Favrotie Italian Chicken

This chicken dinner is the definition of low-effort: dump everything into an oven cooking bag, twist, slit, bake. The bag traps moisture and pressure as it cooks, basically steam-poaching the chicken cutlets in spaghetti sauce while the green peppers soften into the gravy.

The flour dusting in the bag is the only technique step that actually matters. It coats the inside, prevents the sauce from scorching against the plastic, and lightly thickens the liquid into a slightly clingy sauce instead of watery jarred marinara.

Those six half-inch slits in the top? Skip them and the bag balloons and can burst. Cut them with a clean knife before the bag goes in.

Serve the chicken and pepper-laced sauce over spaghetti or any sturdy pasta that can hold up to the chunky cuts.

Kitchen Tips

• Use chicken cutlets, not full breasts. Cutlets cook through in the 40-minute window. A thick breast may finish underdone in the center.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of dried oregano to the sauce before sealing the bag for more depth than jarred sauce delivers on its own.
• Tent loosely with foil when opening. Steam escapes fast and aggressively from a sealed cooking bag.

Variations

• Stir in sliced mushrooms and a handful of olives before sealing for a chicken cacciatore lean.
• Swap green peppers for a mix of red, yellow, and orange for sweeter pepper flavor and color.
• Use turkey cutlets if that’s what’s in the freezer. Same bake time.