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My favorite oven baked chicken breasts recipe! It never fails, thanks to this simple 5-step method that is easy to make and customize with your favorite seasonings.
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: which I have owned and used for years when cooking chicken, which currently retails for about $14 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) plus it can either beep or send an alert to your cell phone, and currently retails for about $33 on Amazon.
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.
Brine
Brush
Rub
Roast
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.
To brine chicken, simply fill a big bowl half full with lukewarm water. Stir in a handful of salt until it mostly dissolves. Add ice cubes or cold water to lower the temperature of the water so that it is cool to the touch. 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 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 thenafter 5-10 minutes, you can finally serve and enjoy your perfectly-cooked chicken breasts.
And enjoy every last bite. ♡
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:
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:
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.)
Side Dish Recipe Ideas
Looking for some side dishes to serve with this baked chicken recipe? Here are a few of my faves:
Learn how to make juicy, tender, delicious baked chicken breasts with this simple 5-step method.
Ingredients
Scale
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
1 tablespoon melted butter or olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
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 mixing bowl with 2 cups of lukewarm water and 1/4 cup kosher salt. Stir to combine until most of the salt is absorbed. Add 2 cups of cold water (or a few ice cubes) to lower the temperature of the water so that it is cool to the touch. 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.
Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 450°F.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
I first tried this recipe for my daughter who was staying with us while recovering from surgery. She has numerous dietary restrictions so I thought this sounded like a great try. I made it wit roasted potatoes. Talk about a major hit. My daughter and my husband raved about it!! It has been made numerous times since. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. Tasted, moist and was easy to prepare. How much better does it get?
Stacy —
So so so so good. I got a high 5 from my husband with this on the table. The texture is absolutely incredible. I love cooking so I’m no slouch and this is easily the best chicken I’ve ever made. I will be doing this weekly!
Susan —
Delicious and will be my go-to for baking chicken breasts from now on. I honestly didn’t measure the water or salt for the brine – just filled a bowl and shook some kosher salt in. I had one large breast and one medium breast and used the full amount of seasoning. When it comes to meat, I “cook by feel” because there are so many variables that affect the time needed. I baked at 450, and checked after 10 minutes, then again after 15. All in all, it took about 20 minutes for perfectly done, extremely juicy and tasty breast! Thank you for the great guide!
My husband tried this recipe and chose to bake the the chicken breasts at 450. Unfortunately, the baking dish he used shattered. I wasn’t home at the time so I didn’t find out until later. I told him that most glass or ceramic baking dishes can’t go above 400. He then brought me to your website and I looked to see if you had provided a disclaimer, which you did. I would just make the suggestion of bumping that disclaimer as close to the top as possible, because he honestly overlooked it at the very bottom of the recipe.
I just wanted to thank you because the last few times I have tried baking chicken breasts, I had to throw them in the trash due to being rubbery and uneatable!!! I did your recipe last night and you really know how to prepare and bake these beauties!!! I used half avacado oil and half butter, they were amazing!!!!! Thanks 🙏 so much!!
I have been married for 3 years and I overcook my chicken breast no matter what I do. This recipe was incredible- my chicken turned out absolutely perfect and so juicy! If it works for me, it will work for anyone. Thank you for this great recipe!
I am a horrible cook and these were good, even though I misread the dial and cooked them on a lower temp! It was so good to eat chicken that was not tough as shoe leather and equally tasteless! Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s been great every time. Additionally, I have made other recipes from you and have had a similar experience. Thank you very much!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been cooking/baking chicken for decades but the tips like using a thermometer and soaking the chicken in brine were new to me. What a difference they made!
I had the same experience as others with regards to how long it took to bake.
This is my first visit to gimmesomeoven and I’ll be back! Especially to check out her other “back to basics” recipes.
This was solid. My husband overcooks thin sliced chicken breast with no seasoning. I got these cooked before he could get his hands on them, using regular chicken breasts. My son commented how much better these were than dad’s, lol. I put them in for 20 minutes, because the 3 breasts were almost 2 pounds total, and they were at temp when I took them out. We ate half and will eat the rest later. My son asked for the process and I gave him all the tips including the Pyrex warning.
