This is the Perfect Juicy Baked Chicken Breast recipe – you’ll never get bored with six different seasoning and marinade ideas!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – use boneless skinless or bone-in skin-on chicken breasts (cooking times may vary).
Mediterranean-inspired marinade
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed or bottled lemon juice or even lime juice.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic or even garlic powder can be used if it’s all you have on hand.
- Oregano – use basil or parsley instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Teriyaki marinade
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos and tamari are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Sesame oil – you can use a neutral cooking oil like olive oil, but you’ll lose that sesame flavour.
- Brown sugar – sweeten the marinade with coconut sugar or maple syrup instead.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic or even garlic powder can be used if it’s all you have on hand.
- Ground ginger – fresh ginger would also be good.
Honey mustard marinade
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Honey – you could also use maple syrup or agave.
- Dijon mustard – stone-ground mustard will provide a similar flavour.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Rotisserie-inspired spice rub
- Paprika – swap out for more chili powder or cayenne for more of a kick.
- Chili powder – make your own using a blend of paprika, cumin and cayenne.
- Onion powder – substitute for garlic powder instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Italian-inspired spice rub
- Parsley – basil, chervil or oregano would all be good instead.
- Thyme – oregano or marjoram are the best substitutes here.
- Oregano – add some more basil or parsley in a pinch.
- Basil – use more oregano or thyme if you don’t have any basil.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Curried spice rub
- Cumin – coriander will provide a similar flavour.
- Turmeric – saffron would also be good.
- Curry powder – make your own using cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric and black pepper.
- Ground ginger – ground allspice or cinnamon would also work.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
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How to bake chicken breast
- Make your marinade or spice rub.
- Season the chicken.
- Bake in the oven.
- Let the chicken rest.
- Serve and enjoy!
Best chicken breast marinade for baking
You can cook baked chicken breast either using a simple marinade or spice rub.
Chicken marinades are comprised of wet and dry ingredients. The chicken will need to marinate in the liquid for at least 15 minutes to really soak up the flavours.
Spice rubs are also sometimes called a dry rub because no liquid is needed to bring out the flavour in the chicken besides a bit of olive oil of course. The spice rubs I've included in the recipe card below are very simple combinations of spices you're already likely to have on hand at home in your spice drawer!
Chicken with a dry rub can be thrown into the oven right after seasoning so they are my go-to for when I need to cook chicken quickly. However, marinades really help seal in the moisture of the chicken and are totally worth doing if you have that extra little bit of time.
The best part about chicken marinades is that they can also sit overnight or sometimes even in the freezer! You may want to check out this post that contains 20 easy chicken marinades if you're looking to get creative but if you're just wondering where to start, I've listed three of the best baked chicken marinade recipes in addition to spice rubs in the recipe card below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because it's so lean, it can be easy to overcook chicken breast. To keep the breasts juicy and flavourful, you want to cook them at a higher temperature, but not too high of a temperature to the point where the chicken dries out. For the juiciest baked chicken breast, I suggest cooking your chicken at 400°F.
The amount of time it takes to bake chicken breasts depends on the size. For smaller breasts, you'll cook closer to the 18-minute mark, and larger breasts may take up to 28 minutes. Keep in mind that all ovens are different, so the best bet is to use a meat thermometer to gauge the doneness of your baked chicken breast. On average though, most breasts are done within the 22-25 minute mark.
You don't need to cover your chicken when baking as it makes no difference in the juiciness – make things easy for yourself and bake it uncovered. Just make sure to let your chicken rest before serving, as this makes the biggest difference in juiciness.
Making multiple different kinds of baked chicken marinade at a time is super easy with my fave meal prep hack! All you have to do is make little dividers using tin foil and bake for the times directed in the recipe card at the end of this post. If you're just making three or four chicken breasts but using different seasonings make sure to adjust the amount of each spice in four.
Storing and reheating
You can store any leftover baked chicken breast in the fridge for up to 5 days. I know one of the chief complaints about leftover chicken is that dreaded leftover chicken taste – but there are a few things you can do to cut back on that weird taste. Try one of the following options:
- Undercook the chicken slightly before reheating – I will usually knock 5 minutes off the cook time in the oven and then reheat the chicken for 2 minutes in the microwave so that the microwave ends up cooking the chicken more and not overcooking it.
