My mother-in-law made this for every potluck from 1975 to 2010. Only 3 ingredients and people still ask for the recipe.

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My mother-in-law made this for every potluck from 1975 to 2010. Only 3 ingredients and people still ask for the recipe.

This is the kind of dish that showed up on every church basement buffet table from the mid-70s clear into the 2000s, usually in a well-worn glass baking dish with somebody’s name scratched on the bottom. My mother-in-law called it her “potluck chicken,” and I don’t think she ever came home with leftovers.

It’s only three ingredients, nothing fancy at all, but the way the sauce bakes down around the chicken makes a glossy, savory glaze with sticky, caramelized edges that people remember. It’s the recipe folks still ask me for at funerals, baby showers, and every small-town supper in between.

Glass baking dish of old-fashioned church supper chicken on a country kitchen table
Glass baking dish of old-fashioned church supper chicken on a country kitchen table

This chicken is right at home next to a bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles, where all that extra sauce can soak in. At a potluck, I like to set it out with a pan of baked rice, a big green salad, and some buttered corn or green beans.

Dinner rolls or slices of soft white bread are nice for mopping up the juices. It’s also good the next day, shredded over rice or tucked into a soft roll with a spoonful of the leftover sauce.

Oven-Baked 3-Ingredient Church Supper Chicken

Servings: 6

 

Ingredients

3 to 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks work best)

1 (16-ounce) bottle thick, tomato-based barbecue sauce
1 (12-ounce) can lemon-lime soda (such as 7UP or Sprite), not diet 

Three simple ingredients for church supper chicken arranged on a kitchen counter

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Set out a 9×13-inch glass baking dish. There is no need to grease the dish; the chicken will release some fat as it cooks.

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels. This helps the sauce cling better and keeps the finished dish from getting too watery. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the glass baking dish, skin side up, with the pieces snug but not piled on top of each other.

Raw chicken pieces arranged in a glass baking dish before the sauce is added

In a medium bowl, stir together the barbecue sauce and the lemon-lime soda until smooth and well combined. It will look thin at first; that is exactly what you want, as it will thicken and turn glossy in the oven.

Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the chicken pieces, lifting them slightly with a spoon or tongs so some sauce can get underneath. Spoon a little extra sauce over the tops so all the chicken is well coated and nestled in the liquid.

 

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Ten-year-old Caleb Wittman sat quietly in first class with a red backpack, a folded letter from his mother, and both hands in his lap. The lead flight attendant looked at him like he had slipped into a world that did not belong to him, then tore his documentation in half and ordered him to move. Caleb did not shout. He only touched the sleek black watch on his wrist for four seconds — and before the plane could reach the runway, the cockpit received an alert no one in that cabin was prepared for.

Ten-year-old Caleb Wittman sat quietly in first class with a red backpack, a folded letter from his mother, and both hands in his lap. The lead flight attendant looked at him like he had slipped into a world that did not belong to him, then tore his documentation in half and ordered him to move. Caleb did not shout. He only touched the sleek black watch on his wrist for four seconds — and before the plane could reach the runway, the cockpit received an alert no one in that cabin was prepared for.
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