Chicken Breasts with Bourbon

This is a true dump-and-bake chicken dinner: six ingredients layered into one dish, into the oven, and onto the table with almost no hands-on work.

The chicken breasts bake under a blanket of cream of chicken soup, which keeps them moist and creates a built-in creamy sauce. Grated cheddar and herb stuffing mix on top bake into a savory, slightly crisp crust.

The splash of bourbon (or brandy) is the unexpected touch. As it bakes, the alcohol cooks off and leaves behind a warm, faintly sweet, oaky depth that lifts the whole dish above a standard chicken-and-soup casserole.

A clever trick from the recipe: grate the butter from frozen so it scatters evenly over the top and melts into the stuffing as it bakes. Out of stuffing mix? The recipe even shows you how to make quick parmesan croutons instead.

Chef Tips

• Grate the butter from frozen so it distributes evenly and melts into the topping.
• Use the soup undiluted for a thick, creamy sauce that doesn’t go watery.
• The long, gentle bake keeps the chicken tender; check it’s cooked through at the thickest part.
• No stuffing mix? Make the recipe’s quick parmesan-garlic croutons.

Variations

• Use cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup instead.
• Swap the cheddar for Swiss, Gruyere, or a cheese blend.
• Add sauteed mushrooms or onions between the chicken and the soup.