Ina Garten's Easiest Chicken Dish Of All Time Is Only 3 Ingredients

While its fun to reap the benefits of your culinary expertise by whipping up a delicious, albeit complex, dish, some days it's just not in the cards. With a million obligations outside of the kitchen, there are some nights of the week where an easy-to-make meal is just calling your name. For those inevitable nights, professional chefs like Ina Garten have got you covered. Just look at one of Garten's easiest chicken dishes of all time, which is only three ingredients.

To make Garten's simple chicken dish, you'll simply need some boneless chicken breasts, goat cheese, and basil. While this trio of ingredients is pretty simple, the lovely herbaceous notes in basil and subtle tang of the goat cheese is a flavor match made in heaven, and these ingredients pack in enough flavor all on their own. (Still, for even more flavor Garten recommends using an herb goat cheese in lieu of plain.)

All these ingredients take just five minutes to assemble, and the dish itself will cook in under an hour. Garten dubbed this chicken dish "the easiest dinner I know how to make" on her Instagram, and she loves this recipe so much she even put it in her cookbook "Barefoot Contessa At Home." So, if you're curious, here's how she makes it.

To make this dish, Ina Garten shared on her Instagram that she first pats her chicken breast dry before separating the skin from the meat. Choose chicken breasts that come with the skin on as this rich outer layer holds in essential flavors and crisps up beautifully once baked in the oven. Next Garten slides slices of goat cheese and basil underneath the skin. If you're in a pinch, you can always use this last-minute basil substitute instead. To keep her dish balanced, Garten suggets using one slice of goat cheese and a big basil leaf, but those proportions are all up to you.

Next Garten drizzles her chicken in some flavorful essentials like olive oil, salt, and pepper before sliding the baking sheet in the oven to cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 to 40 minutes. (Or whenever the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.) After that cooking time is up, let the chicken rest under foil for roughly 10 minutes while it cooks further, and also to ensure the chicken will hold in all its juices while being cut.

After this short waiting period, dinner is ready to be served. So the next time you're looking for a simple warm meal, check this out, or see how Garten elevates store-bought mashed potatoes next.