Best Baked Chicken Breast
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Updated May 23, 2024
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Perfectly baked chicken breasts that are juicy, tender, easy, and super flavorful! This is a recipe everyone should know how to master. All you need is a drizzle of olive oil, a special seasoning mix, and a few insider tips for these super tasty, no-fail chicken breasts.
If you’ve ever struggled with dry, rubbery, and just flat-out boring chicken breasts, you’re in luck, because today’s recipe is about as easy as they come. All you’ve got to do it make my special seasoning mix, rub it all over the chicken breasts, and then bake them the right amount of time. That my friends, is the important part.
Once you read my tips below and master this method you’ll have the most delicious chicken to enjoy for a variety of weeknight dinner recipes. Plus, you can slice and dice any leftovers for chicken meal prep. Leftover chicken is perfect on bowls, salads, in tacos, and so much more!
Baked Chicken Breast Ingredients
Chicken is a blank canvas just waiting to be sprinkled, smeared, and infused with flavor. There’s simply one rule – never under-season chicken. So today, I’ve got a simple seasoning mix (literally the easiest dry rub) that will impress all your dinner guests.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Always remember to grab chicken breasts that are about the same size for the most even cooking (see tips below).
- Spices & Herbs: A simple blend of paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt, and pepper makes the chicken super delicious. Don’t have thyme? Swap in oregano, basil, rosemary, or another herb.
- Olive Oil: A light drizzle of oil coats the chicken to help the seasonings stick.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How to Bake Chicken Breasts in the Oven
This recipe is easy and speedy, which is why I love it. First, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
Mix the spices. Add the spices and herbs to a bowl and mix them until combined.
Coat the chicken. Lightly coat the chicken with olive oil, and then give each chicken breast a generous rub of the spice blend. Make sure to do this on both sides.
Bake away. Place the seasoned chicken breasts in a baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Let them rest. Once the chicken is done, make sure to let them rest! Resting allows the juices to redistribute within the meat. Then enjoy!
How Long To Bake Chicken Breasts
The key to juicy chicken breasts is to cook them hot at 425°F (220°C) for the right amount of time. To nail this down, it depends on the size of your chicken breasts and your unique oven (remember, all ovens cook differently). Here’s a general guideline to follow:
- Small Breasts (5oz): cook for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Medium Breasts (7oz): cook for 20 to 22 minutes.
- Large Breasts (9oz): cook for 22 to 25 minutes.
Pro tip: If you have a tendency to overcook your chicken, invest in an instant read thermometer. It’s an invaluable tool in the kitchen. Then keep reading below for the best internal temperature of cooked chicken.
the Best Internal Temperature
Chicken is fully cooked and safe to eat at 165°F (75°C). But remember that if you cook chicken breasts to 165°F (75°) in the oven, they’ll increase in temperature to about 170°F (77°C) once rested. And trust me, that will result in dry, rubbery chicken, devoid of moisture. Dark meat like chicken thighs are much more forgivable when it comes to overcooking, but not white meat chicken breasts.
So this is what you need to do. Take the chicken breasts out of the oven once they reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). Then, let them rest for a couple of minutes. The chicken will naturally reach the perfect 165°F (75°C) temperature, thanks to carryover cooking. And you will have succulent, juicy chicken breasts to enjoy. You’re welcome!
Tips for the Juiciest Chicken Breasts
Before you get baking remember these three important tips for tender, juicy chicken.
- Bring chicken to room temperature: When you cook cold, straight from the fridge chicken it’s more likely to cook unevenly, with an overcooked outside and undercooked inside. So let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking.
- Grab similarly sized chicken breasts: If you bake a 5-ounce chicken breast alongside an 8-ounce chicken breast, your smaller chicken breast will likely turn rubbery by the time your bigger one is done.
- Pound them to an even thickness: Because chicken breasts naturally have one end that’s thicker than the other, you can gently pound the thicker part of your chicken breast for a more even thickness, which translates to more even cooking.
