This is the BEST Baked Chicken Breast recipe – the chicken is juicy, and the 6 marinade and spice rubs help you meal prep chicken deliciously!
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How to Bake Chicken
The technique of making baked chicken breast is easy; the key is getting the timing down. Because it's so lean, it can be easy to over cook chicken breast. Too little cooking time, however, can lead to a big mess of food poisoning – trust me, nobody wants that!
There are some basic kitchen tools that can help you get the job done right.
Meat Mallet
Chicken breasts are naturally uneven in size and thickness; one end is much larger than the other. As a result, you can end up with chicken that’s cooked perfectly on one end and undercooked on the other. Using a meat mallet will help ensure that the chicken cooks evenly all the way through.
There are two sides to a meat mallet, a flat side and a spiked side. The flat is side is for pounding and the other is for tenderizing.
Place the chicken breasts onto a cutting board and cover them with a layer of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of the mallet, lightly pound the breasts so that all sides of the chicken are roughly the same thickness. Don’t pound it out too thinly; we’re not making a chicken scallopini!
Meat Thermometer
Chicken and other poultry are considered safe for eating when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You may hear people suggest to cook chicken until it is “no longer pink in the center”. While it is true that properly baked chicken breast isn’t pink, using an instant-read meat thermometer is the safest way to know for sure.
Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast. Chicken will continue to cook for a few minutes after it is removed from the oven. This is known as carryover cooking. To compensate for this, remove the chicken from the oven when the thermometer reads 162 degrees. Place it onto a cutting board and tent it with some aluminum foil so it stays warm.
Baked Chicken Breast Cook Time
When you make large beef roasts, or even a whole chicken or turkey, the cooking is done “low and slow”. However, this isn’t the case with baked chicken breast.
To keep the breasts juicy and flavourful, you want to cook them at a higher temperature. On the other hand, cooking them at too high of a temperature will dry the chicken out. An oven temperature of 375 or up to 400 degrees F is appropriate.
Depending on the size of the chicken breasts (please see notes in the recipe card itself… here), the total cooking time will be anywhere between 22 and 30 minutes.
If you have a side dish that you want to cook at the same time, you can reduce the oven temperature if necessary, but try to avoid this if possible. I like to cook the side dishes while the chicken is resting.
By the way, allowing baked chicken breast to rest for 10 to 15 minutes after cooking is very important. If you cut into the chicken too soon, all of the juices will run out.
Baked Chicken Breast Spice Rubs
You can cook chicken breast either using a simple marinade or spice rub.
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!
I've included an Italian seasoning, Indian seasoning and a classic Paprika-based seasoning if you're looking to use your chicken breasts in a more versatile way.
The classic seasoning pictured above is actually one of my go-tos for meal prep because the chicken is still flavourful while remaining relatively neutral, so you can add this type of chicken to just about anything from tacos to wraps, salads, homemade pita pizzas, casseroles and more.
Below is how the baked chicken breast looks once it's all cooked. There are so many more spice combinations that you can use for dry rubs as well so don't be afraid to get creative and mix and match different spices.
I usually start with garlic and/or onion powder along with some salt and pepper for general seasoning and then I will add my secondary spices like chili powder and cumin, or rosemary and basil. Curry powder is the star of the seasoning for my Indian-inspired seasoning mix, for example, and I use a combo of parsley, basil and oregano for the Italian chicken breasts. It all depends on what type of chicken you're feeling that day!
Baked Chicken Marinades
Now the marinades, as opposed to the dry rubs, are comprised of wet and dry ingredients and require that the chicken marinates in the liquid for at least 15 minutes to really soak up the flavours.
The dry rubs you can throw right into the oven right after seasoning so they are my go-to for when I need to cook chicken quickly, but 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 3 classic marinades in addition to the spice rubs below.
The first is a Greek chicken marinade that I make ALL the time and used to be a classic in my childhood. All you need is some tzatziki or a side of potatoes and veggies and you're set for dinner! It also makes for great meal prep.
The second marinade is an Asian marinade that also works really well for chicken thighs and you can bake the chicken using this marinade or you can grill it. It's so versatile and again, it goes with pretty much everything. Even just a side of broccoli or some noodles make this chicken breast a full meal.
The last marinade is a simple honey mustard marinade that, again, goes with everything. I prefer to cook this chicken breast up alongside some root vegetables on a sheet pan in order to meal prep for lunch or cook for dinner. Super easy and simple!
Side Dish Ideas for Oven Baked Chicken
The side dish options are absolutely limitless for these baked chicken recipes!
Besides the full meal ideas listed above, you can go ahead and pair these baked chicken breasts with just about any side dish and you'll have a healthy lunch or dinner ready to go in no time.
Personally what I like to do is prepare the side dish of choice while my chicken is baking in the oven. It's a super smart way to efficiently prepare your food and saves you so much time in the kitchen.
Here are my favourite healthy side dish ideas to pair with these oven baked chicken breasts:
- Steamed broccoli
- Roasted root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, baby potatoes
- Frozen sweet potato fries
- Sidekicks noodles packets or Uncle Ben's rice packs
- Sautéed spinach and garlic
- Frozen vegetable stir fry
- Cauliflower & cheese sauce
- Baked potatoes
Reheating Leftover Chicken Breast
Now, I know one of the chief complaints about leftover chicken is that you sometimes get a funky taste that you just can't get rid of. I have a few strategies for avoiding this but obviously any type of food is never going to be as good leftover and reheated as it is when enjoyed fresh.
However, you can make leftover chicken taste better by doing the following:
- Undercooking 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 sauteeing
- 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
Making Multiple Baked Chicken Recipes at a Time
Baking multiple different kinds of chicken breast at a time is super easy with my fave meal prep hack!
Let's say you want to make all three of the marinades or all three of the spice rubs at once. Well, it's really simple to do and is great when you're wanting to meal prep different flavours of chicken for different recipes during the week.
All you have to do is make little dividers using tin foil as shown below 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. You can easily adjust this on the recipe card below to make enough seasoning for a single portion and then just bake as usual but enjoy a variety of different seasonings all week!
More Chicken Breast Recipes
If you're looking for some more easy ways to cook chicken breasts, then you have to try the below recipes! They're also made using pantry staples as sauces and these three recipes are also sheet pan recipes so you can minimize clean up and cook time. They'll become your new meal prep go-to recipes in no time!
Tools for Making Baked Chicken Breasts
- 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
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Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts (see instructions for 6oz, 8oz and 10oz breasts below)
Greek marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Asian marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 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
Classic spice rub
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
Italian spice rub
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
Indian spice rub
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground dry ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt & pepper
Instructions
For Marinades
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix together chicken marinades in a small bowl and pour over chicken in a Ziploc bag or small bowl (leave out 1 tbsp olive oil listed above). Marinate for 15 minutes.
- 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 slicing one of the breasts down the middle. 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 slicing one of the breasts down the middle. 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
Nutrition
*Nutritional info is for one 8oz baked chicken breast
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 🙂
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!
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.