This Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe uses very simple techniques to create ultra juicy chicken breasts with an incredible spice rub.
I love to pair this easy baked chicken breast with my Parmesan Roasted Broccoli and Baked Potatoes for a complete meal.
This recipe is my tried and true method for cooking the BEST chicken breasts in the oven every time. You’re going to fall in love with this easy technique.
Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
Yes, it’s true, you CAN have tender and juicy white meat chicken that’s BAKED in the oven!
Ingredients Needed For Baked Chicken Breast
Chicken breast consists of all white meat, which is very lean and, if not cooked properly, can become tough and dry. Here’s what you’ll need in order to whip up some juicy chicken breasts in the oven. You can find the full list of ingredients located in the recipe card below.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – check out my baked chicken thighs here!
- Olive oil
- Seasonings – I’m sharing my favorite chicken rub in the recipe, but you can ultimately season with whatever you like.
How To Bake Chicken Breasts
The trick to mastering 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
By following these simple steps you’ll be enjoying juicy baked chicken breasts right out of your oven every time.
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 chicken breast for just 20 minutes at 425 degrees F, then let rest for 5 minutes under foil before slicing.
Do I Need To Pound Chicken?
Is it 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.
The BEST Chicken Seasoning
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.
Chicken Seasoning Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make your baked chicken taste like a million bucks!
- 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 or spice jar for the next time I’m baking chicken.
How Long To Bake Chicken Breasts 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.
Cooking Size Chart
- 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 an instant read meat thermometer to check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
How Long To “Rest” Chicken Breast
One of the biggest rookie mistakes when baking chicken is to immediately slice right into it after it’s done cooking. Chicken breast is a muscle and what happens to a muscle when it gets cooked? It tightens up!
If you cut into the chicken right away it will be tough and chewy, and all the juices that you worked so hard for will immediately run out… resulting in dry, tough chicken.
Let chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes under a loose sheet of foil before slicing.
Easy Side Dishes To Serve With Oven Baked Chicken
Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins. It pairs perfectly with just about any side dish. 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 for baked chicken…
- Parmesan Roasted Green Beans
- Baked Potatoes (oven) or (instant pot)
- Cucumber Tomato Salad – perfect for a light dinner on a warm day
- Creamy Corn Salad
- Vegetable Rice Pilaf
- Caesar Pasta Salad
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipes:
I have so many delicious baked chicken recipes that I’m sure you’ll find one you really enjoy!
- 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.
Juicy Oven 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
Tres Leches Cake Recipe
JH
Delicious!
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed it JH!
Brendon
Just made this chicken for dinner and it was amazing!!! I’m so happy!! Thank you!
Shawn
That’s so great to hear Brendon! Thanks for your comment!
Will
I tried this recipe abd i loved it !!
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Shawn
You’re welcome Will! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
celebrity birthdays
This looks so great!! I will definitely try this recipe!
Shawn
Hope you enjoy it!
Carrie
Would this chicken recipe be okay to serve with pasta and Alfredo sauce? A good flavor match up?
Shawn
Yes, definitely!
Lisa Barger
This looks so good! Do you think after cooking I could freeze these? Thank you!
Shawn
Yes! Definitely, I would just let them cool first.
Jim Orvis
This chicken was cooked perfectly! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Jim!
Linda
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve made it several times now and we love it just the way it is! The spices are just perfect for us. I was wondering, though, if you could give some pointers on grilling the chicken instead of baking it? Can it be grilled over charcoal?
Shawn
Grilling is a great way to cook this chicken! Here are some tips… use a little extra oil to brush the grates of your grill so the chicken doesn’t stick. If using charcoal, make sure you have some really nice and hot coals going before you add the chicken. As always, make sure your chicken breast is pounded to an even thickness, and once cooked through, let rest under foil for 5 minutes before slicing. Hope that helps!
NGON
Love you! You do inspire me a lot! Though I haven’t tried any of your recipe but it just gives me so much joy of seeing your recipe
Shawn
I hope you get a chance to try the recipes too!
Bernadette Skaljac
Too sweet. I didn’t think sugar was necessary.
I don’t think I’ll use any of her recipes.
Chef Bull
Wow! Sounds a little harsh based off of one recipe.
Bonnie
In the directions it lists cumin and parsley but in the video you dont use them?
