This Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe is ultra tender chicken every time thanks to these quick tips and tricks I’m sharing with you!
Say goodbye to boring, bland and dried out baked chicken breasts.
This recipe is my tried and true method for cooking the BEST chicken breasts in the oven. You’re going to fall in love!
Fail-Proof Method For Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Yes, it’s true, you CAN have tender and juicy white meat chicken that’s BAKED in the oven!
Check out my Google Web Stories for a quick preview!
No, you do NOT need to brine your chicken before baking. You also do NOT need to bring it to room temperature. Who has time for that?!
3 Easy Steps
The trick to making ultra tender chicken (whether baked, grilled or cooked on the stove top) is all thanks to these 3 easy steps…
- Even Thickness
- High Heat
- Resting
Follow these steps and you’ll be majorly impressed with how your baked chicken turns out. It really is this simple.
- Pound Chicken – Start by using a heavy rolling pin or meat mallet to pound your chicken breast to an even thickness.
- Season – Season liberally with my special seasoning blend (in the recipe card below).
- Bake – Bake for just 20 minutes at 425 degrees F, then let rest for 5 minutes under foil before slicing.
#1 Tip – Pound Chicken Breast
Is it really necessary to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness before baking?
Yes!
It is absolutely necessary if you want juicy oven baked chicken. Here’s why…
The natural shape of a chicken breast is teardrop, with a thicker, meatier portion at the bottom of the teardrop. Chicken must be cooked to 165 degrees F before safely consuming. If you do not pound the chicken down, the thicker portion will take longer to cook to the safe temperature, while the thinner section of chicken breast will get overcooked and result in a dried out, choke-it-down chicken breast.
This method also applies to chicken that is to be grilled, and even chicken that you’re going to cook on the stove top.
#2 Tip – High Heat Cooking for Chicken Breast
Since we’re not going to sear chicken in a skillet before finishing of in the oven, you’ll want to start your chicken at a high temperature in the oven.
Make sure your oven is preheated to 425 degrees F before baking. Cooking at a high temperature will help to lock in those juices, resulting in tender, juicy chicken every time.
- 4 to 6 ounce chicken breasts – 18 minutes
- 7 to 8 ounce chicken breasts – 20 minutes
- 9 ounce and above – 22 minutes
Remember to use a meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
#3 Tip – Rest The Chicken After It’s Baked
Let chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes under a loose sheet of foil before slicing.
When the chicken comes out of the oven (or even off the grill or skillet), let it rest under a loose sheet of foil for about 5 minutes. This will allow that freshly cooked chicken breast to relax, giving the juices inside a chance to redistribute throughout.
You’ll be left with the most glorious, juicy chicken you’ve ever had.
Simple Chicken Seasoning Blend
I spent many, many years working on perfecting my go-to chicken seasoning. It’s both sweet and smoky, while not being too overpowering. The simple, yet complex flavors blend perfectly together and are great served alongside any side dish you’re serving with your baked chicken.
- Brown Sugar – the sugar helps to tenderize the chicken, trust me, it’s a good idea.
- Chili Powder – adds a delicious smoky flavor, plus gives great coloring to chicken
- Parsley – great for adding a balanced herb flavor
- Salt – the seasoning of life
- Pepper – because it goes with salt
- Garlic Powder – adds delicious flavor
- Onion Powder – compliments the garlic powder
- Cumin – this really gives the chicken something special
Combine the spices together and rub generously into the chicken breast before baking.
PRO TIP: I will usually double or triple the seasoning blend and store any extra in a zip close bag for the next time I’m baking chicken.
Easy Side Dishes To Serve With Oven Baked Chicken
Chicken pairs perfectly with just about anything. Serve it sliced up, shredded, or whole for a pretty presentation. We usually slice all the chicken up before serving so it’s easy for my kids to eat.
Here are my go-to sides when baking chicken for dinner:
- Parmesan Roasted Green Beans – deliciously tender with a crust of parmesan on the outside
- Baked Potatoes (oven) or (instant pot) – with your favorite toppings of course!
- Cucumber Tomato Salad – perfect for a light dinner on a warm day
- Creamy Corn Salad
- Vegetable Rice Pilaf
- Garden Salad with Ranch Dressing
More Easy Baked Chicken Breast Recipes:
- Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
- Salsa Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Caprese Skillet
- Spinach and Herb Baked Chicken Breast
I’m confident that you’ll get fantastic results with this recipe as long as you follow the tips and method I’ve shared here.
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Easy Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 (7 to 8oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, light
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cumin
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non stick spray.
- Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment paper and pound to an even thickness. Drizzle both sides of chicken with olive oil.
- Combine seasonings and sprinkle generously over both sides of the chicken breasts. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE
Can you use chicken tenderloins?!
You definitely can. I would just make sure to check them earlier because they’ll cook faster than chicken breasts.
