This Fun-and-Easy Muffin Tin Chicken Recipe is Our New Favorite Weeknight Dinner

A sushi bake is like sushi’s laid-back, casserole-loving cousin, and it’s a total game-changer for sushi fans. Imagine all the flavors you love about a classic sushi roll—savory crab, creamy mayo, fluffy rice and tangy soy sauce—layered in a dish and baked to warm, melty perfection. It’s a fuss-free way to enjoy sushi at home with no rolling is required!

Sushi bakes have been a popular potluck dish in Hawaii for years, but the dish really took off in 2020, when they became a huge trend in the Philippines and eventually made its way to TikTok and other social platforms.

The base is usually a layer of seasoned rice, topped with a creamy mix of imitation crab (or real crab if you’re feeling fancy), mayo (preferably Kewpie mayo) and sriracha, and it's finished with a sprinkling of furikake (a seaweed seasoning) or sesame seeds. Once baked, it’s served with sheets of nori, allowing you to scoop and wrap bites like a DIY sushi experience that is out-of-this-world delicious.

If you don't like sushi, though, there is a way to enjoy this easy dinner with a twist. Content creator Snejana Andreeva (@themodrnnonna) shared this adorable recipe on TikTok and it looks like a perfect weeknight comfort meal.

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Why You Should Make Chicken Bake Cups

In the caption of the video, Andreeva says, "My Chicken Bake Cups are such a fun and easy meal idea and are a great option if you're intrigued by sushi, but don't love seafood." We love that they're bite-size and made with crowd-pleasing chicken breast, which is something we almost always have in the fridge or freezer. 

To start, Andreeva cuts chicken breast into tiny little bite-sized cubes and mixes it with olive oil and seasonings (which she says to measure "with your heart"). Add some spicy mayo and mix everything well.

Cut nori sheets into small squares. They should be just big enough to fit inside of a muffin tin. Cook some white rice and season it with rice vinegar. Place a spoonful of rice on top of the nori squares and snuggle the rice-topped nori into the muffin tin.

Spoon the chicken on top of the rice and bake until the chicken is done. With the small pieces, that should take around 12 minutes at 350 degrees. (If you want to be extra certain, you can check the temperature of the chicken with an instant-read thermometer. You're looking for 165°.)

Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, top the chicken cups with more spicy mayo, sesame seeds, sliced green onions and enjoy! This is so simple, easy to clean up and easy to serve and we can't wait to have this as a weeknight dinner in our house.

They're also so cute that we think they'd be a good thing to keep in mind for a dinner party appetizer or a game-day snack.

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Fun Ways to Customize Chicken Bake Cups

This is an easy dish to customize! You can use cream cheese and green onions for a creamy twist, or go meat-free with it and opt for roasted veggies, like mushrooms or bell peppers. If you want to keep the chicken, but add an earthy flavor, combine it with eel sauce, or add some chopped tempura shrimp for extra crunch. Looking for some extra freshness? Top the cooked chicken cups with avocado and cucumber.

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