STorage Tips
- To store: The chicken will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Perfect to enjoy throughout the week!
- Freeze for later: I recommend slicing, dicing, or shredding your chicken before freezing, to make the reheating process easier. The chicken will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Reheating tips: Chicken breasts can get a bit dry when you reheat the following days. So here’s a little tip – add a teaspoon or so of water to the top of your chicken, then cover with a microwave-safe lid before reheating in the microwave. It will steam a little, helping the chicken absorb some of the moisture, and bring it back to life!
Delicious Chicken Breast Recipes
I can’t deny my love for boneless skinless chicken breasts! They also take center-stage in these delicious recipes:
- Greek Chicken Kabobs
- Ultimate Chicken Salad
- Chicken Fajitas
- Coconut Curry Chicken
- Herb Baked Chicken Breast
- Cobb Salad
I hope you and your family love this baked chicken breast recipe. If you make it, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Best Baked Chicken Breast
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, or oregano, parsley or other herbs
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Lightly coat the chicken breasts in olive oil, and then generously rub the spice mix on both sides of the chicken.
- Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on size (see chart above). Let the chicken rest for a few minutes to allow the juices to redistribute within the meat, then serve.
Lisa’s Tips
- I love to use these white baking pans for this recipe, and other baking recipes!
Nutrition
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Recipe originally published January 2021, but updated to include new information for you benefit!
This recipe delivers! I have this on my meal prep rotation as I can serve as full breasts or slice up for wraps or salads. The recipe comes out juicy and tender every time. I do change up the amounts of spices, but use the ones she lists. Never fails.
Thank you for this simple but delicious baked chicken recipe.
Hi Amber – This truly is a versatile recipe! Happy to hear your chicken breasts turn out great every time.
Another great recipe. The meat is tender and the recipe easy to follow. All the ingredients are usually already in the kitchen.
Wonderful! I’m glad your chicken breasts are turning out great.
Excellent! Everybody loved them. I found pounding the thicker part of the breast was very helpful making very tender juicy breasts! I am making them again this weekend and using one of your sauces (Not sure which one yet to drizzle over the breasts once done and resting)!
I tried this recipe last night and could not believe the results. I had the large chicken breasts so I smashed them down as much as I could before seasoning them liberally applied seasoning spread that already had in the cabinet and I used white balsamic oil. Just to give it a little twang. I did let sit at room temperature for about an hour due to the oven already been on cooking baked potatoes, which we’re gonna take considerably longer than the 20 minutes for the chicken. To my surprise, I followed the technique and cook the chicken at 425° for 20 minutes. The only variation I flipped the chicken and let the chicken breast inside the still warm oven for an additional 20 minutes. Super Juicy!!
Wonderful! I’m glad your chicken breasts turned out perfectly, Steven.
Sounds so good and juicy
Quick and easy this recipe never fails. My go to when I have extra chicken breast to use up or need a super quick protein to prep for lunches.
Thanks so much, Nicole! It’s one of my personal favorites as well. :)
I had this chicken left over and still to my liking.
Hi Jane – Glad the leftovers of this baked chicken are just as delicious!
Very moist and tender and not rubbery as you said. I am learning to cook better by your videos. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes and finding my videos helpful as you cook. :)
Excellent recipe. Delicious 😋
I’ve baked many chicken breast’s in my life, but they never turned out this moist & flavorful. My grandson said it was a 5 Star dinner.
Hi Debbie – Amazing! I’m glad your chicken breasts turned out just the way you wanted them to.
Mine turned out excellent. Will certainly make that again. I usually soak my chicken in salty water not this time ! It was juicy !
Hi Kathryn – Glad your baked chicken breast turned out perfectly!
Thank you for the fine chicken breast receipe. It was easy and a wonderful tasty meat. We eat chicken alot and this was so tasty. I love your receipes and will try them. You put alot of love and passion in your food. Me too.