Gimme Some Oven

Baked Chicken Breasts

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My favorite oven baked chicken breasts recipe! It never fails me, thanks to this simple 5-step method that is easy to make and customize with your favorite seasonings.

Perfect Oven Baked Chicken Breast

A few weeks ago on Insta, I asked if you all might be interested in a back-to-basics series about the best ways to bake proteins (i.e. chicken, pork, steak, seafood, tofu, etc.) in the oven. Your answer? A resounding yes, please. Many of you had requests and questions about methods for cooking various proteins, plus more than a few tales to tell about proteins gone not-so-right over the years. And oh boy, I hear ya. My little kitchen has seen more than its share of overcooked steaks, completely dried out pork chops, salmon skin glued to pans, and not-so-crispy tofu over the years too. Which are never fun, especially since proteins can be pricey and intended for special occasions. But hey, it’s all part of the adventure of learning how to cook. And eventually, I’ve trial-and-errored my way to some basic methods for baking proteins that have become super-reliable, super-delicious staples in my kitchen.

So over the next two weeks, I thought we could work our way through each of them, beginning today with the #1 most requested protein here on Gimme Some Oven…

…chicken.

Specifically, boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Over the years, I’ve received countless requests for new chicken breast recipes, and many more for tips on how to bake chicken breasts in the oven. Because anyone who worked with chicken breasts before know that they can be incredibly versatile, yet also incredibly finicky to work with, especially when baked in the oven. Cook them the wrong way and you’ll end up with a dry, rubbery, tough, and flavorless disaster. But cooked the right way?! We’re talkin’ juicy, tender, flavorful, perfectly baked chicken breasts that you will love.

The good news is that they’re also totally easy to customize with your favorite seasonings or sauces. And also, incredibly easy to make with my 5-step baked chicken breasts method. Thousands of our readers have tried it over the years and reported back that this method was a game-changer with cooking chicken. So if you have yet to give it a try, let’s bake some chicken together!

Baked Chicken Breasts Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Baked Chicken Breast Ingredients:

To make this baked chicken breasts recipe, you will need:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: You can either purchase fresh chicken breasts (my preference) or frozen chicken breasts (which you will need to completely thaw before using). Some chicken also comes pre-brined nowadays, in which case you can skip step one below.
  • Butter or olive oil: Your pick! I like the extra flavor that butter adds, but olive oil will also work well.
  • Kosher Salt: An essential ingredient in our brine, and we will also use salt to season the chicken before baking.
  • Seasonings: I included an all-purpose blend of smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in the recipe below, which is super-simple and goes with just about anything. But feel free to sub in any dry seasoning blend that you prefer.

Also, if you bake chicken (or any other kind of baked proteins) regularly in the oven, I strongly having a cooking thermometer on hand too. It is the most foolproof way to ensure that your chicken is not over- or under-cooked, and works like a charm. I recommend either this:

  • Instant-read cooking thermometer (pictured below): which I have owned and used for years when cooking chicken, which retails for about $9.99 on Amazon.
  • Dual-probe wireless meat thermometer: which I also own and love because it can be used inside of a hot oven (especially helpful for baking steak, salmon and pork), which retails for about $24.99 on Amazon.

How To Brine Chicken to make Baked Chicken Breasts

Baked Chicken Seasoning Recipe

How To Bake Chicken Breasts:

Alright, so here’s the secret! To make perfectly baked chicken bbrrreasts, you simply need to follow this 5-step acronym: B.B.R.R.R.

  1. Brine
  2. Brush
  3. Rub
  4. Roast
  5. Rest

Brine (Step 1): I’m telling you — this step is an absolute must for anytime you want to bake chicken breasts in the oven. Brining chicken is super-easy, it makes your chicken extra juicy, and best of all, it can be effectively done in just 15 minutes. Plus, if you brine chicken in lukewarm water, it also helps bring the chicken to room temperature, which makes for more even cooking. Win-win!

To brine chicken, simply fill a big bowl with lukewarm (not hot) water. Stir in a handful of salt until it mostly dissolves. Then add your chicken breasts and let them sit in the saltwater to brine for at least 15 minutes. If you are doing this in advance, you can cover and refrigerate the bowl of chicken and saltwater for up to 6 hours. But you don’t want to let the chicken brine for much longer than that.

When you’re ready to go, remove the chicken from the brine. Give it a good rinse it with cold water to wash off the salt, and then pat it dry with some paper towels. And voila — your chicken is officially brined.

Really, don’t skip over this step! It makes a world of difference.

