Copycat Costco Chicken Bake | Allrecipes

The Costco chicken bake is kind of iconic. I think I can create an easier, better version at home, and it's not gonna require a membership. In case you're not familiar, let's discuss what the chicken bake is. It is a pizza crust filled with chicken breast strips, mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan cheeses, smoky bacon, creamy Caesar dressing, and green onions in a hand-rolled crust. I do not see any green onions in here, and I also think it could just be filled a little more. What also makes it special is this cheesy crust on the outside. I've only had these once, and that was like 10 years ago, so I'm gonna give it a little taste to remind myself. Definitely get the punch of Caesar. The chicken almost feels a little bit mushy. I think we can do better. I know we can do better. I'm gonna keep these back here just for reminders. Let's start with the chicken. I think what I'm missing in the Costco version is a little more flavor and texture into that chicken, so I'm going to create that flavorful crust. This is kinda like what I call the restaurant method for cooking chicken. I also do pork tenderloin like this, where you start it in a skillet, so get yourself an oven-proof skillet, and then we finish it in the oven. That way, you get that crust on the outside, but then it kinda slow cooks on the inside so it doesn't dry out. It's just what I like to do. So I'm gonna go down with a little bit of olive oil. All right, and then you're just gonna place your chicken, seasoned side down. While it's down, I'm gonna season the other side, and then you just wanna leave this alone. Don't touch it until it gets really crusty on the outside, and it easily releases on its own from the skillet. That's how you know it's time to flip. Shoot, forgot about my bacon. I almost burned it. But anyway, get yourself some bacon and cook it nice and crispy. It's actually good that they're this crispy because when you mix it with all that cheese and stuff, you don't want it to get soggy. I noticed in the Costco version, it looked a little soft. Don't be giving me no soft bacon. All right, I think my chicken is about ready to flip. Best flavor. I'm gonna develop some color on the second side, and then I'm gonna add in the water to deglaze. That's gonna create a little bit of a moist environment for it to slow cook and not dry out. And we're just gonna take our pan off of the stove and put it right in the oven. So have your oven preheated to 350. It's just that easy. Now, let's talk about our dough. I am in no way gonna be making my own pizza dough for this, and you shouldn't either. The whole point of this was to make your life a little easier. So get yourself some store-bought dough, a little bit of flour. You wanna bring it out at least an hour or so before you use it. That way, it can rest and rise a little bit. I think with this one pound, I'm gonna be able to make like three. So I'm gonna divide this dough into three pieces, and I'm just gonna roll each one out like a circle. I'm trying to keep it more in a round shape because I'm gonna roll them up like long burritos. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Okay, let's see. My chicken is probably getting close. Chicken. Not quite. So we have our dough, our bacon, our chicken, the cheeses, a block of mozzarella, a block of provolone, and a pack of shredded Parmesan. I wanted to get this shredded Parmesan because this, I think, is what is on the outside of the Costco version. And then the fifth ingredient is just a bottle of Caesar dressing. You can make your own Caesar dressing if you are trying to win the Costco chicken bake cook-off. Not necessary. It's about making an easy, delicious dinner for your family. Chicken is done. Juicy and flavorful. Let it rest. I'm also gonna increase the oven to 400 because we're cooking pizza dough. You know, we always cook that high so it gets crispy. I'm going to start by spreading some Caesar dressing over the bottom. Then I'm gonna sprinkle on a little of the Parmesan right now, just so things don't get too soggy. I guess we'll do the chicken. So I'm gonna cut these up into like half-inch chunks. All right, adding on my chicken. Okay, then I'm gonna go in with my provolone. And then my bacon and green onion. Put a little mozzarella on top. And now I'm gonna roll it up like a burrito. So you're gonna go in the sides and roll. That looks cute. Make sure it's nice and sealed. How does she do it? Okay, so then just get your baking pan. Put a little parchment. You can do foil just for easy cleanup. And then I'm gonna place it seam side down. Gotta create that cheesy crust. So to help the cheese stick, I'm gonna do a little bit of egg. The egg is gonna act like a glue for the cheese to stick to, but it's also gonna help these get really like shiny golden brown. The outside definitely looks like mostly Parmesan. There might be little bubbles of mozzarella, but I'll do just a little bit of mozzarella. And then lots of this Parmesan. Okay, I'm gonna bake these at 400 degrees until they're really golden brown. I imagine it'll take about 20 minutes or so. It's gonna be good. Are you ready for this? Look at those. Look at those beauties. I think we did it. All right, let's just take a look at Nicole's Costco chicken bake. Let's see the inside. But first, okay. Look. That is pretty. Oh my God, it's oozing out. I promised easy. It was easy. I promised better. And before I even take a bite, I can tell you this is better. He's just so cute. Shall we? This is so good. I love how the inside, how there's like a pocket of air. It's not just all like super bready. And that's because I kind of rolled it really thin so that you could see that it's like crispy, airy on the inside. So it's gonna be a good bread to filling ratio. Mm. That is so good. It's toasty, cheesy on the outside. I mean, everything you can imagine it is. The way that dressing just like punches in there, it kind of has a little tanginess, but of course the inside's like really rich and creamy. And then you just get that little bits of crunchy bacon too. So this is like super savory and rich, like, but in the best way possible. You hear that? You hear that crunch? Let me get the Costco one. Let me give him a chance to ooze. So I'll heat it up a little bit. Is there a big comparison? Is that what you're saying? Yes. I mean, when I started this mission, it really wasn't to outdo or, you know, to brag or anything. God, I can't help it. Now listen, I love me some Costco. It is the goat when it comes to things like paper towels and toilet paper. But if you're going there for the chicken bake, turn around and make it at home.