Didn’t have parsley or garlic powder but still yummy. Put chicken on spinach, feta, onion and greek dressing. We like it.
Sounds like a great dinner all the same! Glad you enjoyed it!
I Made this tonight and turned out really well! I enjoy making chicken with easy ingredients that my kids will try and eat and this was a homerun in my house!
Nice! I love it when even the kids give it two thumbs up!
This looks fantastic! I’ll be trying it tonight for dinner and I don’t have any parsley. Could you please recommend a replacement, or would you just omit it? Thanks!
You could omit the parsley or use cilantro if desired. 🙂
I love chicken and am always looking for new recipes! I loved this recipe so much! I’m doing weight watchers and am going to share in my next meeting! Thank you for sharing such a tasty recipe!
Thank you so much Kathy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the chicken and are willing to share. 🙂
I’m a dad looking to learn to make something easy for dinner. I substituted the cumin and chili powder for turmeric and paprika because we had those ingredients. The prep was easy and the chicken was juicy after pounding the chicken. My family and I all enjoyed this. I am definitely flagging this page for the future.
Fantastic! So glad you’re family enjoyed it, that’s definitely a dad-win! 😉
This was a great recipe. I omitted the olive oil in favor of Worcester sauce. I also highly recommend adding mint leaves. I added chocolate mint leaves (dried) and it added a refreshing flavor in each bite and complimented the chili powder nicely. Will be using this recipe for a ling time to come.
I’ve never seen chocolate mint leaves before, I bet that would add a great flavor to it. Thanks for sharing your modifications and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Amber!
I made this last night, rubbed with oil and spices, marinated for 5 hours. Heated a cast iron pan on grill with avacado oil got it hit put chicken in, close grill cook 10 min, flip cooked another 8 ( check temp) it was SO DELICIOUS! Thank you.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the chicken Erika!
This recipe is amazing. The chicken was very juicy and tender. The olive oil, spices, herbs, and sugar combined to give this chicken an excellent flavor that even my picky eaters enjoyed. This is a must!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the chicken!
First off, we made this last night, and we liked it. Very juicy considering it is baked in a “rub”. Very different, good flavor! I find one needs to practice it a few times to find the “right” amount of rub to dress the chicken with so that it is not too heavy, not too light. This of course, is all varying personal preference.
I do however have a question on how the nutrition value is/was calculated. Says this recipe serves 6, but uses only 4 chicken breasts – is each chicken breast 196 calories as claimed, or is there some other math that was used? Keep up the good work!
The chicken breasts I used in this recipe were very large, and I cut them into strips to serve. To get the most accurate calorie count, you’ll want to adjust it to the size of your chicken breasts that you’re using.
The chicken recipe is beyond amazing. Mine actually turned out like the picture online and that never happens. I have never posted any like this on social media but I feel like I had too.
Aw! That means so much to me. Thank you for your sweet comment Jennifer! So glad you enjoyed the chicken!
Tried this tonight. Served it with basmati rice and a garden salad. HUGE hit!!!! Thank you!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it Nudrat!
Tried this tonight and it came out really good. This is my new way to make my chicken breast! I love the ever so slight sweetness with the brown sugar…finally no dry chicken breast.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Shawn,
I made your recipe today and man it was awesome… I will keep recipe for sure and put it in my box. Thank you so much and God bless.
P.s. kids loved it also
Thanks Scott! Glad you guys enjoyed it!
Great recipie! I switched out the brown sugar for coconut palm sugar because that’s all I had. I also switched out the chili power for cayenne pepper. It was so good and just the right amount of spice. Thank you for sharing this recipie. Definitely book marking this to use in the future!
I tried printing this recipe and the print was so light I couldn’t read it.
Hi Nancy, I’m so sorry it didn’t print out well. I would suggest trying to print in grayscale, to make sure you’re printer isn’t using any color. Sometimes if your color is running low it’ll have a hard time printing the dark gray print.
Ohhh! I bet that had some nice spice to it with the extra cayenne pepper! So glad you enjoyed it!
Incredible! I made it with Truvia Brown sugar (cuts 75%of the sugar calories with stevia) and both my husband and I both flipped for this! Lots of room to tinker with, my husband isn’t a cumin fan, so I will lower that flavor by cutting that measures in 1/2, but will turn up both the onion and garlic. Yum, yum and lastly – YUM!
Haha! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the comment!
I grill the breast on inside cast iron grill instead of oven and use just about the same ingredients except the sugar(gonna try it) and it comes out outstanding!
Perfect! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
What sides do you usually serve this with
Hi Fiona, you really can’t go wrong with any sort of steamed or roasted veggie. My favorite is Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower, but you can also go with a nice salad and side of Vegetable Rice Pilaf.
Used chicken thighs because they were all I had and it came out delicious! Thank you! Definitely will make this again.