Note: That said, some store-bought chicken breasts are now sold pre-brined. So double-check your packaging beforehand. And if your chicken has already been pre-brined in a sodium solution, just move onto step two. :)

Brush (Step 2): Brush your chicken breasts with melted butter. Or at least, I highly recommend using butter. It adds great flavor and helps give a nice golden crust on the outside. But if you’d rather use olive oil (or another favorite cooking oil), feel free.

Brush the breasts liberally on both sides to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan, and also to help the seasonings stick. Then place the chicken breasts in a large baking dish or roasting pan.

Rub (Step 3): If you’re really wanting to keep things simple, you can simply sprinkle some salt and pepper onto the chicken breasts. But again, chicken will pick up the flavor of whatever seasonings you add. So even if you’re making a simple dish that calls for “plain” chicken breasts, I highly recommend the simple chicken seasoning recipe I have included below that includes salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.

Roast (Step 4): So this is the step that causes some squabbles amongst chicken lovers — how long to bake chicken breasts? And what is the correct temperature to bake chicken? Do you bake it low and slow (as in, 30 minutes at 350°F)? Or do you roast chicken high and quick (as in, 15 minutes at 450)? I have tested out both — and just about every interval in between — dozens upon dozens upon dozens of times. And in the end, I fall firmly in the latter camp when it comes to baked chicken.

I like to roast my chicken breasts on high heat.

Depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts, roasting chicken at 450°F should require a cooking time of about 15-18 minutes (depending on the thickness/size of your chicken breasts). It’s speedy and it’s easy. But mostly I love it because cooking at high heat quickly develops a nice crispier “crust” on the outside of the breasts, which also helps to lock in those juices and keep the oven roasted chicken perfectly tender on the inside. It’s the best of both worlds.

I highly recommend investing in a small cooking thermometer to measure the cooked chicken temp in order to tell if it is ready to go (the FDA says that the safe cooked chicken temp is 165°F), versus cutting into it with a fork, which lets those good juices seep out. I use this instant-read thermometer that I bought on Amazon for $10, and it will accurately measure your internal chicken temperature in seconds.

Rest (Step 5): This one is a non-negotiable. You must, must let your beautifully baked chicken breasts rest before cutting into them — a tip which applies to cooking any meat, really. If you cut in right away, you will lose all of the amazing juices and some of the tenderness that we’re going for. But if you give your freshly baked chicken breasts a brief rest, it will finish cooking and lock in all of those delicious juices, resulting in the most tender and juicy and delicious baked chicken.

I recommend loosely tenting a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan to keep the heat in while the chicken rests. And then after 5-10 minutes, you can finally serve and enjoy your perfectly-cooked chicken breasts.

And enjoy every last bite. 

Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

How To Season Baked Chicken Breasts:

Again, I’m a big fan of the classic paprika-garlic-pepper mix in the recipe below. But if you’d like to mix things up, feel free to sub in any of your favorite dry seasoning mixes, such as:

How To Make Baked Chicken Breasts Recipe

How To Use/Serve Baked Chicken Breasts:

The easiest way, of course, is just to serve these roasted chicken breasts fresh outta the oven. But feel free to also slice, shred, or dice these oven baked chicken breasts for use in another recipe, such as these faves:

How To Store Baked Chicken Breasts:

Once the chicken has been baked, it can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. (<– I recommend shredding, dicing or slicing the chicken before freezing for easier use.)

Perfectly Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

Side Dish Recipe Ideas:

Looking for some side dishes to serve with this baked chicken recipe? Here are a few of my faves:

Baked Chicken Breast with Roasted Asparagus

More Baked Protein Tutorials:

Be sure to check out our tutorials for how to bake other meats, seafood and tofu too!

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Baked Chicken Breast Recipe

Baked Chicken Breasts

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 1304 reviews
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

Learn how to make juicy, tender, delicious baked chicken breasts with this simple 5-step method.


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Brine the chicken. (Check the label of your chicken breasts. If they have already been pre-brined in a sodium solution, please skip this step.) Fill a large bowl with 1 quart of warm water and 1/4 cup kosher salt. Stir to combine until most of the salt is absorbed. Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the mixture to brine for 15 minutes, or you can also also cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts from the brine, rinse them with cold water, then pat them dry with paper towels.
  2. Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  3. Season the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish*. Brush on both sides (turning once) evenly with the melted butter or olive oil. In a separate small bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika until combined. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture evenly over the chicken on both sides.
  4. Bake. Bake for 15-18* minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts, so I recommend using a cooking thermometer to know exactly when the chicken is fully cooked. The thickest part of the breast should measure 165°F. (If you want the chicken to be a little bit browned and crispier on top, you can turn the broiler on high for the final 3-5 minutes of the cooking time and broil the chicken until it is cooked through and golden on top. Keep a close eye on the chicken, however, so that it does not overcook and/or burn.)
  5. Rest the chicken. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the oven, transfer the chicken to a clean plate, and loosely tent the plate with aluminum foil. Let the chicken rest for at least 5-10 minutes.
  6. Serve. Serve warm and enjoy!


