how to make chicken breast moist and juicy
Oven Baked Chicken Breast (Juicy Recipe)
This simple recipe for baked chicken breast is juicy, flavorful, and so easy!
Baking chicken in the oven allows the flavors to come together beautifully. The result is tender, moist, delicious meat.
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Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.The oven does the heavy lifting with this simple recipe, so its easy enough for beginners! Baked chicken was one of the first things I ever learned to cook, and for good reason.
Get ready to make the juiciest, most irresistible chicken youve ever had.
Baked Chicken Breast
Everyone wants two things from baked chicken breasts: flavor and juiciness. Luckily, this recipe ensures you deliver on both of those. IN SPADES!
The seasoning blend for this chicken is spot-on. And Ive included several tips to help you retain the chickens juiciness.
If you want something tasty, healthy, and filling for dinner tonight, look no further. This delicious baked chicken breast is just the thing for you.
Plus, it pairs well with whatever sides you feel like making.
Ingredients
You wont need much for this recipe. Heres the ingredients list:
- Chicken breasts I always stick to boneless, skinless chicken breasts. However, you can use this same seasoning blend on thighs, legs, wings, etc. Just adjust your cooking times/temps accordingly.
- Butter or Olive oil I personally prefer using butter. It adds a rich and savory flavor to the chicken. But you can also use olive oil if you prefer.
- Seasonings The seasoning mix includes salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. It gives the chicken a phenomenal flavor. Use smoked paprika for a smokier taste. You can also add cayenne or red pepper flakes for heat.
How to Make Baked Chicken Breast
Baked chicken is one of the easiest types of chicken to make. You dont have to bread and batter it or worry about scalding it in the skillet. Its a quick and effortless process.
Heres how you do it:
1. Prep your meal.Line a baking dish with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make the seasoning mixture.Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl. (Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.) Mix them well.
3. Season the chicken. Drizzle your chicken breasts in olive oil and rub the seasoning on both sides. Be generous. The more seasoning you use, the more flavor youll have.
4. Place the breasts on the prepared baking sheet.Bake them for 20 to 25 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees. (See the best internal temp section below for why you should remove chicken at 160 degrees.)
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Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.5. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes (and until it hits 165 degrees). Then, serve and enjoy!
How Long to Bake Chicken Breast
How long you should bake chicken depends on several factors. These include:
- How large the chicken breasts are
- How thick the chicken breasts are
- How many youre cooking at once
- Your ovens temperature
- Whether youre cooking them alone or with other ingredients
However, generally, you should cook chicken breasts for 22 to 26 minutes at 400 degrees. If you want to cook them at a lower temp, try 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Just be sure you dont overcook your chicken. Otherwise, itll be super dry.
Whats the Best Internal Temperature?
The simple answer is that the best internal temp for chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chicken needs to rest for about 5 minutes before you cut into it. Unfortunately, it continues to cook during those 5 minutes.
So, chicken that comes out of the oven at 165 degrees will be up to 170 degrees or higher after resting. Sometimes, thats not such a big deal. At other times, it can dry the chicken out.
Your best bet is to remove the chicken from the oven at 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, after it rests, it should be at the perfect temp for you to eat it.
Tips for the Best Baked Chicken Breast
Baked chicken is a super simple recipe to perfect. But here are a few tips to help you make the process even more foolproof:
- Pound it!For an even bake, pound the chicken breasts to a 1/2-inch thickness. You can use a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the bottom of a heavy pan.
- Dry it out. Use a paper towel to pat the chicken dry. The seasonings will stick better if you do.
- Butterflying is best.Slice the breast horizontally through the middle. Stop about 1/2 inch from the opposite end. Open it like a book to create two thinner cutlets. This will help it cook faster.
- Soak in the goodness.Let the breasts soak in the seasoning blend for 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking.
- Add an herby twist.Rosemary, thyme, and oregano all make excellent additions to the seasoning blend. They also make your chicken extremely aromatic.
- Spice it up.Dont be afraid to add a dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes to the chicken. You can also vary the seasoning, selecting a Louisiana- or Cajun-style mix instead.
- Drizzle the juices on top.After your chicken rests, drizzle any juices from the baking dish over it. Itll make it juicier and more flavorful.
Serving Suggestions
Baked chicken tastes great on its own. However, a few sides to make it a complete meal. Pair any of these recipes with your chicken for a treat:
And dont forget dessert! This Heaven on Earth Cake is absolutely divine. These single-serve Mini Cheesecake Bites are another excellent idea.
How to Store
One of the great things about baked chicken is that the leftovers taste just as good as the fresh chicken.
To Store: Place the chicken in an airtight container in the fridge, where it should last for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze your leftovers for up to 3 months.To make reheating frozen chicken easier, slice or dice it before freezing it.
To Reheat: Let frozen chicken thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, follow these instructions to reheat chilled chicken:
- Place the chicken in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Add a tablespoon or two of water on top of the chicken.
- Cover the chicken with a microwave-safe lid.
- Reheat for 2-4 minutes, depending on your microwaves power.
The water will cause the chicken to steam, rehydrating it so it doesnt taste dry. You can also cover it with a damp paper towel to achieve the same effect.
NaTaya Hastings is a food and recipe writer for Insanely Good Recipes. Shes an educator, boy mom, dog mom, and whatever-stray-enters-the-yard mom. As a result, she's constantly cooking for both humans and animals.