Best chicken ever! I’ve been brining pork for years but never thought to do it with chicken. Brined for about 3 hours then followed the rest of the directions. I used medium sized skinless breasts and they took longer than the recipe stated; cook time was 28 minutes. My husband loved them! I’ll be doing this again!
The reason I want to bake chicken ever, rather than any other method is to reduce mess and effort. Why brush chicken with oil, when there is no way that your 1 tbspn will brush onto that many chicken breasts? Empty your container you brined in, add seasoning and oil and mix to coat evenly, while reducing need for kitchen gadgets and cleanup? Why are we adding salt after adding salt? For a high salt diet? You do not need nearly as much salt in your water to effectively brine, again. are we trying to home cook or give people high blood pressure? (1 tbspn per cup of water effective). Patting with paper towels after soaking in water is neither effective or very useful, as well as wasteful. You need more spices than those in your recipe for your chicken to have much seasoning. May cook in this time in a brand new convection oven, but yes took 8 minutes longer than you suggest. I was disappointed to say the least with this being a top search hit, and having so many positive reviews. To say you have made this dish dozens of times, and it not actually being accurate or correct? Do you sell space on this website because you know what your talking about? Not tops in my book.
Lauren —
Did you use kosher salt or sea salt which is less dense than regular salt? Also I find patting dry helps the oil and spices actually stick to the chicken. How can one person know everyone’s oven type, if you have an older oven then it makes sense to cook longer, not really a big deal.
Megan —
I hardly think any insult was necessary. Many of us were pleased. It sounds like you had a different experience, and also have a different taste. I do like your suggestions on the salt, but for someone who doesn’t like salt, I think it would be appropriate to be a tad less salty. Try a dash of sugar, might sweeten you up a bit 😘
Valerie —
That was rude.
Krystal Mcquaid —
The recipe calls for 1 quart of water and 1/4 of salt for the brine. If you do the math that would be one tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of water which is what you suggested.
Excellent recipe for chicken breasts.! The chicken breasts I used were very large. Brined them for almost 5 hours. I did pound the breasts to make them more uniform but still took about 30 minutes at 450. Used a parchment lined baking sheet which worked well. The seasoning is spot on. IMO, the brining is key. Really makes them nice and moist, and tender. And I would also recommend using a meat mallet to flatten them out. They were about 3/4 inch thick when baked. Plan to shred the meat for southwest chicken soup. Appreciate reading the comments. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!😁🍗🐓👍
I just made this tonight! I’m raving to my daughter & my sister about how delicious & juicy these chicken breasts are! They both asked for the recipe!! 👍👍
Thank you for the brining technique! I didn’t know 15 minutes is enough to do it. It worked and I made the juiciest baked chicken breast! The 18 minutes was perfect for just 2 pieces of breast.
Try the 15 minutes lukewarm brine for those who skipped it!
I followed the recipe and baked it at 450°, but my chicken was nowhere near 165° after 18 minutes.
It took me more than 30 minutes at 450° to cook thoroughly.
Love when I follow a recipe and get raw chicken 😊 absolutely delicious 🤤. No, I didn’t use a glass pan. Yes, I double checked temp. Y’all gotta learn to cook your chicken for more than 20 minutes
Shoulda known when I saw multiple other comments saying the same thing. Learn how to cook before you give someone salmonella with your terrible recipes. JFC.
Sally —
Do you realize that ovens vary widely in heat distribution and heat stability. Old oven tend to have cold spots and temp may not be accurate especially if you use electric oven. The new convection ovens are super efficient with best results. I think your comment was disrespectful.
Janice —
I’m always surprised when people don’t realize that baking times in recipes—any recipe and all recipes—are not to be assumed to be accurate to the last minute. They are ballpark figures only. As others have said, ovens vary. This is the very reason that when the times are given, they are almost always followed by the word “or”—-as in “or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean” or as in the case of this recipe, “or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. “
I have chicken I pulled out of the freezer and I find frozen chicken tends to be more dry. I did the brine and even my husband said the chicken was much better and I only used salt pepper and sweet paprika! Will be using a brine from now on.
