This Creamy Canned Soup And A Pound Of Chicken Make The Easiest Meal You'll Cook All Week

Are you in desperate need of minimal-ingredient recipes that are easy to throw together on busy weekdays? While one-pot meals for easy dinners like macaroni and cheese and one-pan chicken fajitas may be delicious, you may not always have the time (or energy) to prepare multi-step recipes. Fortunately, there is one make-ahead dish that's super easy to throw together and requires only one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a can of broccoli cheese soup. Sure enough, with just these two ingredients, you can make a hot and tasty meal in no time.

Since canned broccoli cheese soup is already precooked and loaded with flavor, cooking the chicken is your primary objective when preparing this simple dish. The good news is it's easy to make in a few different ways. Depending on how much time you have and what you're in the mood for, you can prepare both ingredients in your oven, over your stove, or in a handy-dandy slow cooker.

For example, to use your oven, add your chicken and can of broccoli cheese soup to a casserole dish, cover it with foil, and bake it at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the chicken is fully cooked. You can also sear or steam your chicken in a pan over your stove before adding the soup directly to the pan. Lastly, if you already enjoy preparing meals in your slow cooker, this simple dish is easy to assemble ahead of time. Simply cook the chicken and soup in your slow cooker on the low setting for four to six hours.

If you have some extra time on your hands, there are many different ingredients you can add to this dish for a more homemade flavor. Whatever cooking method you use to combine raw chicken and canned broccoli cheese soup, there are a few simple ways to give this versatile meal some additional flair.

For starters, sear your chicken breasts before baking or slow-cooking to give your meat a more pronounced flavor. You can also pack in extra veggies by adding fresh or frozen broccoli florets to this dish for a more developed taste and texture. Just keep your cooking method in mind to avoid over-cooking them. Another way to liven the flavor of this dish is to add some shredded cheese to the mix. 

While cooking the base ingredients of this meal results in a soup-like, spoonable consistency, you can also transform chicken and canned broccoli cheese soup into a few more substantial meals. For instance, shred your chicken into the soup and spoon the final product over cooked noodles or rice. Or, to amp up this oven-style meal, add some uncooked rice to your casserole dish along with some stock to create a scoopable cheesy chicken bake. You can even take inspiration from Ree Drummond's version of broccoli and cheese casserole, which gets a yummy twist with one extra ingredient, and top your simplified version of this meal with buttery Ritz crackers or toasted breadcrumbs.