Shawn
I do show parsley being used in the video, but you’re right, I missed the cumin! Oops!
S Jackson
Recipe was quick and simple. Chicken turned out juicy, tender and full of flavor! I followed recipe with the exception of substituting minced garlic for the garlic powder. I also adjusted the cooking time due to thickness of chicken breasts. My husband loved the recipe I will definitely make again.
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed the chicken!
Lu
I made your chicken today and I even doubled checked the 1 Tbs of Chili powder. Way too much! If I do it again I will only use 1 tsp! I don’t know why nobody else made a comment about this. I’m not making this again! Sorry not for me!
Shawn
Hmm… well if you’re not a fan of chili powder, I guess you can reduce it. Taste is subjective, and I’m assuming nobody else mentions that it’s too much because they don’t agree with you? Either way, I hope the chicken was at least juicy and tender!
Mary Walmsley
This sounds amazing, I’m going to try it!
Shawn
Hope you enjoy!
Diya
Made this a couple weeks ago and the family loved it, even my son who is in Culinary School said awesome chicken. They are asking when I will make it again, so it is on the menu for dinners this week. Best Chicken Breast Recipe out there in my opinion.
Shawn
That’s so great to hear Diya! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Pam
This really is the BEST chicken recipe! I have already made it three times since finding it one night when we couldn’t grill because it was hailing and we needed an oven recipe. Sorry grill, no more chicken for you. So delicious and easy with ingredients in my pantry already!
Shawn
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it Pam! Thanks for your great feedback!
AnaCristina Gandara
Extremely good and easy!!! Love it, thanks
Shawn
That’s wonderful to hear!
June
On the first bite, my husband said, “Mmmm!” This recipe is a keeper! I just made it tonight, and it’s a great way to use all the spices I normally keep on hand anyway!
Shawn
Haha! Love that! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Dora Hillard
Chicken is my favorite, I’m trying to br more health conscious. I’m dow from sz18 to 14. So thank u for this recipe cant wait to try it.
Shawn
That’s so awesome! Keep up the great work!
Christina M McVicker
Chicken was incredible. Will definitely be making it again. Do you happen to know the grams/amount per serving?
Shawn
We typically just divide the amount of chicken between us (for 6 servings total).
Leigh
My hubby and I really enjoyed this chicken recipe. Thank you for sharing your culinary talents with us. I plan to follow you on FB to gather more delicious recipes.
Shawn
So happy to hear it Leigh! Thanks for following along!
Nicole Ogunbodede
This was delicious. Even my picky 8 year old liked it. Next time I make it I’ll use less chili powder but other than that, perfect!
Shawn
That’s so great to hear Nicole! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Roses
Hi Shawn, I like your Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast Recipe. Tonight, I made it and all member in my family love it.
Shawn
That’s so great to hear Roses!
Robert Stutz
Hello,
I stumbled across your recipe and website while looking for a recipe for easy and juicy chicken breast. I followed your instructions exactly and the result was terrific… got rave reviews from a tough audience. The video was a real confidence booster.
I do have a question: Do you think that it would be safe to pre-mix and store the seasoning in order to throw this together even more quickly? If so, how long would it keep? And, how to store it… pantry, refrigerator, freeze it?
Thanks for inventing and posting this!
bob
Shawn
Hi Bob! That’s so great to hear! I’m actually in the process of packaging and selling my spice rubs and this one will be one of them!! Woohoo! I can tell you that you should be safe to store at room temperature in an air tight container and it should keep for a few weeks. It’ll last longer in the fridge. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Diane Davidson
Surprisingly easy and delicious
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it Diane!
Donda
This is my favorite kind of recipe: super simple and utterly delicious!! I made them to treat my husband for our wedding anniversary today. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it’s going to become a staple in our house for sure.
Shawn
First off, Happy Anniversary!! Second, thanks for your sweet comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Veronica
This recipe was juicy & delicious. I normally do not like breasts cooked in the oven because they tend to dry out. But these turned out juicy. I think I used too much chicken to the seasoning recipe because it needed more (for my taste). I did skip the pepper flakes as we don’t really like hot spice. However, the spice rub was delicious as is. I sprinkled it on 4 large breasts and it was a subtle and delicious flavor. But I’d like to punch it up and will double or even triple the spice recipe so that I have more of a spice coating on the meat. Definitely recommend. These will go great for a dinner or sliced and added to a green salad.
