Sour Cream Chicken

A dish called sour cream chicken initially sounds as though it’s a chicken in cream sauce, but it’s actually a baked chicken dish with a golden, crunchy coating. The sour cream comes in as the base for a creamy, tangy marinate that helps a crunchy bread crumb mixture adhere to bone-in chicken pieces. The chicken is tender, juicy and savory with subtle hints of lemon and garlic for brightness. This dish is a flavorful and easy-to-prepare option that’s an easy family dinner with a simple salad or steamed vegetables. Need to feed a crowd? Use chicken pieces instead of breaking down a whole bird; this recipe scales up easily!

Sour Cream Chicken Ingredients

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• Sour cream: A cup of sour cream creates a creamy, tangy base for the marinade that clings to the chicken.
• Chives: Minced chives add a subtle oniony flavor and pops of green color to the marinade.
• Lemon juice: Adding lemon juice balances the richness of the sour cream and adds a touch of brightness to the marinade. Add the lemon zest, too, if you like, for extra lemon flavor.
• Spices: Celery salt and paprika season the sour cream mixture with savory, celery flavor and sweet, smoky warmth.
• Worcestershire sauce: A couple of spoonfuls of this fridge-door staple adds a complex savory flavor to the sour cream mixture.
• Garlic: A single clove of minced garlic isn’t enough to make the sour cream mixture very pungent, but it does add a nice background level of garlic flavor. You can substitute some garlic powder instead, if you like.
• Seasoned bread crumbs: Store-bought seasoned bread crumbs stick to the sour cream layer on the chicken and create a crispy, golden brown coating as it bakes. You can use homemade bread crumbs or plain bread crumbs, but be sure to season them yourself or the breading layer may taste bland.
• Chicken: We call for a whole broiler or fryer chicken cut into pieces with the skin removed to yield a batch of sour cream chicken with a mix of white meat and dark. Not feeling confident about how to cut a chicken into pieces? Follow our step-by-step guide, or ask the butcher to do it for you.
• Butter: Drizzling the chicken with melted butter while it bakes adds richness and helps crisp up the bread crumb coating during baking.

Directions 

Step 1: Dredge the chicken

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Preheat oven to 350°F. In a shallow bowl, combine the sour cream, chives, lemon juice, celery salt, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Place the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl. Dunk each piece of chicken in the sour cream mixture, then coat it with bread crumbs.

Step 2: Bake the chicken

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Arrange chicken on a rack in a foil-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Drizzle with butter; bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.

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Sour Cream Chicken Variations

• Marinate the chicken: You can marinate the chicken overnight in the seasoned sour cream mixture. The acidity of the lemon juice and sour cream will help tenderize the chicken and keep it juicy once cooked. Don’t marinate it for longer than a day though or it can start to have a mushy texture.
• Adjust the seasonings: This recipe doesn’t have 11 herbs and spices as does our copycat KFC fried chicken recipe, but you can play around with the seasonings. Try smoked paprika, add in some thyme or try some Old Bay—all would be delicious.
• Take a shortcut: Substitute a store-bought ranch, blue cheese or onion dip customized with any extra seasonings you like for the sour cream.
• Use another crunchy coating: Swap panko, cornflakes, crushed crackers, croutons or chips for bread crumbs to coat the pieces of chicken.

How to Store Sour Cream Chicken

Allow the chicken to completely cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Because the bread crumb coating will absorb moisture in a closed container and get soggy, the step of cooling it ahead before packing it away will help it retain a better texture.

Can you make sour cream chicken ahead of time?

Yes, you can! Add the chicken pieces to the sour cream mixture ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake them, then coat them with crumbs while your oven preheats and proceed with the recipe as written.

How do you reheat sour cream chicken?

The best way to reheat sour cream chicken is to use an air fryer or an oven with a convection setting. Preheat either to 350°, and cook the chicken until it’s warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Sour Cream Chicken Tips

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Can you use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?

Yes! Use a cup of plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. It will give you the extra creamy results you crave and the tang you’re looking for. In this recipe, both of these ingredients will help tenderize the chicken and add moisture back into the chicken as it bakes. Here are five common replacements for sour cream in recipes.