use chicken thighs for this recipe. However, since I happen to have chicken legs, I think I’ll try them tonight.
Mary Harris says
I’ve been doing this for years and it creates the moistest chicken ever! If cooking in the oven I use thighs or legs and thighs skin on or off and truth be told I utilize Italian dressing when I grill my boneless, skinless breasts as well because it gives them such a nice moist flavor. As far as buying or making my own dressing it depends on how much time I have on hand both work and sometimes I just doctor up the bottled with a little hot sauce or other flavoring I’m feeling.
Gail Galipp says
I am certainly going to try this easy recipe. It sounds and looks delicious. I like my chicken with the skin on. I think it looks and taste better.
Bridget Holtz says
This sounds so yummy. I would definitely use bottled dressing and no skin on chicken
🙂
Connie Rosario says
My fave chicken parts are thighs with skin, but here in Guam you get them either way too large, (we call it steroidal chicken) or worse yet, huge with the backbone still attached. So hard to eat. So, we got used to boneless, skinless thighs which they sell in trays. My hubby loves just one Italian dressing and that is Kraft Zesty Italian. He uses it in a lot of his cooking. This simple recipe is right up his alley!
Carol says
I like the skin on my chicken and having skin crispy.
Janice Brown says
I love boneless chicken thighs. Its my go to chicken for sure. I’m making this tomorrow since my son and his girlfriend are coming over. Bottled dressing . I really like the skin when it’s crispy but I know its not healthy. Thanks for sharing!
Diana says
This sounds really good. I would make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken breasts. And since I am all about easy, peasy meals I would use bottled Italian dressing. I keep Italian dressing on hand at all times, as it is the perfect marinade for barbecuing
Lori Ramey says
I would make this with chicken breasts, probably skinless and boneless. I do like chicken with the skin on, but only if it’s crispy. This recipe sounds easy and tasty, I can’t wait to make it.
William says
We have been making it with Italian Dressing for year now. I also use it for BBQing pork chop and hamburgers . It tastes great and helps prevent sticking to the BBQ grill.