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.
Sounds good. Unfortunately you did not recommend brining the breast for at least 3-4 hours before baking. A simple salt water brine makes all the difference in juiciness. Not for a salty flavor but to retain moisture. Chicken white meat in particular benefits from brining.
I have been using this recipe for over a year and I was so glad I found it! I use a variety of seasoning, Greek, Mexican, Italian, it all works. So simple and so tasty! Thank you for sharing!
Followed the recipe using olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and paprika. 22 minutes in the oven and the chicken was perfectly cooked and tasty.
I preheated my gas oven to 400 and baked skinless/boneless breasts for 26 minutes. They were about one-third still raw. I increased heat to 450 and pit thermometer on thick part of breast. Cooked another 15 minutes before temp read 165. Done but dry. I will try again starting at 450 next time. I will use these beasts, shredded, in another recipe.
Chicken breasts can vary in size from 5 oz to 10 oz. The cooking time listed is for average-sized boneless breasts (about 6oz or so).
The should be cooked to 165°F and should still be moist at that temperature. Ensure the chicken has time to rest after cooking (and remove it from the hot pan as it rests so it doesn’t continue cooking). Hope that helps.
This is my go-to recipe. We buy a large pack of boneless breasts at Costco, cook them all using this recipe and then freeze individually. It’s great always having delicious, tender chicken breasts on hand for quick dinners, on their own or cut up for salads, pasta or sandwiches.
It looks so good.
Does cooking time change baking 2 8oz breasts vs 4 8oz breasts? Thanks.
Hi Gigi, the cooking time should remain the same/similar, you might need a little longer for these chicken breasts as they are a but larger than the average size. Just be sure to check the internal temperature and make sure that it reaches 165°F before serving.
Was going to make sheet pan chicken dinner with green beans and potatoes you didn’t send me that one
Hi Phyllis, we have a couple sheet pan recipes that you may enjoy: Sheet Pan Greek Chicken, or this delicious Roasted Balsamic Chicken.
Oh my goodness – these were perfect, juicy and delicious! Thank you! I opted to follow your advice and cook at 400 degrees and they are just awesome. You have really helped me out here – I am having gallbladder issues and this recipe did the trick! Cannot thank you enough!
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda!
Is it the same temp and time for cooking in the airfryer oven?
Ron
Hi Ron, the air fryer cooks food much quicker so we recommend following one of our Air fryer specific recipes. We have this delicious air fryer bone-in chicken recipe or a yummy boneless chicken breast recipe that would probably work better for you!
Hello Ms. Holly. Do you cover the chicken before putting it in the oven or leave it uncovered? Thanks for the recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
The chicken is cooked uncovered. Enjoy!!
Holly:
I have been following your recipes for 2 years, and always loved the results.
Joan
The chicken came out perfect!!! Moist and cooked to perfecton
Great
This was perfect. I’ve tried baking chicken breasts before in the past and never quite got the timing down but ran this tonight for a large chicken breast at 27 minutes and it came out juicy all around. Thank you!
best I have ever prepared boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Thank you
So happy you enjoyed them, Todd!
Thanks for the help
Have t made it yet but just want to know how many pounds I should use? Breast sizes can be differently in weight. I will be making for an early Christmas lunch with my sisters.
This recipe uses 6oz chicken breasts. Cooking time will need to be adjusted if they are larger or smaller than 6 oz. I would suggest a meat thermometer.
My biggest savior with cooking has been a meat thermometer. I got a pretty inexpensive one the stays in the meat while cooking and has an alarm once you hit the set temperature .
We love our meat thermometer too! Such a good idea.
First time cooking chicken and it came out great! Chicken did take a little longer but I think my apartments oven is just really old !
I made this recipe, followed it to the tee. After 26 minutes my chicken was no where near done. My oven temperature is true. What a disappointment.
Lynn, some chicken breasts may take longer to cook, as noted in the recipe, and you should cook them until they reach 165F. Chicken breasts can vary in size from 5 oz to 10 oz meaning that the cook time can vary. In this recipe, I use average-sized boneless breasts (about 6oz). Hope that helps.