Baked Chicken Breasts

This is the all-time best Baked Chicken Breasts recipe ever! They are perfectly seasoned with a few spices and oven-baked to perfection.

It’s one of those recipes that you will find is your go-to for any dish that you need chicken breasts in. It’s great to use in salads, casseroles, and sandwiches but just as fabulous to eat alongside your favorite roasted vegetables and rice dish like this dirty brown rice or roasted potatoes.

I know this may not seem like a fancy recipe to be sharing with you, but sometimes it’s just nice to know how to bake juicy chicken breasts every time without worrying about them coming out dry and tough.

I like to use Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper to season my chicken breasts. But I also love simple garlic powder, salt, and pepper a lot as well. Feel free to experiment with other spices as well. You can rub many others such as homemade taco seasoning or this greek seasoning.

How Long to Bake Chicken Breasts

The most important part of baking chicken breast is timing and temperature. Because they are naturally lean, overcooking them will easily make them turn out dry. Before I learned more, I used to cook them at 350 F. But learned that cooking at a higher temperature actually locks in the juices much better. Now I cook my chicken breasts at 400 degrees F.

And just as important is to let them rest for about 5-10 minutes after cooking to let those juices absorb into the meat even more.

The chicken breast needs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. I recommend buying a meat thermometer if you don’t already own one. The one I have is ancient (I think it was my mothers) and I really need to buy one of the quick read thermometers. I don’t know why I don’t have one of those yet.

Cooking chicken breasts at 400 degrees F takes between 23-27 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts.

If the chicken you are cooking is uneven in size, you can simply pound them down to be more equal in height.

How to Bake the Perfect Chicken Breasts

As I mentioned above, baking boneless chicken breasts is all about time and temperature but also a quick brine and a little resting at the end are very important as well.

Step 1 – Brine the chicken. Fill a bowl of water with slightly warm water. Stir in about a tablespoon of table salt. Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the saltwater for at least 15 minutes. I usually do this while the oven is preheating but you can also cover it and place it in the refrigerator for longer (4-6 hours or so)

Step 2 – Place the chicken breasts in an oven-safe baking dish and pour olive oil or melted butter over top. Then toss to coat both sides. Then sprinkle the spices over.

Step 3 – Bake the chicken breasts for 23-27 minutes. Check with a meat thermometer that temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

Step 4 – Let the chicken breast for at least 5-10 minutes. This is another crucial step for the juicy chicken you want. Cutting to quickly will release all the juices you want to stay inside. You can simply cover loosely with aluminum foil.

That’s it! Perfectly cooked chicken breasts!

How to Freeze/Store Chicken Breasts

After the chicken has been baked, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze in airtight freezer bags for up to 3 months.

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