Notes

Baking Dish: Please double-check the maximum temperature of your baking dish for this recipe. Glass dishes (such as Pyrex) usually have a maximum recommended temperature of 425°F, so we do not recommend using a glass dish for this recipe. You can also cook this recipe on a thick metal baking sheet.

Storage instructions: Cooked chicken can be stored in a sealed container and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

How To Bake Chicken Breasts

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3,374 comments on “Baked Chicken Breasts”

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  1. I tried this recipe last night. It was delicious! Using the 450 degree temperature really worked well. Thank you for sharing!

  2. OKAY!!!! I MADE THIS CHICKEN TODAY.. DIDNT SKIP ANY STEP AND I AM IN SHOCK IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!! I HAVE NEVER MADE ANY CHICKEN BEFORE THAT WAS AS GOOD AS THIS!…. THE TENDERNESS, THE FLAVOR, IT WAS FABULOUS !!!
    THANK YOU FOR THE TIPS….
    THANKSSSSSSS

    • Thanks for sharing with us, Melissa — we’re so happy you loved it! :)

  3. I’ve baked mine on 400 degrees and has done great at 20 minutes.
    Concerned that 450 degrees may be too high.??
    I have tried sun dried tomato dressing and also Italian dressing (liquid form)
    Marinated first and then added some to the bottom of dish to make sure it
    would be extra juicy. Also sprinkled the top of the chicken with garlic powder
    And fresh ground black pepper.
    What’s your view on this?
    Thanks
    Susan

    • Hi Susan! We’ve tested this recipe several times and have never found 450 to be too high of a temp, so you should be fine here! Also, definitely feel free to try this recipe with sun dried tomato dressing or Italian dressing, but if you do, you’d want to skip the brining step (we’d recommend brining or marinating, but not both). We hope this helps!

  4. Oh. My. Deliciousness. This make incredibly moist, tender & versatile chicken that freezes & reheats so well!
    Love doing larger batches (usually cutting the breasts in half horizontally) so I can have them when I’m short on time or it’s a hot day when I don’t want to turn on the oven.
    Thanks so much for the amazing recipe!






  5. This is our family’s favorite above all go to boneless, skinless chicken breast recipe!!! We love it!
    It’s simple to prepare and bake and perfect for dinner or cold the next day. Wonderful!






  6. I used chicken tenders and followed your recipe exactly. Delicious. So Moist. This will be my recipe for salads. They were beautifully brown. Best chicken I have ever cooked. I’ve always liked Wendy’s chicken salads because the chicken tasted good without any dressing but I could not duplicate the taste. This will work perfectly in any chicken salad. Thank you for the recipe. Next I cooked 6 breasts without pounding, they were quite large, did not brown as well but tasted greatt. My picky husband said they were good. Not often does he say he likes something I have cooked. Thank you






  7. The best on the internet!!! Follow instructions exactly as given: my only change is the addition of 1/4 cup sugar to brine, and I usually add some Old Bay, or Italian seasoning depending on final use of breasts.






    • Wow, thank you so much, Stuart! We’re so glad to hear you love the recipe!

  8. Love the recipe!! Brining does make a difference! Extremely delicious!

  9. WOW!! Chicken that just melts in your mouth. Loved the recipe and do easy.

  10. What do you recommend for the Brine if you are watching your sodium intake?

  11. I have been baking chicken breasts wrong for 32 years! Oh my God if only I’d known these 5 simple steps way back when….we could not believe how amazing this chicken was. I’ve made it twice since stumbling upon this site and I will never, ever make it any other way. Thank you!!






    • Thank you for your sweet words and rating, Lorraine! We’re so happy you love the recipe! :D

  12. Thank you for this recipe. I’m a beginner in the kitchen but this was easy to make and unbelievable moist and tasty.






  13. Hands down the best method to prepare chicken fillets. Works everytime…no matter the seasoning. I don’t get a crispy top even with butter….but will gladly sacrifice it for the ultimate ‘moist’ fillets. Both husband and 4 year old agree!!! Thanks a mil






    • Thank you so much, Rhea — we’re so glad you and your family love the recipe! :D

  14. This is a great, simple recipe to make your chicken dinner each week. That was my first time brining and I will absolutely be doing that each time now. Thank you!

