Chicken in a Hurry – the name says it all. This is the perfect chicken dish for a busy weeknight, but good enough for a fancy weekend meal. Sweet and tangy, super easy and inexpensive!
This chicken in a hurry sometimes also called chicken hurry is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. I just love recipes like this one that our parents and grandparents had to come up with to make our dinners quick but still delicious enough for a big hungry family. Let me tell you this dish packs flavor and results in a perfectly made and wonderfully tender dish.
What Is Chicken in a Hurry?
I have to say that when my friend told me about this recipe I was very skeptical. This is one of her mother’s recipes that she used to make for dinner all the time and when she first told me ingredients in it, I questioned it. You mean you don’t mix everything together and pour over the chicken? I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
But being the foodie that I am, my rule is to always try something once and if I don’t like it, well then at least I can say I tried it. So we made it and I’m glad I did! This dish couldn’t get any easier.
Ingredients In Chicken In A Hurry
Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for a list of FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!
- Chicken – Thighs, bone in with skin on.
- Broth – Chicken broth is preferred, low sodium as we want to control the amount of salt in our dish.
- French onion soup mix – We’re using 1 entire packet of the mix for lots of concentrated flavor. Believe me you’ll want to include this ingredient.
- Sugar – Brown sugar gives this dish some sweetness to help round out the flavor of our dish. We want to use brown sugar as it’ll give us molasses notes and complexity.
- Ketchup – Really? Ketchup? Believe me don’t knock it till you try it. It’s perfectly sweet, acidic, and tomato-ey.
- Parsley – Chopped finely for garnish.
How To Make Chicken In a Hurry
- Preheat the oven: To 375 F degrees.
- Prep the chicken: Arrange the chicken thighs in a large 9×13-inch baking dish or a roaster. Pour the chicken broth over the thighs then sprinkle the onion soup mix and brown sugar evenly over each thigh then squeeze ketchup over each thigh. If you don’t have a squeeze ketchup bottle, spoon about 1/2 tbsp of ketchup over each thigh.
- Bake the chicken: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy and chicken is cooked through. Bone-in thighs should reach an internal temperature of 180 F degrees when they are done.
- Finish the dish: Garnish with chopped parsley and serve over your choice of starches.
How to Serve
The beauty about this dish isn’t just how quick, delicious, and easy it is, but also how well it pairs with so many sides! Whether you’re looking to go basic with mashed potatoes or rice, or more extravagant like polenta or kale salad, you’re bound to be impressed.
Starches
Salads
- Kale And Quinoa Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
- Greek Salad
- Warm Kale Salad With Roasted Butternut Squash
How To Ensure Your Chicken Is Cooked Through
If you’re used to only really cooking with chicken breast just keep in mind that the color of the cooked meat will be different. Chicken breast cooks from pink to white whereas chicken thigh will cook darker, even a little pinkish even when done. So fear not if your thigh still has some color to it, as long as the internal temp is 180 F degrees you’re good to go!
Some Tips
- Be sure not to touch the bone with the thermometer when reading the internal temperature of the thigh.
- Make sure to pat the chicken dry first before seasoning because moisture causes steam which will prevent your chicken from browning.
- Use any type of chicken that you’d like in this recipe. If you’re using chicken breasts, the breast is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F degrees.
- BBQ sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, or fresh tomatoes would be a great substitute if you don’t like ketchup.
- Baking time may vary depending on how many chicken thighs are in the pan or whether or not you’re using skinless and boneless vs bone-in with skin.
Leftovers
Fridge
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Freezer
Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months! Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up in the oven, on the stove, or on the microwave.
Craving More Chicken? Try These Delicious Recipes
- East African Braised chicken
- Crockpot Thai Chicken Thighs
- Sesame Garlic Chicken
- One Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Beluga Lentils
- Baked Garlic and Ginger Chicken Drumsticks
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Korean BBQ Chicken
- Chicken Parmesan
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Honey Mustard Chicken
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Chicken in a Hurry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lb chicken thighs with skin and bones
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 oz french onion soup mix (1 packet)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F degrees.
- Arrange the chicken thighs in a large 9×13-inch baking dish or a roaster.
- Pour the chicken broth over the thighs. Sprinkle the onion soup mix and brown sugar evenly over each thigh then squeeze ketchup over each thigh. If you don’t have a squeeze ketchup bottle, spoon about 1/2 tbsp of ketchup over each thigh.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy and chicken is cooked through. Bone-in thighs should reach an internal temperature of 180 F degrees when they are done.
