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.
super moist. thank you
I adjusted to 425 for 30 min. Have larger chicken breasts and did not cook fully at original temp/time. Also tried out different seasonings (Mrs Dash or just plain black pepper). Great basic recipe!
Thank you, really simple and delicious. Enjoyed every bite in a short time. The details were so helpful to a husband trying new things. Made me look like I knew my way around the kitchen, wifey loved the chicken breast very much. Recipe racked up hubby points, thanks.
Made this plenty of times, always a hit! And so easy to do! So flavourful and moist!
This is such a great recipe. I pound the chicken breasts so they are an all an even thickness. The only seasonings I use are salt and pepper so I can use it in a variety of recipes. I use it shredded for soups, enchiladas, sliced in fajitas, cubed in chicken salad and quesadillas to name a few. When cooked I vacuum seal them individually and freeze them so they are always ready for a quick meal. Thanks for sharing all your great recipes.
I made this using a Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 8-qt. (7.6L) 2-Basket Air Fryer DualZone. I did baked potatoes on one side and the chicken on the other. I missed adding the garlic and S &P to the chicken. The outside of the chicken was a bit dry, but that could be due to the type of air fryer I have. Each one is different. I’m not sure if I had used the bake or roast function if the dryness could be avoided. I will have to experiment. The flavour was still good and loved the filling which I also added chopped up sun-dried tomatoes. Hubby said it was like something from a restaurant and gave his seal of approval.
I am glad you enjoyed it, Heather!
sorry but I cheated, I used my air fryer at 350 for 17 minutes. it was awesome also
What a great recipe! So easy, moist and delicious! I used Italian seasoning as well as garlic powder, oregano and basil. Was very tasty. Made extra so I can add to a salad for a nutritious lunch in the week. Thanks so much for posting.
Hi Karen, Your extra seasoning sounds good along with Holly’s could you share with me how much garlic powder, oregano and basil you used Thank you
Easy and absolutely delicious! I poured the juices from the pan over the chicken breasts after baking which made them even more juicy and flavourful.
This chicken was amazingly moist. I made my own Italian seasoning with rosemary, oregano, sage and basil. Yum!!
Came out gr8
Thx❤️
I forgot to mention in my original review a few minutes ago that when I took the chicken breasts out of the oven, I did cover it with foil and let it cool down for approximately 15-20 minutes before slicing the chicken breasts. They were absolutely tender as could be! Thanks!
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes Brenda!
I cut this recipe in half and made this it, then I sliced the chicken breasts in small strips and put them on top of a chef salad for my husband and myself. It was awesome! Thank you so much sweet Holly for sharing all of your wonderful delicious recipes with all of us.
Great recipe, easy to make and tastes good. hot or cold.
Thank you for this recipe Holly. Do you cover these chicken breasts? Convection bake or convection roast them or do you recommend to just regular bake them? Thank you!
I use regular bake and bake them uncovered. If you use convection, you’ll want to check them early.
What the mouthgasm just happened!?
I didn’t have paprika (who didn’t have paprika:/) so I used curry powder, ohmygosh, though!! Incredibly easy and melts in the mouth flavoring!
Just love it! Thank you for sharing :D
LOL I am so glad you loved this recipe Nicol!
The chicken breasts were delicious!
These chicken breasts were so easy to make and came out moist and flavourful. I also made the seasoning salt and the Italian spice from the accompanying recipes and I must say, that is the best Italian spice I’ve ever tasted. Will make again many times over, the chicken and the spices. Thank you.
my chicken seems to never turn out quite right, tried it this way and it was PERFECT!!! THANK YOU!!! Making it this way from now on!!! :)
I’m so glad this recipe was a hit for you Amy!
My boyfriend prefers chicken breasts, but I avoid making them due to how often I think they turn out dry. These wound up so juicy & perfect! I even managed to bake them in the toaster oven since it was a small quantity.