Shawn
That spice rub is definitely one of my favorites! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Veronica!
Lolita Cusic
Hi Shawn,
Thank you for this delicious recipe! It was the perfect mixture of spicy and sweet. My family loved it and so did I.
The chicken was very moist and tender. Tenderizing the chicken and cooking it on high heat as instructed made all the difference. I served the chicken with rice, black beans and homemade pico de gallo. Next time, I’ll double the recipe, so we can have seconds and leftovers. Thank you again!
Shawn
So great to hear! I love what you served it with too, sounds like a great dinner!
Nelson
I tried your recipe once before and loved it. I did a marinade for the chicken and let it sit overnight before trying it again. It was a hit with all my family members young and old! Thank you for the sugar advise!
S Barton
Super good!!!
Lisa Kornspan
This was delicious. All 5 of us enjoyed this. Do you think this would be good grilled on a gas grill? Thanks.
Shawn
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Yes, it would work GREAT on the grill!
Sandra Latham
This recipe was banging! I used tenders instead of breasts. 20 minutes was a bit long for them, but they were still pretty tender if just a little dry. Next time I’ll do 15. Thanks for a new staple recipe!
Shawn
Chicken tenders are much smaller than chicken breasts, so you will not need to cook them nearly as long. I’m glad you still enjoyed the recipe though!
BA
Best chicken ever! Pounding really does the trick!
Amy Delia
I was hoping for more flavor based on the reviews. I had to dip it in ranch dressing for it to taste better. Believe the chicken should have been grilled.
Shawn
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the flavor. You can definitely increase the different spice levels to your taste. 🙂
Naomy
Where dose the oil go
Brittany
It definitely came out juicey. It did have too much sweetness, I felt. If I were to make it again, I’d garnish with parsley at the end, make the brown sugar 1 tbs, and I’d leave cumin out. Again, people can tinker the spices as they would like. Just my boyfriend and I found the sugar took too much of the flavor, but we still enjoyed very much.
Shawn
You’ll rub the oil on both sides of the chicken breasts before seasoning.
Jo
Hmmm…Why throw out all recipes?? Not sure I get that…could just be me. I reduced the sugar to 1T. for my taste IF my chicken breasts are actually that big ( 7 oz or so EACH) But I reduce it more for smaller breasts. That is just my taste. But glad I did not ditch the whole recipe.
Andres
I did it and it was awesome. I reduced the sugar and it was still great.
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it!
Robin
It really was juicy and had such a good flavor. Next time I will cut back on the chili powder just a bit but I will be making this again for sure. My whole family loved it.
Shawn
So great to hear Robin! Glad you guys enjoyed it!
Ney
This is a recipe worthy of not only a review, but 5 stars. My husband and I enjoyed this recipe so much that I’ve made it 3 times in the last month and each time the chicken has turned out veryyy juicy and flavorful! 425 F for 20-22 minutes is key, plus you can easily add more or less of an ingredient and make it your own. thank you!
Shawn
Soooo glad you enjoyed it Ney! 🙂
MARIAN HOVENCAMP
This is by far the best baked boneless chicken I’ve made. It was absolutely moist and delicious!!!
Shawn
So great to hear Marian! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Isabel
I tried this recipe last night! I’m not a “spicy” fan so while this recipe isn’t spicy it was to me cause I’m a wuss. I plan on making this recipe again, just with a little less chilli powder and I will check it for doneness before 20 minutes as mine were dried out… overall 5stars
Shawn
If you’re using smaller chicken breasts, you wont need to cook as long. Definitely check the weight of the chicken breasts before cooking and adjust the times as needed. Glad you enjoyed it though!
Lisa
This was so delicious! I am not a great cook and I am always looking for fast easy recipes with few ingredients. We are a family of 5 and everyine loved it. This was my 1st time brining, which was suprisingly easy.
Shawn
So great to hear Lisa! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Tangela
Hello Shawn,
I plan to make this for dinner tonight alongside yellow rice and collard greens. Just one question; is the brown sugar light, dark, or does it even matter?
Thank you
Shawn
I use light brown sugar, but I’m sure dark would work as well.