Say goodbye to bland and boring chicken. These baked chicken breasts are juicy, tender, and perfectly seasoned – and they’re so easy to make!
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Recipe Highlights
I’ve made these baked chicken breasts more times than I can count. They’re great for dinner and perfect for meal prep. Change the seasonings to match your meal!
- Flavor: Perfectly seasoned and juicy, oven-baked chicken is an easy go-to anytime. This chicken pairs well with almost any side dish.
- Skill level: Season, bake, and serve with only one dish to wash.
- Prep note: Double the recipe and meal prep to use all week long.
- Recommended tools: An inexpensive meat thermometer is my number one kitchen recommendation for perfect proteins, especially chicken.
Ingredient Tips For Baked Chicken Breasts
- Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are similar in size so they cook evenly. In this recipe, I use 5-7 oz breasts.
- Oil: Olive oil helps the seasonings stick and helps with browning. Any light tasting oil can be used.
- Seasonings: In the recipe below, I use a simple seasoning mixture; you can use your favorite purchased mixture or a blend from your spice cabinet.
Seasonings For Chicken Breasts
This chicken is versatile; you can use your favorite seasoning blends like Greek Seasoning, Cajun Seasoning, or a simple lemon pepper blend.
Make it a meal: Add whole mushrooms, thinly sliced onions, sliced zucchini, and strips of colorful bell peppers to the sheet pan and bake up an instant veggie side dish.
Tips for Juicy Chicken
- Cooking time: The most important thing is to make sure the chicken isn’t overcooked. Using a meat thermometer, cook to 165°F.
- Cooking temp: I cook at a high temperature to get nice browning on the outside while keeping the meat tender. Bake chicken breasts at 400°F for 21 to 26 minutes.
- Rest time: Let the meat rest after cooking to allow the juices to recirculate back into the meat, keeping it extra juicy.
Serving Suggestions
- Sides: This baked chicken breast recipe pairs with almost anything from Oven Roasted Potatoes to Seasoned Rice. I also love to serve it with roasted broccoli or asparagus.
- Salads: This chicken is great hot or cold in salads like cobb salad or Caesar salad—and any leftovers can be chopped up for a chicken salad sandwich.
- Pasta: Baked chicken is perfect for adding slices to pasta like alfredo or served alongside mac and cheese.
Storing Leftovers/Meal Prep
Store leftover baked chicken breasts in an airtight, covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Chicken can be sliced or chopped and frozen for meal prep.
More Chicken Breast Recipes
Did you make these Oven Baked Chicken Breasts? Leave us a rating and comment below!
Equipment
- 9 x 13-inch Baking Pan lightly greased
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 oz each
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt or table salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a rimmed baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine chicken breasts, olive oil, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, paprika, and black pepper. Mix well to coat.
- Transfer the chicken to the prepared pan and bake uncovered for 21 to 26 minutes or until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Transfer to a plate or cutting board and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Cut into slices and drizzle with the juices.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Easy and delicious!
Thank you Sharon!
I had a difficult time finding which line you wanted us to copy and put in the part where you were calling for. As for the recipes, I love them all and are so easy to add other ingredients or swap out some. Thank you so much, please keep up the great work.
Thanks Carol! Glad to hear you enjoy them.
made the chicken for my son’s teacher appreciation week. They love the chicken caesar salad
So glad the chicken was a hit Jeanette!
Very good chicken and the seasonings I always have on hand so that is a big plus. Next time I want to wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil and have the hubby cook on the grill and add a shake or two of lemon pepper. Thank you for a keeper! Made and reviewed for the Alphabet Tag game.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Lori! I love the idea of grilling this recipe!
Easy recipe and smelled fantastic while cooking, delicious!
So happy to hear that Denise! Hope you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for such an easy, quick and delicious recipe. I followed the directions exactly (for the prep and seasoning rub, put them in a cast iron fry pan in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. Because my chicken breasts were large, I did have to add about 5 or 6 more minutes. The absolute juiciest, flavorful chicken ever.
That’s great Billie Jo! So happy to hear it worked out for you!
So am I supposed to cover it or no
These are cooked uncovered.
