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. So great! A million thanks!!!






  2. Delicious!! Question though; why do reccomend not using pyrex? Also, do I need to flip the chicken breasts at all while baking?






    • Believe it because the high heat could make the Pyrex burst.

    • Glass can’t be trusted past 425F usually. It’s not heat safe for this recipe if you follow the directions of putting it in at 450F. It has a big possibility of breaking.

    • Pyrex is rated with 900 degree shock rate. You can heat it to 900 without breakage. So, you can absolutely use pyrex. I have been a glassblower for 26 years and have worked with pyrex regularly.

  3. Just wanted to say thank you so much for this recipe! My chicken always comes out heartbreakingly dry and disappointing so I figured I’d try something new. Happy to say your method really works!






  4. Absolutely delicious!! And I used bone in split chicken breasts. Yes, brining is an absolute. So moist and flavorable.






  5. I followed your recipe, and it was delicious and super juicy!! Thank you so much!






  6. This is the bomb. I followed the recipe exactly as written and the breasts were perfect. I used smoked paprika for the rub. I make a lot of chicken casseroles and this will be my stock recipe for the pre-cooked chicken. Thanks for the recipe.

  7. I made this chicken breast recipe and it was so moist and tasty. The family loved it.

  8. Was so good. I saved it in my recipes!!






  9. I hate cooking with a deep and powerful hate. When I am trying to cook the kitchen smoke detector is definitely working overtime. So I tried this recipe and followed it closely. The chicken was soooo good. I still can’t believe that I was able to make something so tasty. I’m in total shock at how good it was. Note: I also made Brussel sprouts, but they were burned to a crisp. But the chicken! Thank you to Ali for this recipe.






  10. what a recipe. you always have some thing new to teach us. here is a great way to use 2 minutes after dinner to lose weight, look younger and enjoy any food you like https://bit.ly/Resurgegg






  11. Still cooking, but there is so much smoke coming from my oven when I checked the temp on the chicken. Had to use metal baking pan as I did not have a ceramic dish. Is this normal?

  12. Lol. Same as John I didn’t realize the glass pan recommendation until it was too late. But, they still came out great!! Will for sure try again in my other pan!!






  13. Definitely need the hot oven for this one! I did mine for 13 minutes (they were a bit small) but tip top!






  14. You mention brining, but if you get Kosher chicken breast this should be unnecessary because part of the kashering process is to coat the chicken with Kosher Salt which draws out the blood inside (blood is forbidden to eat) and then rinse off the brine after a half hour. Packages of Kosher chicken will actually say on them salted and rinsed.

  15. Tried this tonight. Will absolutely be making again. The broiler really makes a difference!

  16. Wow. Best chicken we have ever made. For real






  17. Delicious. We usually grill chicken year round but tonight felt too cold to go out. So glad I found this method. Yum

  18. I use the B’s all the time since reading this article. However I was wondering if you could comment on whether there are there any tweeks that should be made for skin-on chicken breasts? Particularly in respect of brining. Should I use casserole dish with a shallow brine to avoid submerging the breast skin? I was advised to use baking soda (aluminum free for health & better taste as many can taste the aluminum) on the skin to pull moisture out. Some do this overnight as well. If I want to butter & brine also what do you recommend (stage, time, etc.)?

    Appreciate you so much. Thank you for all the great recipes & instructions!!

    PS. I have learned to always review the comments section, if your developer can incorporate it, it would be helpful to save favorite tips from the comment section for frequent visitors to the site. Or perhaps enable an up-voting (aka “helpful” or “not-helpful”) rating system with a filtered viewing option to search for high-rated comments. … Asking a lot I know. But it would be a great feature!






  19. I found your site over a year ago when i was looking for pointers for baked chicken breasts. Found it very helpful and followed your advice/recipes…. EXCEPT for the brining.
    Now, after all this time i finally tried it. GAME CHANGER!!!!! I will never bake without brining again. Ever!
    Thank you so much for sharing.






  20. I baked mine @ 450 for 20 minutes because I will not eat underdone chicken. After 20 minutes, they were very undercooked and almost raw n the bottom. I followed all directions precisely other than the extra few minutes I added to cook time. I don’t know if I will make this again w/ these directions.






  21. Easy and all 4 teenagers and both adults loved it!






  22. Man this was delish! We loved it. I’m going to make this for a big family get together. Chicken breast were tender flavorful. Keeper!!!






  23. Did everything just like it’s wrote down. 22 minutes in and my boneless chicken breasts are at 130 degrees. Now my sides are done and the chicken is nowhere near done. I even brined the chicken in lukewarm water for 30 minutes.






    • Oh no! Sounds like there may be some sort of issue with your oven temperature. I would recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to see if it is cooking at the correct temp. Best wishes next time!

