The easiest and juiciest Baked Chicken Breast recipe. Oven Baked Chicken Breasts that are tender and flavorful – delicious as an entree or to toss in salads, tacos and more!
After a fun weekend filled with indulgences, it’s time to get back on track and negate those extra glasses of wine, ice cream and Meltaway Muffins.
I have a busy day of prep today as I plan to host friends and colleagues at #calmwatercottage for a retreat this week! So, I’m turning to one of my favorite easy weeknight meals – Baked Chicken Breast.
We have been making this simple recipe for years! We make this easy Baked Chicken Breast all the time – especially during the week when we’re short on time.
It’s a delicious entree, but it also makes weekly meal prep easy. You can make oven baked chicken ahead to enjoy in several different ways throughout the week. It’s so easy it just takes 3 minutes hands-on time! Even better, it requires only staple ingredients (in addition to the chicken breast, of course!)
Keep reading for the full printable recipe!
Table of Contents
How Many Calories are in Baked Chicken?
Did I mention it’s easy on the hips, too? Coming in at just 271 guilt-free calories it’s my go to, especially during swimsuit season.
Secrets to Juicy Baked Chicken Breasts:
- use olive oil to seal in the moisture
- cover in your favorite seasoning {you can simply use garlic, onion, salt, pepper, red pepper or anything premixed like Old El Paso fajita seasoning}
- allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing
How to Make the Best Baked Chicken Breast:
Preheat oven.
Coat your chicken in olive oil (no need to marinate) and place in a baking dish.
Sprinkle your favorite spices or seasonings on both sides of your chicken breast. You can even go simple with just salt and pepper if you prefer. I love using my very favorite poultry seasoning blend in this recipe- it adds so much incredible flavor!
Bake 20 minutes.
Pull your chicken out of the oven and allow it to rest 10 minutes. It will continue to cook, sealing in the moisture. This recipe from start to finish takes a total of 30 minutes, though just a few minutes hands on time.
Depending on the thickness, you may need to add on a few extra minutes of cooking time. You can also use a meat thermometer if you prefer, but that’s too much fuss for this girl.
Slice! Once you slice it will stop cooking.
You can see just how tender and juicy these perfectly Baked Chicken Breasts are! Cooking chicken has never been easier!
Serving Suggestions
We enjoy Baked Chicken Breast on a bed of pasta, on tacos, in taco salad, with a side of vegetables, on salad and more! It’s the most versatile recipe and can be easily adapted with your favorite seasoning.
- Pasta (so good with this White Wine Sauce)
- Taco Salad
- Chicken Tacos
- Salad – try with Cilantro Lime Dressing (Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette)
- Chicken Wrap
- Chicken Nachos
Consider a wholesome, homemade side dish like Gratin Dauphinois, Bacon Mac and Cheese, or Roasted Italian Veggies.
What is the Best Seasoning for Chicken?
Can you tell we love Mexican? But you can make this any flavor you’d like! These are our favorite seasonings for Baked Chicken Breast:
- Ranch Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Italian Seasoning Recipe
- Fiesta Ranch
- Poultry Seasoning
- Fajita Seasoning
- Blackened Seasoning
In the next few weeks, I’ll share some of my favorite recipes to use this easy baked chicken breast to mix up your weeknight dinners!
More Easy Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Soft Chicken Tacos
- The Easiest 3 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Recipe
- Zesty Blackened Chicken
- Greek Chicken
- Rosemary Chicken
- California Chicken
Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a baking dish, brush both sides of chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle on seasoning.
- Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes to continue to cook. Slice or dice.
This has become my go-to way of making chicken breasts. They always come out moist and perfectly done! And I love the versatility – so many herb and spice combinations work well. A current favorite combination is orange, basil, cumin, and red onion.
Thanks, Susan! So glad you enjoy it!
This sounds so good – I’m going to try it – but I have a question – does this work if your chicken is frozen? I always have chicken in the freezer but forget to take it out to thaw and if I defrost in the microwave it starts to cook and then it tastes dried out! Help!
I’m not sure how long it would take to bring frozen chicken to a baked state. I also worry it wouldn’t be as juice. If you decide to try it you can use an internal meat thermometer to ensure it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. We tend to make this a lot on Mondays because I grocery shop on Sundays and can leave it refrigerated.
Easy, juicy and so delicious. I use this recipe all the time!
I’m so glad you love it, too!
We’ll be using this recipe often. Everyone loved it!
Simple. Classic. Versatile. Thank you 🙂
I can never get my baked chicken breasts to come out moist! Definitely giving this recipe a try!!
Love this method- works for so many things!
This chicken turms out perfectly cooked every time! So juicy and amazing!
Such a great healthy go-to recipe especially with the new year. Love it!
Your baked chicken looks SO moist and perfect! I always buy a rotisserie chicken, but it’s so unhealthy. Can’t wait to make this recipe instead!
Such a simple and delicious recipe!!! A must for any night of the week.
These really turn out so yummy! Everyone in my house raves about the chicken when I use this recipe!!
Baked Chicken Breast is such an easy way to get dinner on the table in a hurry! Love this simple recipe.
Hi! Do you know what size staub pan you used here. I recently stocked up on all of the amazing staub deals on their cast iron this past holiday season and I am wanting to order some of their ceramic baking dishes as well. The sizes seem a bit smaller than the glass bakeware I have been using for years. The size pan you used here look perfect. Thank you!
I am SO sorry for the delay in response, I totally missed it. It is a bit smaller but I find myself using it much more frequently than I do the larger dishes. It’s 9.9 x 6.7 You can find it here. Enjoy!
I love this simple baked chicken recipe!!! Food doesn’t need to be complicated to be good!
So true! Glad you enjoyed it!
Julie, why do I always try new recipes when we are having guests? I say, “don’t do it, you just don’t know how it will turn out”…my confidence was in your reputation and previous recipes that I know to be a winner every time. The baked chicken turned out moist and delicious, as stated, and several asked for the recipe. I printed out a few extra copies just in case.
Thank you,
Raina
You’re hilarious, Raina! I do the same. I appreciate your confidence in me and am so glad you enjoyed the baked chicken as well! I use it for EVERYTHING! It’s so easy to mix it up with different seasonings. Hope your summer is off to a great start!
Where is the pinterest button?
I’m sorry, having some issues with it and working to get it resolved asap! Thanks for your patience.
Hi Julie! I wanted to thank you for this super simple, great recipe. I make chicken all the time in a million different ways, with various results. I was very skeptical that this higher heat and less cooking time would work, but last night with a few chicken breasts ready to cook I decided to follow this recipe, including the 10 minutes rest (which we never do). It was fantastic! My husband and 3 teenagers all commented on how delicious and tender it was and they gobbled it all up. Thank you again, Julie, and keep up the great work!
Oh Linda, thank you so much for sharing – I couldn’t agree more, but it means so much that you took the time to share. It’s an easy to tweak recipe, too!