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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3,375 comments on “Baked Chicken Breasts”

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  1. awesome to the max!!!!! even my husband that is not a fan of chicken breasts…loved this!

    Thank you so much for posting your method :-)

  2. I’ve never baked chicken, because my mother used to and it was always so dry and bland. I made this last night and it was INCREDIBLE! Best chicken I’ve ever had, and it was soooo juicy! Also, my fiance (who is never impressed by anything) LOVED it. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!






  3. I’m retired so I get to do most of the cooking around our house lately.
    I have used this recipe three times now and my wife and sons love it.
    So easy and consistently delicious, the breasts come out so moist and tender.
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.






  4. I will only make chicken this way from now on. I tell everyone a out.. So good, Thanks






  5. Wow I have baked a lot of chicken breast but this recipe was delicious so moist and very tasted my husband love it I will always cook my chicken breast like this,thanks






  6. Thought the first time was pure luck but have followed this recipe for brining 5 different times….absolutely the moistest chicken we’ve ever had. The high heat 450 for 15 mins is by far the best way to do this.

    Thanks so much!






  7. So moist and delicious! This goes in the recipe box, all the other dry, gross recipes to the garbage.
    Thanks for sharing!

  8. These are the first good chicken breasts that I have ever made. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was about to swear off of making my own chicken breasts forever, and this was my last try. Now, I can finally trust a method.






  9. This is a great recipe! Everybody in my house likes it. I’ve got a girl claiming to want to be a “pescatarian”, a boy who is not picky at all, a husband who definitely likes spicy, and me, who doesn’t like too spicy. Chicken was moist with a lot of flavor. A keeper!






  10. Tender and moist. Very good chicken!






  11. I make this once a week.My 2 year old and 10 month old love it!!!! Thank you so much for this recipe (:






  12. I agree with all comments above. Trying so hard to eat more chicken (I know every one else’s favorite but not my family). I bought 3 chicken breast tonight and looked on the internet for “how can I make this super great?”.

    It was all that!!! The family was blown away. Now, seriously I am a pretty good t cook but tonight they said this was the best chicken I ever made. I didnt serve a breast a piece but sliced it thin at an angle. Served with asparagus and salad. Yummy.






  13. I’ve never been confident in the kitchen, and I’ve especially never been confident about cooking chicken (which is why my husband has always been in charge of cooking it for us). However, recently I decided to give it a shot using this recipe, and my husband and I both agreed: I will be the one in charge of cooking the chicken from now on (I’ve already made it two more times since then)!! So delicious and tender. Each time our toddler has eaten it, she’s said, “Yummm.” My confidence level in the kitchen has gone up, so thank you for that. :)






  14. We usually grill our chicken but someone forgot to turn off the grill and ran it out of propane and I’m glad they did. This chicken came out very moist and scrumptious. Thank you.






  15. Can someone please recommend the best way to reheat this chicken?






  16. Made this many times. Love it!! Super easy and delicious.






  17. Thank you!! This recipe is great i made it its so delicious juicy crispy brown!! My mom loves it!! Please keep sharing! God Bless!!❤






  18. I made this recipe tonight and my family LOVED IT!!! I followed it exactly, I just added a little garlic salt and I use regular paprika because that is what I had available. We were trying to figure out how to make the boneless skinless breasts as we are not BAKED CHICKEN BREAST type of people..lol. It was sooo brown and moist!! I will definitely have this recipe in heavy rotation in my household. We had salad and Knorr fettuccini sides with it. Thanks for such a tasty recipe!






  19. Can you use boneless, skinless turkey breast instead?

    • Yes, I thought that was what the recipe called for. That’s what I made tonight, boneless, skinless and FANTASTIC!

  20. I can’t believe how juicy and delicious this chicken is! My kids are devouring it! Increased cooking time by about 10 minutes because my chicken breasts were quite thick, but they came out perfect with the help of a thermometer to occasionally check temperature. Thank you for such a great recipe! This will be a staple in my house!






  21. This is by far the BEST recipie to cook chicken I have ever used!! I used their suggestion of high heat, short time (450 for 17 min) and it is perfect every single time. Don’t skip the brine!






  22. Hi!! I just tried it now! Like literally now! And it was soooo good!! Juicy, tender, flavorful! So simple yet so yummy!! Thank you!!






  23. So tender and tasty. The whole family loved it, even the kids. Thank you!






  24. Hey there- I’d like to try this recipe but two problems with going forward: 1) I cannot locate the proportions for your “classic” seasoning combo of paprika pepper and garlic powder anywhere on this page and 2) You include two links for a “large baking dish” or “large roasting pan” both of which take you to a porcelain item on the Crate and Barrel website that is specifically RATED UP TO 400 degrees while this recipe calls for an OVEN TEMPERATURE of 450 degrees. Thanks in advance for some help with these problems with the info (or lack thereof) in this recipe.