This is our go-to chicken recipe. I have tried a number of different ways to cook chicken including sous vide and this is the only one that turns out great (tender) every time.
Just tried this and the whole family loved it. Finally chicken breast that wa juicy and delicious. It was so easy to prepare and easy to season. I definitely recommend this recipe. 👌
I never feel like I have time to cook, but your recipe made it convenient! I didn’t have to temp the chicken 5 different times before it was done. I didn’t have time to brine the chicken, but it turned out moist and tasty. I can’t wait to do this again including the brining step! Thank you!
Be very careful with resting the meat for too long (I would avoid it outright beyond the time it takes to remove from the oven and plate). There are a few reasons:
1) Carry-over cooking. Just because you remove the chicken from the oven, it doesn’t mean it won’t stop cooking. Pulling the chicken out at 165 degrees and letting it rest will cause the temperature to continue rising – it gets worse if you don’t remove the chicken until well beyond 165.
2) Letting it rest too long can cause the meat to begin to – for lack of a better term, cease up – causing the tenderness to turn to chewiness
3) There has been countless personal and lab experiments that consistently demonstrate that while resting DOES allow for moisture to be re-absorbed, the difference is almost immaterial
I would not INSIST that the recipe call for resting, but if you’re going to put it in there, then I’d make a note that if you are going to rest the meat for 5-10 minutes, you remove the chicken from the oven at 163-164.
Chicken breast cost so much now that I’ve been buying boneless chicken breast already sliced very thin. There are five of the sliced breast’s per pkg. at H‑E‑B, and I followed your directions every step. I used a meat thermometer and checked the breast in 15 minutes. When I used the meat thermometer it registered 185. So I new they were done. And they were great, so my question is, would the meat be done if cooked 10 to 12 minutes if the thermometer said 165? This was baking them with butter at 450’ for 15 minutes. But even my husband loved how juicy and tender they were. I just wondered if they would be as juicy at 12 minutes and would they be done? Thank you so much.
imcrow —
165°F is fully cooked for chicken breasts. Higher temps than that tends to dry out and toughen the meat. A high fat content (butter or oil) could make the chicken seem juicy, although it actually is greasy.
Try pulling it out of the oven at 165°, let it rest for no more than 5 minutes, and you’ll see the difference.
Per the recipe, I cooked at 450. I had two breasts of chicken. I set the timer for ten minutes to check and they were already done. Came out dry and too salty, even after rinsing salt off the chicken after brining. There was no crispiness to the outside. I used butter instead of oil. There were plenty of juices in the pan but I was not impressed with the taste or texture.
Best chicken I’ve ever made! Not fail recipe here. I briefly saw comments on time. I would suggest slicing the breasts in half and making them into thinner cutlets.
Usually when I get chicken they are not all proportionate. Some are thicker, to solve this I make sure they are similar in size by cutting them.
Sometimes I’ve gone to small and will just stack a thin one on top of another thin one.
I do mine at the high temp of 450. Slice them after letting them rest. Then place the pieces back in the juice from the tray to make them juicy.
Tried this last night with my husband (I omitted the step of brushing oil/butter on the chicken before seasoning), and it turned out incredible! It really does depend on the size of your chicken breasts and how flat you pound them. Ours were perfect at 15 minutes with a short broil at the end. I will always cook my oven-baked chicken like this now! Thank you!
I discovered this recipe a couple of years ago, and this has been the only way I have made chicken breast since! It’s delicious and juicy and easy. Thanks!
A comment below said glass shattered at 450, but I have only used glass baking dishes with no problem.
Yum! I had 2 good sized boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Followed your instructions in brining (20 min) & baked at 425°. They were done in 20 minutes. Tented for 10 min. Turned out great.
I’ll use more seasoning next time. I was really shy in adding garlic salt etc.
Will definitely be using your recipe in the future.
Maureen
Absolutely delicious!!! I learned to brine chicken today thanks to this. I love cooking and not to brag but I’m good at it and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this. Again, thank you. May I put this recipe in my recipe book??
