This Chicken in a Hurry recipe (also known as "Chicken Hurry" ) is one of my family's very favorite quick and easy weeknight meals. It's so quick and easy to make with a few ingredients like boneless thighs, onion soup mix, ketchup, and brown sugar, with only 5 minutes of prep.
This Hurry Chicken recipe is great for any time of the year, but especially for back to school/fall and winter, (or when it cools down enough that I can actually turn on my oven again) and for busy weeknights in general. I love that this easy chicken recipe only requires a few ingredients and I can throw it together in 5 minutes or make it in advance and either leave it in the fridge or freeze it.
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🍒Pinterest Review
"This was so good and easy with everyday household ingredients, any child or picky eater would like this dish!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If I'm not making up my own recipes, I find many recipes online these days. However, I also get my recipes from the cookbooks I have received as gifts from my Grandma over the years.
Many of them are favorite recipe collections compiled by Ladies Auxiliary groups, Legions, and Centennial cookbooks. And most of them are from rural Manitoba, where my Grandma spent her entire life, either on the farm or in a small town.
This recipe is from one of those books; books that I will always cherish. It's also a recipe many members of my family (My Mom, Aunts, and Grandma love to make regularly)!
🥘Ingredient Notes
The beauty of this onion soup mix chicken recipe is that you only need 5 ingredients!
- Skinless, boneless chicken thighs. These work the best for this recipe!
- Dry onion soup mix. I use Lipton onion soup mix, but you can use any brand.
- Brown sugar. You can use dark or light brown sugar.
- Ketchup. Any brand of ketchup will do!
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
📋Variations & Substitutions
- Chicken - If you only have chicken thighs with skin on them, you can easily take it off and use them for this recipe. You could also substitute large chicken breasts or chicken legs (skin removed) in place of thighs. Bone in chicken thighs also works but may take 10-15 minutes longer to cook (just be sure it's cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F
- Ketchup-you can substitute tomato sauce or tomato paste mixed with water (use ½ cup tomato paste + ½ cup water). You can also add a little vinegar and sweetener (such as honey or maple syrup) for a more balanced flavor
- Onion soup mix- you can use a homemade onion soup mix.
Mix together:
2 ⅔ tablespoon dry onion, minced, flakes, or chopped
4 teaspoon instant beef bouillon powder, sodium-free
1 teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon celery seed
🔪How to Make Chicken in a Hurry
PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 175 degrees F and spray the bottom of a small roaster or casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Step 1: Place chicken pieces in a roaster or casserole dish in a single layer.
- Step 2: In a small bowl combine ketchup, water, brown sugar, and dry onion soup. Whisk together.
- Step 3: Pour sauce over chicken pieces.
- Step 4: Seal casserole dish with aluminum foil.
- Step 5: Cooking Time: Bake (covered in foil with a tight seal) for 1 hour or until chicken is no longer pink inside [internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C) ].
- Step 6: If your sauce is too watery/thin for your liking, you can thicken it with cornstarch and water. It won't affect the taste. Add enough cornstarch and water together to form a slurry. * I use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 teaspoon of cold water.
- Step 7: Remove chicken from casserole dish, set aside and keep warm. Then pour sauce into a small saucepan. Stir in cornstarch slurry mixture.
- Step 8: Heat sauce mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, for approximately 10 minutes, or until it is as thick as gravy. Pour sauce over chicken and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve warm.
Expert Tips
- Taking the internal temperature. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees F/ 73 degrees C. If you use bone-in chicken, be sure not to touch the bone with the thermometer when reading the internal temperature of the thigh.
- Avoid Dry Chicken – Since boneless, skinless chicken thighs are lean, be careful not to overbake. Stick to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) for juicy, tender chicken.
- If Using Bone-In Chicken Thighs or Breasts. Increase baking time by 10-15 minutes and check with a meat thermometer.
- Seal the Dish Well – Use tightly sealed aluminum foil to lock in moisture and keep the chicken from drying out.
- Thicken the Sauce Easily – If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the chicken after baking and simmer the sauce (with a cornstarch slurry), on the stovetop for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Balance Sweetness & Tang – If you find the sauce too sweet, add a splash of vinegar, lemon juice, or Worcestershire sauce to balance the flavor.
- Reheating Without Drying Out – Reheat in the oven at 325°F (163°C) for 15-20 minutes, adding a splash of water to the sauce if needed.
🥗 What to serve with Hurry Chicken
This Chicken in a Hurry recipe is the perfect busy weeknight dinner and pairs perfectly with simple minute rice, brown rice, white rice, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion baked potatoes, strawberry spinach salad (shown), Cranberry Kale salad, or a garden salad (I use a spring mix and grape tomatoes), especially if I'm also in a big hurry.
🌡️Storage
- Store leftovers of this chicken recipe with onion soup mix with the sauce in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you make rice to go with this recipe, keep the rice stored in a separate container in the fridge.
- This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
👪 Serving size
This easy dinner recipe serves 8. However, if you have a teenage son, as I do, it will feed 4-6 :). You can also cut this recipe in half by adjusting the serving size on the recipe card. Just click on the serving size and select the number of servings you’d like. But you'll probably end up wanting to double the recipe because it's seriously that good! Then you can freeze half the recipe for another busy weeknight meal.