- Garnish with parsley and serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Use any type of chicken that you’d like in this recipe. Keep the same time and temperature if you’re using chicken breasts.
- BBQ sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, or fresh tomatoes would be a great substitute if you don’t like ketchup.
- Baking time may vary depending on how many chicken thighs are in the pan or whether or not you’re using skinless and boneless vs bone-in with skin.
- Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months! Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up in the oven, on the stove, or on the microwave.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Made this tonight. The flavor (on the skin where I put the onion soup mix, the ketchup and brown sugar) was AMAZING, however, the chicken meat itself had no flavor. The skin didn’t get crispy for me and by the time it was done cooking, the broth was almost to the top of the chicken in the baking dish. It’s a good base though. I’ll cook with less broth, more ketchup and brown sugar. Maybe even mix the ketchup, brown sugar and onion soup mix together and make a rub but will definitely broil the skin for the last part of cooking. My hubby threw his chicken into the toaster oven and his skin was crispy and it tasted way better. Thanks for the great recipe. I will make it again for sure with my little tweaks.
Is there enough liquid that you could add uncooked rice and cook it all together?
Yes! Refer to the package of rice that you have to make sure the ratio of liquid to rice is correct.
Has anyone tried this mixing all the sauce ingredients first and then pouring all over? I know a “typical” chicken hurry is done that way and I’m curious about this.
Thank you for sharing!! Wow! I can’t wait to make this because I really like the crispy skin.
I made this dish this evening, and absolutely loved it!! I typically do not like my own cooking, so that is saying a lot! Lol! I used chicken breast, and followed the recipe exactly like Jo said to. I put it over rice. It really was delicious, and very easy to make as well! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon this recipe.
I’m so happy you liked it! 🙂
Hi. I can’t find a brand of ‘FRENCH’ Onion Soup Mix that comes in 1oz packets. I can find golden onion, beefy onion, etc but no french. Can you tell me what brand you use? Thanks
The brand I used is actually called Knorr and on the package it should say French Onion Soup Mix.
Thanks for the quick reply. I am not a good cook so I follow recipes exactly as written. The Knorrs packet says 1.4oz. Do you use the whole packet or remove some to make 1oz as the recipe says? Looking foward to cooking this.
Ours here is 1 oz but no worries use the whole thing.
Hi Jo,
I have made this recipe several times and everyone loves it. It is going to be my dish to take to church suppers.
Thank you!
One of our favourites too. So glad you like it and thanks for the five star rating and posting your comment.
This looks so good, but I’m not a fan of ketchup. Any substitute recommendations? I was thinking of tomato paste and some fresh tomatoes.
You could use a bbq sauce, but yeah some tomato pasta maybe mixed with a bit of water would work, fresh tomatoes would be great as well.
This chicken in a hurry is fit for a busy college student that enjoys good food, aka me! This looks incredible 🙂
Hope you try it, Bethany!
Made this tonight, was a big hit. Made it with chicken breasts and added a bit of BBQ sauce it was delicious. Thank you Jo. Love your recipes.
So glad you enjoyed our new dish, we thought it was a hit too. Thanks for commenting and loving the recipes.
How long should I cook it if I am using boneless, skinless chicken thighs? We have to watch our fat intake. Just leave the aluminum foil on for an hour, because I would think that without the skin, the chicken would dry out those last 15 minutes without the foil.
Would cut the cook time by about 10 minutes but again all ovens are different. You could leave the foil on as well and it is certainly healthier this way. Its such a great dish we know you will enjoy it as much as we did.
can you make this with boneless skinless chicken breasts?
Yes you can!
Looks good!
My mother makes this amazingly easy and delicious one-pot (whole) asian chicken, with Fresh Ginger strips, Smashed garlic cloves, star-anise, soy sauce and water. Super tasty!
Sounds delicious!
Hi Jo!! We are seriously NOT fans of thigh meat or any dark meat. If I were to use chicken breast, bone in, NO skin… Do you think this would work with a lower bake time?
Thanks for another crazy easy recipe!
Hi Lori! Chicken breast would work, I wouldn’t lower the baking time, I would still do it at the same temperature, cooking time could vary based on the thickness of the breast, so you’ll have to check it, but I would think the time would be the same.
Thanks Jo…I am definitely going to give this a try real soon. God bless!
This looks delicious!