- Add some water before reheating – this is my go-to with most food items that I'm throwing back into the oven or microwave to reheat. Splash a tiny bit of water overtop of your chicken and then microwave for 2 minutes.
- Try reheating your chicken breast using a skillet – I find reheating in a skillet with a splash of water sometimes mitigates the gamey taste you can get with leftover chicken, especially if you add a bit of extra seasoning or sauce while sautéing.
- Add extra sauce – Yes, this seems obvious, but sauces (buffalo wing, honey mustard, BBQ, etc.) can really help to mask the funky chicken taste.
- Use a lemon or rosemary-based marinade– according to an article over at Serious Eats, lemon and rosemary have special compounds that help during the cooking process to minimize that yucky leftover taste
How to freeze chicken breasts
You can freeze baked chicken breasts cooked or raw in marinade for up to three months. If you’re freezing cooked chicken breast, let it cool before transferring the chicken to airtight glass containers. When you’re ready to enjoy, defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat as normal.
If you’re marinating and freezing raw chicken ahead of time, add the chicken and the marinade to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the chicken defrost in the fridge overnight then cook as normal.
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Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to store your baked chicken breast.
- Or you can chop it up and store in small 12-oz mason jars as pictured above. I do this when I have used multiple seasonings.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- A food scale is also handy for measuring your chicken breasts to get a more accurate idea of cook time.
- Finally, a meat mallet comes in handy if you want to flatten out your chicken to reduce cook time.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Perfect Juicy Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts (see instructions for 6oz, 8oz and 10oz breasts below)
Mediterranean-inspired marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Teriyaki marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari if gluten-free
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dry ground ginger
Honey mustard marinade
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Rotisserie-inspired spice rub
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
Italian-inspired spice rub
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
Curried spice rub
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground dry ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt & pepper
Instructions
For Marinades
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix chicken marinade of choice together in a small bowl and pour over chicken in a resealable bag or small bowl. Marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. If you'd like to do multiple marinades at a time, make dividers using your tin foil as shown in the video.
- For 6 oz breasts: bake 18-20 minutes. For 8 oz breasts: bake 20-22 minutes. For 10oz breasts: bake 25-28 minutes. Check that chicken is cooked through by using a meat thermometer. Make sure it registers at least 162 F degrees in the thickest part of the chicken. Oven temperatures will vary so cooking times may vary slightly.
- Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing or chopping. Store in mason jars for later or serve immediately with a side dish. Enjoy!
For Spice Rubs
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix together spice blends in a small bowl and toss chicken with spices and 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. If you'd like to do multiple spice blends at a time, make dividers using your tin foil as shown in the video.
- For 6 oz breasts: bake 18-20 minutes. For 8 oz breasts: bake 20-22 minutes. For 10oz breasts: bake 25-28 minutes. Check that chicken is cooked through by using a meat thermometer. Make sure it registers at least 162 F degrees in the thickest part of the chicken. Oven temperatures will vary so cooking times may vary slightly.
- Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing or chopping. Store in mason jars for later or serve immediately with a side dish. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Erin C M Grant says
Great ideas, thank you! I’ve tried a few and they are great!
Just wanted to point out a missing word from this sentence: “Just make sure to let your baked chicken breast before serving, as this makes the biggest difference in juiciness.”… you may be missing the word “rest”?
Thanks so much for all the recipes and inspiration!
Taylor Stinson says
Whoops, yes looks like a typo. Thanks for your help in pointing it out!
Laura says
What do we do with the 1 tbsp of olive oil?
Taylor Stinson says
You use it with the spice rubs! If using the marinades, disregard.
Marjorie says
Hi! Great food blog! I hate most food blogs because I don’t care a lot about how you made this dish when you first met you husband and he had the two dogs then which is how blah, blah, blah. I also love that the pictures are helpful and not just an example of how beautiful you can sprinkle flour around your tools. I like how the words and pictures are helpful in preparing the food. Bookmarked! Thank you!
Aaron says
I agree with Marjorie, it’s refreshing to have a recipe without a superfluous back story and useless fluff pictures that are purely eye-candy, but not helpful in any way. I just discovered this blog, but I have a feeling this will be among my favs!
Moe says
Hi, love these recipes! Do they freeze well?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Maureen! They do – you can freeze in glass bowls up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes with some water sprinkled overtop 🙂