🔢WW Points
Use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs to make this recipe more WW friendly (as they are 0 points). Just switching to chicken breasts will bring this dish down to 5 WW points (from 10).
You can further reduce the points by using a sugar substitute such as monkfruit and sugar-free ketchup (if you are comfortable with using artificial sweeteners.) Or you can use the ketchup subsitute in the substitions and variations section.
❔ Recipe FAQs
You can add a little sriracha sauce or crushed red chili pepper to make this recipe spicier!
Yes! To make this in a slow cooker, place the chicken in the crockpot, mix the sauce ingredients, and pour it over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).
If you prefer a less sweet sauce, reduce the brown sugar to ¼ cup or substitute honey for a milder sweetness. You can also add a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the flavors.
Yes! You can assemble the dish and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also fully cook it, store it in an airtight container, and reheat it in the oven at 325°F (163°C) for about 15-20 minutes
Yes, but reduce water by half (to ½ a cup) and cook for 15- 20 minutes longer, testing with an instant-read thermometer until the chicken is cooked through. Thicken sauce as needed.
So if you're looking for a quick and easy baked chicken dinner or a delicious and easy chicken with onion soup mix recipe that the whole family will love, this Chicken Hurry recipe is the one!
You might also like my Honey Lime Chicken. It's also a simple recipe with pantry ingredients and chicken thighs.
Did your family❤️this recipe? Did you know that commenting and⭐rating recipes is one of the best ways to support your favorite recipe creators? If you LOVED this recipe, please comment and rate it in the recipe card or share photos on social media using the hashtag #foodmeanderings or tagging @foodmeanderings !
📋 Chicken in a Hurry Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 56 g -of dry onion soup mix * 2 - 28 g packages of onion soup mix
Sauce thickener (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstrach optional
- 2 tsp water optionl
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/ 175 degrees F and spray the bottom of a small roaster or casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place chicken pieces in roaster or casserole dish.2 ½ lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- Whisk ketchup, water, brown sugar and dry onion soup mix together in a bowl.1 cup ketchup, 1 cup water, ½ cup brown sugar
- Pour sauce over chicken pieces.56 g -of dry onion soup mix
- Seal with aluminum foil.
- Bake for 1 hour or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees F/74 degrees C.
- When the chicken is done, if your sauce is too watery/thin for your liking, you can thicken it with cornstarch and water. It won't affect the taste. Add enough cornstarch and water together to form a slurry. * I use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 teaspoon of cold water.1 tablespoon cornstrach, 2 teaspoon water
- Remove chicken from casserole dish, set aside and keep warm. Then pour sauce into a small saucepan. Stir in cornstarch slurry mixture.
- Heat sauce mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently, for approximately 10 minutes, or until it is as thick as gravy. Pour sauce over chicken and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve warm.
Garnish (optional)
- Garnish with fresh parsley
Notes
- 2 ⅔ tablespoon dry onion, minced, flakes, or chopped,
- 4 teaspoon instant beef bouillon powder, sodium-free
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- This leftover chicken recipe with onion soup mix can be stored with the sauce in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you make rice to go with this recipe, keep the rice stored in a separate container in the fridge.
- This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
-
- Taking the internal temperature. The internal temperature should read 165 degrees F/ 73 degrees C. If you use bone-in chicken, be sure not to touch the bone with the thermometer when reading the internal temperature of the thigh.
-
- Avoid Dry Chicken – Since boneless, skinless chicken thighs are lean, be careful not to overbake. Stick to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) for juicy, tender chicken.
-
- If Using Bone-In Chicken Thighs or Breasts. Increase baking time by 10-15 minutes and check with a meat thermometer.
-
- Seal the Dish Well – Use tightly sealed aluminum foil to lock in moisture and keep the chicken from drying out.
-
- Thicken the Sauce Easily – If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the chicken after baking and simmer the sauce (with a cornstarch slurry), on the stovetop for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
-
- Balance Sweetness & Tang – If you find the sauce too sweet, add a splash of vinegar, lemon juice, or Worcestershire sauce to balance the flavor.
-
- Reheating Without Drying Out – Reheat in the oven at 325°F (163°C) for 15-20 minutes, adding a splash of water to the sauce if needed.
Nutrition
Diane Y
Tasty but too watery and I even took the advice of another by cutting down the amount of water in half. Next time will cut water even more. Does have good flavor. I served it with whipped potatoes. It will become a favorite once I get the sauce to be thicker. Maybe might have been better served with rice.
Terri Gilson
Hi Diane,
That's unfortunate you found it too watery, as I don't. However, I often serve it with rice as well- it pairs nicely!
Terri
Glen
I made this. And will again. Microwaved potatoes. The sauce was really good, and I dumped it all over the potatoes! This is definitely and remarkably good.
Terri Gilson
Hi Glen,
So glad to hear you loved it!
Terri
Sally
Made this last night and it was delicious - just wish the sauce was not so runny. Will cut back the water next time.
Terri Gilson
Hi Sally,
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, just cut back a bit on the water if it's too watery. I find if my chicken isn't completely thawed out, I need to use less water.
Thanks,
Terri
nancy
back to school / work / fall season - perfect for those busy nights!
Vanessa
With back to school and back to routine, quick dinners like this are always a life saver! All I need to do is throw some rice on and toss a quick salad together and dinner is done!