  15. Very tasty and my family want this meal again.

    Didn’t soak in brine, just cut each breast into 4 portions then seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder that I had mixed into the butter/oil.

    Cooked 2.5 kg of chicken breast on 2 oven trays at 230 degrees C for 30 mins. 1 tray was butter and the other tray was olive oil basted chicken which we preferred the taste of.






    • Thanks for sharing, Ivan, we’re glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe! :)

  16. Try so much! I can finally make moist boneless skinless chicken breast! The only thing I did different was to double the spices and the melted butter. Definitely a winner. Love it and so does my hubby! Thank you!






  17. I’m 18 and just moved out on my own, I’d never made chicken before so I naturally turned to the internet and I’m so glad I found this page! It turned out so good and made me feel great about cooking! Thank you so much!






  18. Super juicy and tender, have cooked it 3 times in last 2 mos. only problem, my wife thinks spices are too hot. Would skipping paprika bring down the heat?

    • Thanks, Greg, we’re glad you enjoy it! And yes, leaving out the paprika would completely take away all of the heat. We love the flavor though, so you might want to consider still using it, but just less of it.

  19. Juiciest and most tender I’ve ever had. Cooked 3 times in last 3 months. Only question, will removing paprika take down the heat a bit? My wife isn’t a spicy fan






    • Thanks, Greg, we’re so glad you enjoy it! And yes, omitting the paprika will completely remove any of the spiciness. We love the flavor it imparts, so you could just use less if you wanted, instead of leaving it out entirely. Totally up to you though!

  20. Hey yall, I’m no fancy cook by any sorts,but I’m a man who loves to cook and sure enough eat. Ha ha!
    I’m not a fan of baked chicken. The folks hear me all the time say, I ain’t eating no slippy chicken.
    What I will say tho.. this dish us the absolute best oven baked chicken I have ever cooked.
    I do love it and I will include it in my list of suppers here around the house. My family loved it.
    Thank you for sharing. .

  21. Absolutely the BEST chicken breast I’ve ever had. Made it 7 times, gets better every time. I look forward to family dinners so I can wow everyone with this recipe. Easy easy easy too.






  22. I used Greek seasoning from a local spice shop and it was so yummy!! Thank you for this!






    • Oooh, we think that’s an awesome idea, Sara! And we’re so glad you enjoyed it!

  23. Oh my goodness yes! Well, my exact words were, Oh, **** yeah! Perfect! Will definitely make again. The brine, the seasonings (I had the smoked paprika, great suggestion), the tent at the end, wonderful! I can’t wait for my husband to try this when he gets home. Thank you!

    You will need to bake longer for thicker cuts. I had to do an additional 15 minutes. I had some big pieces and the meat thermometer wasn’t reaching the 170° mark.






    • Thank you so much, Tiffany, we’re thrilled that you loved it and we hope your husband did as well! :)

  24. My first time making chicken. It turned out incredible! The only thing I changed is the cooking time. I cooked for 25 minutes instead of 20 ?






  25. I would have never believed that these simple steps could make such a difference in how the chicken would turn out. My wife asked if I bought different chicken, organic or something. Not only was it outstanding, it was just as good leftover 2 nights later. Many thanks for this recipe as well as the many others that my family enjoys.






    • Thank you for sharing, Ira, we’re so glad you and your wife enjoyed it!

  26. This chicken is amazing- some of the moistest chicken I’ve ever eaten!! The spice mix is great as well and not too spicy – I used the measurements given for just one chicken breast though (instead of 4 like the recipe states). I will definitely be making this again soon – wonderful!!






  27. I have been using this recipe since finding it last year. So simple yet so right! Perfect everytime!






    • Thanks for the kind rating, Jen, we’re so happy you enjoy the recipe!

  28. This recipe changed my life! All these years on the grill and I could have been inside baking. Thank you times 100!






    • Wow, thank you for your kind words, John! We’re so happy you love the recipe! :)

  29. So glad I found this page! I’ve been making boneless chicken breasts wrong for 50 years! I now love making them. This recipe works perfectly! So easy and quick!






  30. Last time I tried to bake chicken breasts, the pan was filled with liquid from the chicken and essentially boiled my chicken. Needless to say, the chicken didn’t look nor taste great. Do you have any suggestions on how to avoid ‘bake-boiling’ chicken?

    • Hi Andrew! Did you mean this happened when you tried this recipe, or a different one? You shouldn’t end up with all of that excess liquid in the pan when following this method.

  31. I’m 56 yrs old. This is the BEST baked chicken I have ever made!!!! My whole family was amazed at how moist and tasty it was. I’m SO glad I found this!!!!!