Luckily, she enjoys it!
Though born, raised, and still living in Alabama, her specialty is NOT down-home Southern cooking. Instead, she loves to experiment with Asian, Mexican, Italian, and other ethnic cuisines. She has two mottos when it comes to cooking. The more spice, the better! and Theres no such thing as too much garlic!
Shes also pretty good with desserts. Especially the easy, no-bake ones.
Her favorite things are cuddling with her four giant dogs, traveling, reading, writing, and hanging out in nature. Shes also pretty excellent at Dominoes.
The Best Juicy Chicken Breasts
Our no-fail recipe for juicy in the center chicken breasts. We use a skillet on the stove for the juiciest, most tender chicken. Our method works for all cuts of chicken, but it is especially helpful for lean chicken breasts.
Watch the Video
Related: Many of our readers love these pan roasted chicken breasts cooked with butter and thyme.
How to Cook Chicken Breasts
Say goodbye to flavorless, dry chicken breasts and hello to mouthwatering, succulent, juicy chicken. Its easy to do at home. Heres our easy, no-fail method for skillet chicken breasts:
- Cook seasoned chicken breasts in a skillet over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden brown.
- Reduce the heat to low, add a splash of liquid, cover the skillet with a lid, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Our easy recipe works for all cuts of chicken but is especially helpful for chicken breasts. For more ways to cook chicken breasts, see our baked chicken breasts, this perfect poached chicken, and this recipe for grilled chicken breasts.
More Tips for Cooking Chicken Breasts
Pound the chicken breasts into one thickness: Im sure youve noticed that chicken breasts are thicker on one end than the other, which can cause uneven cooking.
If your boneless, skinless chicken breasts are larger and thick on one end, you can use a mallet or rolling pin to pound them to a more even thickness. We use this trick when grilling chicken, too. We dont always do this step, but we recommend it if your chicken breasts are large and thick.
Season your chicken well: You dont need to marinate the chicken, but we do recommend seasoning with salt before cooking. If you want to marinate, we love this chicken marinade recipe. For the chicken breast recipe below, I use our simple spice rub:
- 1 teaspoon chili powder, I love our homemade chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the juiciest chicken, use your skillets lid: We use this trick when cooking meat a lot see our juicy skillet pork chops. First, we sear one side of the chicken until browned, flip it, turn the heat to low, and cover the skillet with a lid.
The second side will slowly turn golden brown, and since we added the lid, the heat from the pan will gently cook the middle. Gently cooking chicken breasts this way keeps them juicy and tender.
Allow the cooked chicken to rest: Before cutting it, give the cooked chicken a few minutes on the counter, covered with some foil.
The chicken will finish cooking as it sits, and all the juices inside will either redistribute inside the chicken or fall out onto your plate. If there are juices on your plate, save them! They make the best sauce.
How to Tell When Chicken Breasts are Done
- Use an internal thermometer this is our preferred method since its no-fail! Chicken breasts are cooked when an internal thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 165 Fahrenheit. Since weve used our guaranteed juicy chicken cooking method, the chicken will still be nice and juicy in the middle if you remove them from the heat at 165 Fahrenheit.
- Check that the juices run clear. Another way to check if the chicken is done is to pierce it with a knife. If the juices that come out are clear, the chicken should be cooked. While the thermometer method is still preferred, this can be a helpful visual check.
What to Serve With Chicken Breast
This is one of our favorite chicken breast recipes, and we hope you try it soon. Here are a few side dishes we love serving them with:
- Our best homemade coleslaw Its crunchy, bright, and delicious, thanks to a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard.
- Add a healthy, low-carb side ofmashed cauliflower. It takes about 20 minutes and would be excellent served with the pork.
- For a more traditional side, give ourfavorite homemade mashed potatoesa try.
- Chicken added to salad is classic. Make a bed of greens and fresh veggies, then choose your favorite dressing. We love this homemade ranch. You can also make chicken Caesar salad by adding it to this freshly made salad.
- We both love this recipe for marinated chicken breasts with a cucumber and feta salad (in this recipe, we use the same no-fail method to cook the chicken).
The Best Juicy Chicken Breasts
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our no-fail recipe for juicy in the center chicken breasts. We use a skillet on the stove for the juiciest, most tender chicken.
Makes 4 (6-ounce) servings
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 large breasts or 3 medium
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder, see our homemade chili powder recipe
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon avocado oil or other high heat cooking oil
Half of a lemon, quartered, optional
Directions
1Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and season on both sides with salt we use just less than 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt per chicken breast.
2Make the spice rub by combining the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and black pepper. Liberally dust the spice rub all over the chicken.
3Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium frying pan (with lid) over medium-high heat. As soon as the oil is hot and looks shimmery, add the chicken. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until golden.
4Flip, reduce the heat to low, and then splash a few tablespoons of water (or broth) into the skillet. Cover the skillet with a lid.
5Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
6Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, cut into thick slices, and then serve with pan drippings and lemon wedges.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
Nutrition Per ServingServing Size1/4 of the recipe (about 6 ounces)/Calories208/Total Fat4.6g/Saturated Fat1g/Cholesterol124.1mg/Sodium387mg/Carbohydrate0.9g/Dietary Fiber0.3g/Total Sugars0.1g/Protein38.5g
AUTHOR:Adam and Joanne Gallagher