This recipe turned out delicious & juicy, however, much too salty! Chicken was not dry & I did use the broiler the last 3-5 minutes to crisp it up. I used 1/4 cup regular salt in the brine. Should I have used less? Plus I used the 1 tsp salt called for in the seasoning recipe. Any suggestions of what I did wrong? I would love to try this recipe again but need pointers on the salt usage for the brine & seasoning. Thank you!
Delicious! Did have to cook it a bit longer than you said, but that could be my oven!! I usually hate cooking chicken but this recipe was so easy and tasty! Will cook again :)
Made this tonight during an ice storm! Wanted something fast in case the power went out. OMG!!! This is AMAZING!!!!! Definitely adding in to my ‘quick and easy’ dinner rotation!!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you Ali for all the time you must have spent to get the recipe perfect for us to use. I was pressed for time to get the meal prep ready for 22 people so I burned the chicken in the refrigerator overnight. I baked it all today using your exact recipe and because some breasts were thick I used a meat mallet to pound them evenly. They turned out so perfect and the seasoning was a big hit and BTW, 18- 20 minutes was perfect! Everyone gave me compliments even the one who said she normally doesn’t like chicken. They were juicy tender and very tasty. Again, Thank you.
First of all, super easy and tasty. I’d recommend this recipe to anyone. I have a question if I wanted to freeze some, what would the reheating directions be?
This was a fail for me. My internal temp using a meat thermometer was only 125. It took 15 more minutes at 375. My smoke alarm was going off at such a high temp and the juices were burning but the meat inside was not cooked.
Ok wow this chicken is absolutely delicious and SO easy. I’ve always despised cooking chicken because I never felt I could ever get it exactly right, but that has changed! So juicy, so tender. So healthy, too! I will be eating a lot more chicken now and a lot less pasta. Couldn’t recommend this recipe enough!
What a game changer it was to cook the chicken at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time. It was the most juicy baked chicken breast I have ever made!
18 min wasn’t even close to enough time to get 5 chicken breasts to 165
It took 33 minutes for two medium sized chicken breasts to cook….
Exactly, 18 minutes if your chicken breasts are thin perhaps…like cutlets. It will take much longer for typical store-bought breasts.
I first tried this recipe for my daughter who was staying with us while recovering from surgery. She has numerous dietary restrictions so I thought this sounded like a great try. I made it wit roasted potatoes. Talk about a major hit. My daughter and my husband raved about it!! It has been made numerous times since. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. Tasted, moist and was easy to prepare. How much better does it get?
So so so so good. I got a high 5 from my husband with this on the table. The texture is absolutely incredible. I love cooking so I’m no slouch and this is easily the best chicken I’ve ever made. I will be doing this weekly!
Delicious and will be my go-to for baking chicken breasts from now on. I honestly didn’t measure the water or salt for the brine – just filled a bowl and shook some kosher salt in. I had one large breast and one medium breast and used the full amount of seasoning. When it comes to meat, I “cook by feel” because there are so many variables that affect the time needed. I baked at 450, and checked after 10 minutes, then again after 15. All in all, it took about 20 minutes for perfectly done, extremely juicy and tasty breast! Thank you for the great guide!
This is my Go-To recipe for chicken breast….never disappointed in how it turns out. So juice & flavorful. Pure Perfection
My husband tried this recipe and chose to bake the the chicken breasts at 450. Unfortunately, the baking dish he used shattered. I wasn’t home at the time so I didn’t find out until later. I told him that most glass or ceramic baking dishes can’t go above 400. He then brought me to your website and I looked to see if you had provided a disclaimer, which you did. I would just make the suggestion of bumping that disclaimer as close to the top as possible, because he honestly overlooked it at the very bottom of the recipe.
Nice hint. Had no clue but I love glass
So what should I use? Please help me out.
I just wanted to thank you because the last few times I have tried baking chicken breasts, I had to throw them in the trash due to being rubbery and uneatable!!! I did your recipe last night and you really know how to prepare and bake these beauties!!! I used half avacado oil and half butter, they were amazing!!!!! Thanks 🙏 so much!!