I’m using bone in breast because $.88 per pound. I’m roasting today and cutting up tomorrow for an orzo, roasted vegetable & chicken dish. Cant wait! Have my meat thermometer ready…
That sounds delicious KT!
Hi I am from Canada and we recently had a house fire and I’m trying to get back to cooking because my recipes and things were are gone sorry but that’s true. So I would like to make a chicken parmigiana dinner please. My mother passed away before our house fire so I can’t ask her and I have her recipes other than this. Just to let you know I am Irish and Scottish so a traditional Italian meal isn’t exactly something I grew up with sorry.
I’m so sorry to hear about your fire, how heartbreaking to lose your special momentos including your recipes. You can find my favorite Chicken Parmigiana recipe here. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know if you have any questions!
I am just starting but your recipes come highly recommended.
Hi Bonnie! So happy to have you! We hope you love these recipes just as much.
I hate articles that ramble on forever.
Literally all you needed to post was:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Toss chicken breasts with olive oil and seasonings. Mix well to coat.
Place on a lightly greased pan and bake 22-26 minutes or until temperature reaches 165°F.
Rest 5 minutes before slicing.
No one cares about your life story
Thanks for your feedback Alex, our goal is to help cooks of all abilities be successful with the recipes so we do include as much information as possible for those who want it (no personal stories, just recipe info). You will notice at the very top there is a spot that says jump to the recipe if you’d like to skip the information and get to the recipe. I hope that helps you in the future.
I appreciate all the information you provide
You could say it politely or just find something else. Hate is a strong way to respond to a recipe!
Alex, I like having the additional information. Sometimes it is something I know. Other times no. I like the suggestions for side dishes. I’m in a rut and it is nice to get new ideas.
Thanks, the recipe was delicious and best of all easy! Alex you are mean and nasty ……no reason for it at all. Maybe you should go to another website. Also please do not speak for me…..I like reading the “extras”.
Thank you! Finally, a baked chicken breast that was juicy and tender! Temperature and cooking time are accurate. I coated chicken with olive oil, then coated with bread crumbs seasoned. Also, parchment paper worked perfectly in the pan. No stick, no mess.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Jan!
i like chiken
Thanks!
This completely just helped me make baked chicken breast salads. I had fewer breasts and changed the seasonings; I merely adjusted the time a few mins earlier but left the breasts about 6-8 mins after turning off the heat and my goodness-tasty. Thanks so much!!!
Made it tonight. Was delicious! Even my super picky child loved it!
So happy to hear that your family loved these chicken breasts Jane!
I’m making this for myself and 5 guests. Family and friends. I also added garlic powder, a dash of sea salt and 2 packages of Sazón Goya. I’m making 7 breasts. They all love chicken. I know we’ll love it. Thanks for an easy recipe.
I hope everyone enjoyed the meal Shery!
Do you have recipe ideas for lunch for twelve? I have several who are gluten and dairy free…
Hi Julie,
This salad is great for feeding a crowd:
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Black-Bean-Quinoa-Salad-32-350×525.jpg
Crockpot shredded chicken is also great for feeding a crowd, without too much fuss:
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/crockpot-shredded-chicken/
I hope this helps!
Can kraft Italian dressing be used instead of Italian seasoning?
While I have only made this as written, I think you could make dressing work Virginia.
Did the 400F thing for 22 mins, checked with therm, were about 180F inside, pulled them out, put some bbq sauce on them, and a dash of cayenne, and put them back in on 350F for about 5 mins, and they were delicious and juicy. My mouth is watering right now…LoL thanks for the yummy chicken.
So glad you loved them… your flavors sound delish!!
I have used this recipe twice. Great results every time! As I am writing this there is chicken in the oven right now.I am recently widowed so cooking was done by my wife (good cooking). I happen upon this recipe one day and decided to give it a rookie try! I think that if I can bake good juicy chicken anybody can! Using this recipe you can not go wrong!Thank You !!!
I’m so glad you’ve loved this chicken as much as we do Steven! Happy Cooking!
This will be my SECOND time baking this for me and my wife. We both love it! Thank you for posting!
I am so glad your family has enjoyed this recipe GEaston!
thanks
You’re welcome Catherine. Enjoy!