    • Thank you so much, Carmen! We’re so glad you and your family loved it! :)

  32. Great recipe, I use this one all the time. It’s a solid go-to, and I’ve never had anything negative to say about how everything turns out. Mucho appreciado!

    One question: I like the idea of cooking the breast for a few minutes shorter, in the oven. And after that, placing it in a hot skillet for just a minute or two, to add little extra color. Is that something that you would recommend? Or do I risk over/under cooking the breast? Thanks in advance.






    • Thank you for sharing, Derek, we’re so glad you’re a fan! And we haven’t tried that, but we think it’s worth trying if you want! To get more color or more of a crust on the chicken though, you can spray it with some cooking spray (or brush with oil) before baking, which will help. Or if you really want the crust and it’s not happening, you could cook the chicken until it’s nearly done, and then pop it under the broiler for a minute or two. That’ll definitely help it get a nice crust. We hope this helps!

  33. Absolutely wonderful. The entire family loved it. Even my wife and she doesn’t like anything.






  34. My husband has a new smoker and wants the chicken breasts brined first. Will this brine work . This recipe is the first time I have ever enjoyed the taste of chicken unless it was fried. Even in salads the cooked chicken had an unpleasant taste. This was perfect. Thank you.






  35. Came across your site at random, looking for a quick lemon chicken breast recipe – I often cook chicken breasts because the teenage family members think they are more ‘healthy’ (I prefer thighs myself because I find them more succulent). But I was intrigued by your method – I have never brined them before, and usually cook them at a lower temperature. So tonight I tried it your way and what a revelation! Followed your method exactly, including the resting, and they were so moist and succulent I couldn’t believe it. Now I’m fired up to think of various flavourings, etc to try. Best chicken breasts ever – thanks so much!






    • Thanks for sharing with us, Catherine, we’re so glad to hear you loved this! :)

  36. Ugh!!! I don’t have any paprika!!! I made it without! It’s cooking now! I’m 57 and never heard of brining, can’t wait to try it!

  37. Can I make this ahead and freeze?

    • Yes, you could freeze this chicken after baking it, but for the best taste and results, you’ll want to enjoy it fresh. We hope you enjoy!

  38. OMG! This chicken






  39. This chicken was amazing! Thanks so much for the recipe. Quick question, do you always pound your chicken before brining? The chicken you have in your pictures don’t look pounded.

    • Thank you, Kandi, we’re so happy you enjoyed this! No, we only pound the chicken breast if it’s really, really thick (we didn’t for these photos). We hope this helps! :)

  40. di you place the pan on the lowest reck or the middle rack

  41. Delicious, Moist chicken. I don’t care for chicken as usually tough and or dry. Easy. Did in electric turkey roaster outside in summer. Did not pound out. Rubbed all surfaces and tucked ends under as was in package. Made wonderful slices like a small tenderloin pork roast. Soooo tender and moist!






    • Thank you for your sweet rating, Debbie, we’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!

  42. I just made this for the 3rd time last night … I love this chicken recipe ! It is so delicous ! I baked mine at 450 for 18 minutes – then an extra 5 on broil – I have a dinky apt oven so I usually need to add a bit more time …. and for me it turned out perfect ! Thank you /Users/loridorn/Desktop/IMG_0232.jpg

  43. I make this chicken all the time, it is soso good!!

  44. Add me to the list of people saying thank you for teaching me to bake breasts right! I’ve been doing it wrong for 40 years. I’ve used your BBRRR several times now.
    One of my cats begs for this when I make it. (Although she begs for chicken when I roast a whole one too.)
    I’m really looking forward to brining before grilling soon.






  45. Love this recipe, made it twice now! Thank you for sharing!






  46. So i dont ave a baking dish…can i use oven tray?

    • Hi Esther! You could try an oven tray, but we really recommend a baking dish because it’s deep enough to contain all of the juices. If you do use an oven tray, you’ll want to make sure you put another tray on the rack below to catch any juices that might spill over. We hope this helps!

  47. WOW! This recipe was amazing! I changed a few things though, I did 1/8 a teaspoon of Garlic salt instead of garlic powder and I didn’t brine it. I also baked it at 350 for 30 mins. I’m 15 and I started cooking dinner two nights a week for fun, my entire family loved it! My moms bringing it for lunch! Definitely making this again!






    • Thank you for sharing, Caliah, we’re so glad you and your family loved it! :)

  48. I made this last week we do chicken once a week I’m always trying nee ways with chicken. My husband asked me to make it again tonight.

  49. excellent instructions! came out perfecto! thx