Simply delicious!
I have been married for 3 years and I overcook my chicken breast no matter what I do. This recipe was incredible- my chicken turned out absolutely perfect and so juicy! If it works for me, it will work for anyone. Thank you for this great recipe!
Had never brined chicken breasts before – it’s a game changer! I will continue to use this process – best chicken breasts I’ve ever made.
I am a horrible cook and these were good, even though I misread the dial and cooked them on a lower temp! It was so good to eat chicken that was not tough as shoe leather and equally tasteless! Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s been great every time. Additionally, I have made other recipes from you and have had a similar experience. Thank you very much!
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been cooking/baking chicken for decades but the tips like using a thermometer and soaking the chicken in brine were new to me. What a difference they made!
I had the same experience as others with regards to how long it took to bake.
This is my first visit to gimmesomeoven and I’ll be back! Especially to check out her other “back to basics” recipes.
What would be the best cook time for bone in breast
350 F needs 1 hour. 375 F needs 3/4 hour
This was solid. My husband overcooks thin sliced chicken breast with no seasoning. I got these cooked before he could get his hands on them, using regular chicken breasts. My son commented how much better these were than dad’s, lol. I put them in for 20 minutes, because the 3 breasts were almost 2 pounds total, and they were at temp when I took them out. We ate half and will eat the rest later. My son asked for the process and I gave him all the tips including the Pyrex warning.
Your recipes are always solid. Thank you!
Best chicken ever! I’ve been brining pork for years but never thought to do it with chicken. Brined for about 3 hours then followed the rest of the directions. I used medium sized skinless breasts and they took longer than the recipe stated; cook time was 28 minutes. My husband loved them! I’ll be doing this again!
Love this recipe – thank you! My family is so happy with how juicy the chicken breast is now!
The reason I want to bake chicken ever, rather than any other method is to reduce mess and effort. Why brush chicken with oil, when there is no way that your 1 tbspn will brush onto that many chicken breasts? Empty your container you brined in, add seasoning and oil and mix to coat evenly, while reducing need for kitchen gadgets and cleanup? Why are we adding salt after adding salt? For a high salt diet? You do not need nearly as much salt in your water to effectively brine, again. are we trying to home cook or give people high blood pressure? (1 tbspn per cup of water effective). Patting with paper towels after soaking in water is neither effective or very useful, as well as wasteful. You need more spices than those in your recipe for your chicken to have much seasoning. May cook in this time in a brand new convection oven, but yes took 8 minutes longer than you suggest. I was disappointed to say the least with this being a top search hit, and having so many positive reviews. To say you have made this dish dozens of times, and it not actually being accurate or correct? Do you sell space on this website because you know what your talking about? Not tops in my book.
Did you use kosher salt or sea salt which is less dense than regular salt? Also I find patting dry helps the oil and spices actually stick to the chicken. How can one person know everyone’s oven type, if you have an older oven then it makes sense to cook longer, not really a big deal.
I hardly think any insult was necessary. Many of us were pleased. It sounds like you had a different experience, and also have a different taste. I do like your suggestions on the salt, but for someone who doesn’t like salt, I think it would be appropriate to be a tad less salty. Try a dash of sugar, might sweeten you up a bit 😘
That was rude.
The recipe calls for 1 quart of water and 1/4 of salt for the brine. If you do the math that would be one tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of water which is what you suggested.
Excellent recipe for chicken breasts.! The chicken breasts I used were very large. Brined them for almost 5 hours. I did pound the breasts to make them more uniform but still took about 30 minutes at 450. Used a parchment lined baking sheet which worked well. The seasoning is spot on. IMO, the brining is key. Really makes them nice and moist, and tender. And I would also recommend using a meat mallet to flatten them out. They were about 3/4 inch thick when baked. Plan to shred the meat for southwest chicken soup. Appreciate reading the comments. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!😁🍗🐓👍
I just made this tonight! I’m raving to my daughter & my sister about how delicious & juicy these chicken breasts are! They both asked for the recipe!! 👍👍
I had one large chicken breast and it was perfectly done in 18 minutes. I will make this again! Thank you for the precise instructioins.