  25. Sorry- I located the proportions for the seasoning mix on the page. Still wondering about the roasting pan/ baking dish you recommended from Crate and Barrel which is only rated up to 400 degrees while the recipe requires a temperature of 450 degrees. Thanks for the help!

    • Just use whatever roasting pan/baking pan you already have. I’ve cooked it on a broiler pan, a cookie pan and a casserole dish, and it turned out great each time.

    • I made this chicken in a metal baking pan lined with foil. It turned out great and no mess!

  26. OMG, THE BEST CHICKEN BREAST THAT HAS EVER TOUCHED MY LIPS, and Ive worked at 5 star restersunts and have a family of foodies. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING ❤❤❤❤






  27. This works perfectly and is delicious. Even the hubby agrees and he has always whined about chicken.






  28. Absolutely the most delicious,moist chicken breast i ever ate! AWESOME!!!!!






  29. I did this recipe twice and it was great both times! Your pics don’t look like the chicken was flatened so I didn’t do it. Still came out great.






  30. My family loved it THANK YOU






  31. Love this recipe. It has become a staple in my meal prepping.






  32. I normally cook in our household. I needed a quick meal and something super easy to follow (my girlfriend hates to cook so I try to find things she has the patience for!)

    This was a pleasent suprise! I followed your BBRRR method and these came out juicy and flavorful. This will be one of my favorite ways to cook chicken now. Thank you!






  33. Wow, I have baked chicken breasts for years, but never really like the result. Just tried your method and it tasted fabulous! Thanks for sharing. Am now off to do another batch for my packed lunches.

  34. The best baked chicken breast I have ever eaten. Making it for the third time. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.






  35. Followed recipe to a T and I’ll be making chicken breasts more often now. Moist, easy, quick, simple but good spice mixture.






  36. Bingo! I am 71 years old and I never heard of brining. I decided to give it a try because I can never, repeat…never, get my husband to eat anything unless its breaded and fried. He actually liked it and wanted to know how I did it. Thank you so much. I’ve never been a good cook and recipes never work out for me. But this is a procedure not a recipe. Baking on high heat is key. Chicken came out brown, moist and appetizing. I’ll eat the leftovers for days.






  37. Moist, delicious, can’t mess it up! Great recipe to have up my sleeve! Thank you!






  38. I made this last night and it was very good. I had very thick chicken breasts so it took about 20 min but they turned out flavorful, juicy, and tender. Will definitely use this recipe again.






  39. What is I used bone in and skin chicken thighs? How long do I cook them and do I use the same temperature?

  40. I don’t salt much so this recipe while delicious was a bit salty for my taste. My mother and husband both loved it. I’d like to reduce the salt a bit. Better with the seasoning or with the brine? Why did you chose a salt and water brine versus a wine and broth brine?






    • You could probably use any kind of brine you like. I think she used salt & water because it’s something pretty much everyone has on hand and this is just a really simple recipe.

  41. I made these last night. Let the chicken soak in the brine for about 45 minutes. Cooked 3 rather thick breasts on a foil lined cookie sheet for 18 minutes. They came out perfect! We used bbq sauce. Will never cook chicken any other way. Delicious!






  42. Everyone raved!!






  43. I cannot believe how good this chicken is! I have a hard time eating chicken breast because the texture and/or moisture is usually off for me. I made this tonight and it was amazing! I will never bake chicken any other way. One question I do have though is how do you recommend reheating it? That’s the second hardest part about eating chicken breast.. not ruining it when you reheat it! Thanks!






  44. This was the best tasting chicken breast and very juicy too. This will be my go to recipe for baked chicken breast. Thanks for this extra delicious recipe.






  45. Very delicious thank you






  46. I actually prepared this super easy, yet yummy recipe last night for the fam. I am not a everyday cooker, so I needed something easy but great tasting. My 10 year old loves when I do cook dinner and he really enjoyed this recipe!! I just don’t have a lot of time to plan and prepare home cooked meals everyday with my job, so we get food To go a lot. By The way I chose to Cook them at 450° and I had to cook them for a little longer than 15 minutes but they were thicker chicken breast.Thank you for the recipe I’ll definitely check out other recipes on this website.






  47. Hi Ali,
    his was very well done I am trying it out for dinner tonight. I can’t wait to see out it turns out yours look so yummy.

    Thanks
    Rudy

  48. I’m so glad I came across this recipe! I will brine my chicken from now on. I did cook my chicken longer than 18 Minutes because my chicken was big. My family and I loved this chicken. Moist and flavorful. Thank you!






  49. I just made your baked chicken recipe using the brine and high heat. I am eating it with a huge smile on my face !!!
    Love in my mouth girl. Thank you.