Time Saving Italian Chicken

Five ingredients, one oven bag, zero cleanup stress. Chicken breasts bake inside a sealed oven bag with jarred spaghetti sauce and sliced green pepper, steaming in their own juices until tender in about 30 minutes.

The oven bag traps moisture and heat, so the chicken practically braises in the sauce without you needing to babysit a skillet. Flour shaken inside the bag first thickens the sauce as it cooks, giving you a ready-made gravy when you cut the bag open.

Spoon the saucy chicken and peppers over hot spaghetti and dinner’s done. This is the kind of recipe that earns its place in a weeknight rotation because it asks almost nothing from you.

Pro Tips

• Cut six slits in the top of the bag as directed. Those vents let steam escape so the bag doesn’t burst in the oven.
• Shake the flour around the bag before adding anything else. Clumps of dry flour stuck to chicken won’t dissolve properly.
• Use a baking pan underneath the bag for stability. The sauce makes it heavy and awkward to move without support.
• Let the bag rest for a minute or two after pulling from the oven. The steam inside is scalding when you first cut it open.

Variations

• Chicken parm style: Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the chicken in the last 5 minutes of baking. Open the bag and broil briefly to brown the cheese.
• Veggie boost: Add sliced mushrooms and zucchini to the bag alongside the green pepper.