Where do you have the oven rack when roasting? Top? Bottom? or Middle?
Thank you!
Thank you for the brining technique! I didn’t know 15 minutes is enough to do it. It worked and I made the juiciest baked chicken breast! The 18 minutes was perfect for just 2 pieces of breast.
Try the 15 minutes lukewarm brine for those who skipped it!
I followed the recipe and baked it at 450°, but my chicken was nowhere near 165° after 18 minutes.
It took me more than 30 minutes at 450° to cook thoroughly.
Love when I follow a recipe and get raw chicken 😊 absolutely delicious 🤤. No, I didn’t use a glass pan. Yes, I double checked temp. Y’all gotta learn to cook your chicken for more than 20 minutes
Shoulda known when I saw multiple other comments saying the same thing. Learn how to cook before you give someone salmonella with your terrible recipes. JFC.
Do you realize that ovens vary widely in heat distribution and heat stability. Old oven tend to have cold spots and temp may not be accurate especially if you use electric oven. The new convection ovens are super efficient with best results. I think your comment was disrespectful.
I’m always surprised when people don’t realize that baking times in recipes—any recipe and all recipes—are not to be assumed to be accurate to the last minute. They are ballpark figures only. As others have said, ovens vary. This is the very reason that when the times are given, they are almost always followed by the word “or”—-as in “or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean” or as in the case of this recipe, “or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. “
I have chicken I pulled out of the freezer and I find frozen chicken tends to be more dry. I did the brine and even my husband said the chicken was much better and I only used salt pepper and sweet paprika! Will be using a brine from now on.
This is our go-to chicken recipe. I have tried a number of different ways to cook chicken including sous vide and this is the only one that turns out great (tender) every time.
Just tried this and the whole family loved it. Finally chicken breast that wa juicy and delicious. It was so easy to prepare and easy to season. I definitely recommend this recipe. 👌
I never feel like I have time to cook, but your recipe made it convenient! I didn’t have to temp the chicken 5 different times before it was done. I didn’t have time to brine the chicken, but it turned out moist and tasty. I can’t wait to do this again including the brining step! Thank you!
Be very careful with resting the meat for too long (I would avoid it outright beyond the time it takes to remove from the oven and plate). There are a few reasons:
1) Carry-over cooking. Just because you remove the chicken from the oven, it doesn’t mean it won’t stop cooking. Pulling the chicken out at 165 degrees and letting it rest will cause the temperature to continue rising – it gets worse if you don’t remove the chicken until well beyond 165.
2) Letting it rest too long can cause the meat to begin to – for lack of a better term, cease up – causing the tenderness to turn to chewiness
3) There has been countless personal and lab experiments that consistently demonstrate that while resting DOES allow for moisture to be re-absorbed, the difference is almost immaterial
I would not INSIST that the recipe call for resting, but if you’re going to put it in there, then I’d make a note that if you are going to rest the meat for 5-10 minutes, you remove the chicken from the oven at 163-164.
Chicken breast cost so much now that I’ve been buying boneless chicken breast already sliced very thin. There are five of the sliced breast’s per pkg. at H‑E‑B, and I followed your directions every step. I used a meat thermometer and checked the breast in 15 minutes. When I used the meat thermometer it registered 185. So I new they were done. And they were great, so my question is, would the meat be done if cooked 10 to 12 minutes if the thermometer said 165? This was baking them with butter at 450’ for 15 minutes. But even my husband loved how juicy and tender they were. I just wondered if they would be as juicy at 12 minutes and would they be done? Thank you so much.
165°F is fully cooked for chicken breasts. Higher temps than that tends to dry out and toughen the meat. A high fat content (butter or oil) could make the chicken seem juicy, although it actually is greasy.
Try pulling it out of the oven at 165°, let it rest for no more than 5 minutes, and you’ll see the difference.
Amazing! Very juicy! Thank you so much for sharing!❤️
Per the recipe, I cooked at 450. I had two breasts of chicken. I set the timer for ten minutes to check and they were already done. Came out dry and too salty, even after rinsing salt off the chicken after brining. There was no crispiness to the outside. I used butter instead of oil. There were plenty of juices in the pan but I was not impressed with the taste or texture.
