Party Chicken

What exactly makes this particular chicken recipe a party? While you may have to bring your own pizzazz (tiny disco balls, house music, etc.) to make this recipe into an actual party moment, this chicken is really worthy of a special occasion or, you know, a Thursday night. The original party chicken recipe comes from Publix grocery stores. For their recipe, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are coated in flour, smothered in a mixture of cream of chicken soup and mayonnaise, topped with cheesy breadcrumbs, and baked. For the Delish version, I made a few additions and substitutions. The result? Juicy, super-flavorful chicken with cheesy, extra-crispy panko on top. Here's what you need to know.

The paprika:
Some party chicken variations bake the chicken on a layer of dried beef. While I didn’t want to add beef here, I liked the idea of adding a smoky, savory flavor. Seasoning the chicken with a teaspoon of smoked paprika along with salt and pepper did the trick.

The sauce:
Instead of cream of chicken condensed soup, I mixed mayonnaise with sour cream, Dijon mustard, and sliced chives. The resulting mixture is bright and tangy, with a little freshness from the chives, and it melts into the chicken as it bakes. The baked chicken is incredibly juicy and so flavorful because of this mixture.

The panko:
It’s tempting to just pat un-toasted panko and shredded cheese on top of the chicken and pop it in the oven. It will toast as it bakes, right? Yes, sort of. But pre-toasting is a game changer. With just 3 minutes and a little olive oil, the panko is tastier, toastier, and much crispier before it even goes in the oven. Combined with finely shredded cheddar, the topping will be delightfully crunchy, as if it were fried instead of baked.

Need more celebratory chicken? Try our iconic Marry Me chicken, the flavor-packed one-pan coconut-lime chicken, our deeply cozy classic chicken pot pie, or the perfect-for-any-occasion chicken Parmesan.

Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments!