Easy Potato Flake Chicken Breasts

These potato flake chicken breasts are so easy to make and are delicious! They are coated with mayo mixed with seasoning and then breaded with a mixture of instant mashed potatoes and cheese.

These potato crusted chicken breasts are always a treat here in our house. They are a quick dinner recipe and the family loves them!

The mayo coating keeps the chicken juicy and tender while the potatoes and cheese give the perfect topping. There isn’t much prep to them which is why we love these and our parmesan crusted chicken for busy nights.

We don’t use instant mashed potatoes a lot, but this is one of our favorite recipes with potato flakes. Quick, easy and delicious!

This is usually for times when we want quick and decide to bake the chicken breasts instead of making pan fried chicken.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts – Our favorite is Perdue or an all natural (no hormones added) store brand. You can use your favorite. If buying store brand, make sure your chicken breasts do not have grainy white lines in it, they will likely have a tougher texture.

Potato flakes – You can use your favorite brand. We usually buy store brand but sometimes we get Hungry Jack.

Cheese – You can use your favorite here, but we recommend a cheddar based mix like fiesta or 4 cheese Mexican.

Mayo – Use your favorite, we like Hellmann’s.

Garlic – Garlic powder, no substitutions. I don’t recommend using chopped cloves for these potato flake chicken breasts.

Cayenne – Optional but recommended for a little flavor. Use more if you like it spicy, your chicken will not be spicy with the amount in the recipe.

Salt – No substitutions recommended. It is to enhance flavors and can be left out if you limit salt intake.

Making the potato flake chicken

This is an easy way to prepare chicken breasts and will only take about 35-40 minutes to have them on the table.

Prepping the chicken

Take the chicken breasts out of the fridge and see if they are all about the same thickness. If any are a lot thicker then the rest, pound them down to be about the same thickness as the others. This is an important step to ensure your potato crusted chicken cooks evenly.

You can use a wood cutting board and the bottom of a heavy sauce pot if you do not have a meat mallet. If using a meat mallet, do not use the tenderizing side (the side with the spikes), use the flat side.

For the cutting board and pot (do not use a glass cutting board) you want to set the chicken down on the cutting board. Take the heavy sauce pot and pound down on the chicken – you don’t have to pound down too hard. You just want to flatten it a little, it doesn’t take a lot of force.

Coating the chicken

After pounding down the chicken, start to mix your mayo coating in a small bowl. Mix your potato flakes and cheese in a bowl large enough to coat the chicken breasts in.

We add the spices to the mayo so it spreads the flavor of the spices evenly over the chicken. They blend into the mayo better then the potato flakes.

The potato topping is just instant mashed potato flakes and shredded cheese. A nice and simple topping!

Using a butter knife or spatula, coat each chicken breast generously with the mayo mix. After each one, roll it around in the potato flake mix.

Place in the baking dish. We use our 13×9 but you can use any baking dish you would normally bake your chicken in.

After coating each piece and they are all in the dish, I take the rest of the potato mix and evenly pour it on top of the chicken.

Baking the chicken

Once you have it in the baking dish and ready to go, place it in the oven that is preheated to 400 degrees F. Bake the potato flake chicken breasts for about 20-25 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 or the juices run clear.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Please note there are many factors that can affect cook times including the size of the chicken breasts. Ovens often vary slightly too. Be sure to test with a meat thermometer and do not rely on cook times to tell if it is cooked.

Frequently asked questions

What to serve with the chicken

Potato flake chicken goes well with so many different side dishes.

Sweet coleslaw – I feel like coleslaw goes with almost anything and it is a side that can be made ahead of time for easy dinner prep.

Veggie noodles with garlic sauce – They are easy to make and can be prepared while the chicken is in the oven.

Mac and cheese – Always a classic side dish that goes with any main course! This can be baked along side the chicken in the oven.

Equipment

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• 13×9 baking dish – These are the classic glass baking dishes. There expensive fancy dishes too, but a classic glass dish is always good to have. The white dish we use in many pictures here has been discontinued so it is no longer available.
• Meat thermometer – This is my favorite thermometer! It is instant read for checking dishes like this potato flake chicken and it has a probe that can be used to keep an eye on the temperature of roasts.
• Meat mallet – It comes in handy for pounding down chicken to the same thickness. It isn’t required, but they are a handy and inexpensive kitchen tool to have.