Sweet! So glad you enjoyed the recipe Katie!
Shawn, this was excellent. My son with autism, a very picky eater, loved it, as did the rest of us. Thanks for sharing. I’ve bookmarked for future use.
So glad you and your son enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting!
Not sure what I did wrong, but my chicken came out dry. 🙁 I really liked the rub so I will try again. Perhaps, may even put on the grill.
Oh bummer! Could it be that you didn’t pound the chicken before baking? Or did you over bake them? If your chicken breasts are on the smaller side you’ll want to decrease the cook time accordingly.
My husband and I have been “dieting” for a couple weeks now and we really really starting to dead eating our boring old chicken. I found your recipe and made it one night and we both could NOT BELIEVE how great it was. Pounding the chicken makes all the difference and the flavor was incredible. I’ve been making it this way every day since! Thank you!!
So awesome!! There’s such a difference between boring dried out chicken and juicy, flavorful chicken! I’m so glad you two found my recipe! 🙂
Single dad and kids made this tonight and it’s was a huge hit! “10 outta 10” from my 13 year old daughter! Love how the brown sugar and spices go together!
Sweet! So glad you and your kiddos enjoyed it Scott!
I want to make this recipe, but I don’t exactly have brown sugar on hand. I do have turbinado sugar. Could I use that instead or is there another substitute that I can use?
I would not use turbinado sugar as a substitute for brown sugar in this recipe. I’d wait till you have brown sugar.
Can I make this with thin slices chicken breast
Definitely. You might need to reduce the amount of cooking time depending on how thin they are.
Excellent recipe! I’ll be using this as my go-to. I subbed chipotle chili powder, and didn’t have parsley, so I used sage. It turned out a bit hotter than expected, but it’s a nice smoky heat. A surprise treat was the gooey sweet-hot “sauce” on the baking sheet that I hoovered up like it was crack.
Nice! So glad you enjoyed it Scott. That chipotle chili powder will be where that spice came from. I bet it was great!
I cooked this recipe tonight and it was delicious! It was so easy to make and quick to cook. My family loved it.
Fantastic! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the chicken Leola!
I made it without the chili powder. The kids devoured it.
I liked that it was super quick to make and still had excellent flavor without having to marinade.
Thank you! It’s definitely a keeper recipe.
Sweet! So glad your family enjoyed it! Thanks Miranda!
It was very good.. Personal preference but I would have used a little less cumin and a bit more salt. But it’s a very good base. Will definitely make it again.
Thanks for the feedback Rick! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I loved this recipe. It was perfect. The tip about pounding the chicken prior to seasoning and baking resulted in a nice juicy piece of chicken breast. The seasonings were delicious and just the right amount to use for 4 chicken breasts. This recipe is a keeper. I give it 5 stars.
Thank you Vicki! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Do you think this would work with stevia or swerve instead of brown sugar?
I’m sure that would work!
Sounds dee-lish!
Hope you enjoy it!
This looks great! I’m wondering if it would work on the grill as well?
Hey Kim! Yes, these would be great on the grill!
Made this for dinner tonight. Really juicy! And tasty!
So glad you enjoyed the chicken, Chris! Thanks for the comment!
Did you cover the chicken with foil while cooking
Nope! You’ll only cover AFTER it’s cooked for just 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying!
This is the bomb, my son isn’t very big on chicken but he went back for seconds, I used chicken tenders not breast and it turned out great!!
So glad you guys enjoyed the recipe Vickie! Thanks for your comment!
Made this chicken accompanied by some potato salad and it was the best chicken recipe I’ve ever tried !
Sweeeeet! So glad you enjoyed it Ann! 🙂
Hi! Thanks so much for responding so quickly! We LOVED it on our pork chops – my husband thinks he might like it a bit more than on the chicken – either way, I’ll be using this dry rub often!
Oh fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
Such a great recipe! Chicken was perfectly juicy & tender! Thanks
Awesome!! So glad you enjoyed it!
This was DELICIOUS! Have you tried this on pork chops? I’m thinking I might do that tonight!
He Renee, I have not tested this recipe on pork chops. It could be worth a try! Keep me posted.
I just tried this recipe tonight and it is definitely going into rotation in our house!! The chicken was not only delicious but so juicy as well. Thank you for such a great recipe.
Hi Brian, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I made this last night. It was so good! My family really enjoyed it. I love that it was so quick and easy to make. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Fantastic! Thanks for your comment Lydia! Glad you enjoyed it!
I would definitely try this out
I’m sure you will enjoy it!
Your recipes look delicious. I would like to be on your email list. Thank you and thank for sharing.
I will definitely get you on the list!
Hi–these recipys look so delisious,,I will try them soon! Thank-you so much for posting them. Lorna
I know you will enjoy them!