  24. Soooo simple yet SO good! I did it on chicken strips so it took less time in the oven. This will be a staple for me.






  25. This recipe is so easy and so good. The family loves it!






  26. Absolutely the best chicken ever






  27. Great recipe!!






  28. Oh my gosh, these were so salty I couldn’t eat mine. Hubs choked his down. I rinsed the remaining ones off and now have it soaking in plain water to try to save the meat. And I didn’t even add salt to the rub seasonings. Is it correct to use 1/4 CUP salt in the brine. I brined mine for 2 hours while I ran errands. Was that too long? Would they be less salty if I only brined 15 minutes? Juiciness was good. They certainly weren’t dry.






  29. This is just amazing! I have never tasted such a great chicken recipe with so simple ingredients! Thanks for sharing!!??‍???????






  30. This was so delicious! Added a little oinion powder to mine but everything else was the same! It was so tender and juicey! Thank you!






  31. So I had looked at this recipe and debated about using it. As the day unfolded, I had very little time to make dinner. This seemed to be the best option. I baked the chicken with a dry rub and olive oil at 450 for about 18 minutes. I let it rest for about five minutes. This is the juiciest chicken breast I have ever eaten. My husband doesn’t really like white meat and he said over and over how tasty it was. Will definitely make this again!






  32. This chicken is so good and really so easy. Not sure how good it is for you, but we served this with brown rice and vegetables and felt it was a good balance, to the buttery good chicken. Followed directions exactly, including the brine, using a porcelain baking dish, and the spices listed. I like how you can easily vary the spices to your liking or to coordinate with your meal – very versatile. I would highly recommend.






  33. The best chicken breast ever! So glad I brined it and baked at 450 as you recommended. Will use this method forever. Thank you






  34. I can’t even explain how amazing this chicken was. Every time I eat chicken I feel like its rubbery or undercooked but this was amazing. The brining worked so well and the flavors were awesome. Will make again.






  35. This recipe is a life saver for someone like me who doesn’t love to cook. I’m embarrassed to say it’s only taken me 30 years to learn that home cooked chicken doesn’t have to be dry and flavorless! Thanks for this method which is not only easy but delicious too. PS: I cook my chicken at 425 degrees in a glass pan and it works just great. Thank you!

  36. This recipe is great. Easy and the chicken baked moist and tender. I served mine with a small amount of Dalmatia Fig Spread and balsamic glaze drizzle. The vinegar offset the mild sweetness of the fig spread. I also oven roasted baby potatoes and asparagus. Such a quick and easy meal.






  37. OH MY GOODNESS. FIRST TIME AND I LOVE IT. WILL BE MY GO TO FROM NOW ON. THANK YOU.

  38. This chicken recipe was very delicious. Perfect for a quick dinner that looks and taste like you prepared half the day.






  39. This is truly the best way to bake chicken breasts that have been frozen. Perfect!!!






  40. I use this in my commercial kitchen and my customers rave about how awesome and tender and juicy it is!!! Thanks so much!!

  41. Looking forward to trying it

  42. Tried this out with frozen chicken breasts I thawed from the freezer – I brined them in the fridge for a few hours before I cooked them and they were total perfection!!! I followed the directions as is and had to cook a little longer because my chicken breasts were thick. I will definitely make these again!!






  43. Omg!!! You changed my life with this recipe! I brined, used the butter, made a quick mix of the spices you suggested and cooked 17 minutes on 450!!! Quick, Easy and PERFECTLY delicious!!! Thank you!!

  44. If only preparing 2 breasts instead of 4 should I stick with the given brine instructions (salt to water)? Thank you!






    • Yes, you should stick to the brine instructions. Handful of salt in a big bowl of water is a good brine estimate, but if you want to get technical, a good ratio is 1 cup NaCl to 1 gallon H20.

  45. Absolutely delicious! I won’t bake chicken any other way! Moist, tender, fully cooked!

  46. 20 min at450 was NOT even enough time – I pounded mine but they were still thick – no way 17 min is Enid time – it was almost 40

    • Right there with you, I’ve followed these directions several times trying different pans each time and I always have to put ir back in several times. Usually ends up taking about 25-30 minutes.

    • I think people should keep in mind that temperatures vary from oven to oven. Try testing the accuracy of your oven’s temperature if the cooking times seem off. Sometimes the stated temperature on the oven is incorrect.

  47. Amazing!!! I did the first two steps and then used turmeric, chili powder and paprika – along with salt & ground pepper – and then baked it as suggested My oven started smoking a bit so I took them out at 14 minutes and they were perfect. Thank You!!






  48. The chicken will not cook in 18 minutes even with the brining technique. Wasn’t even close to being done. Had to cook it more than twice as long, especially taking it out to check the temp every 5-10 minutes it took closer to an hour.






    • Kenton, your oven’s broken, dude….If it took you “closer to an hour” at 450, then your oven wasn’t anywhere close to 450….

  49. Super easy and tasty. Next time I will probably sear the chicken breasts then throw in the oven. I didn’t get a crispy outside even with broiling.






  50. It was perfect. I’m an experienced Home Chef and I have mastered almost everything except for Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast in the Oven. Tried your method. 45 minute brine. Cooked hot at 450 for 20 minutes (breasts were thick) came out perfect. Thanks!