Best chicken I’ve ever made! Not fail recipe here. I briefly saw comments on time. I would suggest slicing the breasts in half and making them into thinner cutlets.
Usually when I get chicken they are not all proportionate. Some are thicker, to solve this I make sure they are similar in size by cutting them.
Sometimes I’ve gone to small and will just stack a thin one on top of another thin one.
I do mine at the high temp of 450. Slice them after letting them rest. Then place the pieces back in the juice from the tray to make them juicy.
Love this recipe!
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Tried this last night with my husband (I omitted the step of brushing oil/butter on the chicken before seasoning), and it turned out incredible! It really does depend on the size of your chicken breasts and how flat you pound them. Ours were perfect at 15 minutes with a short broil at the end. I will always cook my oven-baked chicken like this now! Thank you!
I discovered this recipe a couple of years ago, and this has been the only way I have made chicken breast since! It’s delicious and juicy and easy. Thanks!
A comment below said glass shattered at 450, but I have only used glass baking dishes with no problem.
Yum! I had 2 good sized boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Followed your instructions in brining (20 min) & baked at 425°. They were done in 20 minutes. Tented for 10 min. Turned out great.
I’ll use more seasoning next time. I was really shy in adding garlic salt etc.
Will definitely be using your recipe in the future.
Maureen
Absolutely delicious!!! I learned to brine chicken today thanks to this. I love cooking and not to brag but I’m good at it and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this. Again, thank you. May I put this recipe in my recipe book??
This recipe turned out delicious & juicy, however, much too salty! Chicken was not dry & I did use the broiler the last 3-5 minutes to crisp it up. I used 1/4 cup regular salt in the brine. Should I have used less? Plus I used the 1 tsp salt called for in the seasoning recipe. Any suggestions of what I did wrong? I would love to try this recipe again but need pointers on the salt usage for the brine & seasoning. Thank you!
Are used less salt in the brine.
Absolutely delicious! Made the recipe as printed. Great flavor and juicy. Thank you so much!
Looked just like the picture! Very good . Thank you!
Delicious! Did have to cook it a bit longer than you said, but that could be my oven!! I usually hate cooking chicken but this recipe was so easy and tasty! Will cook again :)
Made this tonight during an ice storm! Wanted something fast in case the power went out. OMG!!! This is AMAZING!!!!! Definitely adding in to my ‘quick and easy’ dinner rotation!!!! Thank you!!!
Thank you Ali for all the time you must have spent to get the recipe perfect for us to use. I was pressed for time to get the meal prep ready for 22 people so I burned the chicken in the refrigerator overnight. I baked it all today using your exact recipe and because some breasts were thick I used a meat mallet to pound them evenly. They turned out so perfect and the seasoning was a big hit and BTW, 18- 20 minutes was perfect! Everyone gave me compliments even the one who said she normally doesn’t like chicken. They were juicy tender and very tasty. Again, Thank you.
I meant brined not burnet at all!!
First of all, super easy and tasty. I’d recommend this recipe to anyone. I have a question if I wanted to freeze some, what would the reheating directions be?
This was a fail for me. My internal temp using a meat thermometer was only 125. It took 15 more minutes at 375. My smoke alarm was going off at such a high temp and the juices were burning but the meat inside was not cooked.
Ok wow this chicken is absolutely delicious and SO easy. I’ve always despised cooking chicken because I never felt I could ever get it exactly right, but that has changed! So juicy, so tender. So healthy, too! I will be eating a lot more chicken now and a lot less pasta. Couldn’t recommend this recipe enough!
I have never made chicken this moist and tender. I will ALWAYS be referring to this recipe when I bake chicken from now on!
What a game changer it was to cook the chicken at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time. It was the most juicy baked chicken breast I have ever made!
My m/l chicken breast wasn’t even close to being done at 18 min, 450 deg. Required another 11 min.
This is my go-to recipe for baked chicken breasts! So good!