The Best Oven Baked Chicken Breasts
Nutrition Snapshot
For people looking to add more protein to their meals who aren’t opposed to meat, chicken breasts are a no-brainer! They’re incredibly versatile because:
- They’re super easy to bake up in large batches for meal prep
- You can customize them for whatever flavor palettes you want for your meals
- Chicken breasts can be the entree, or sliced or shredded and added as a topping to dishes like salads or pastas
- They can be served warm or left cold to quickly throw on top of a salad
Key Ingredients for Baked Chicken
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Preferably all pounded to the same thickness with a mallet to help them each cook evenly. Optional but highly encouraged.
- Olive oil – To coat the chicken for baking. You can also use melted unsalted butter.
- Salt and pepper – Because no one wants a plain, unseasoned, flavorless piece of chicken! This is the bare minimum of seasoning.
- Seasonings of choice – For a relatively neutral flavor that will go with most dishes, I like to use Italian seasoning or Adobo seasoning. That way I can use what I’ve prepared for meal prep during the week in a variety of different meals. You can also season each one differently with whatever you’d like.
Nutrition Disclaimer: Feel free to use different ingredients to suit your own dietary needs, but note it could change the flavor and vary from the nutritional calculations in the recipe card on this post!
How to Bake Chicken Breasts in the Oven
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. If desired, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness to allow for even cooking.
Step 2: Place chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish. Use a basting brush to coat both sides of all the chicken breasts with olive oil. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.
Step 3: Add any additional seasonings as well. Use your hands to evenly disperse the seasoning if needed (then thoroughly wash your hands!).
Step 4: Bake for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the thickest part of the breast measures 165°F (timing will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts).
How do you know if the chicken is fully cooked?
Use a thermometer (I highly recommend ThermoWorks instant read Thermapen) to check the thickest part of the breast is at least 165°F.
Additionally, the internal color of the chicken should be white (or a very, very light pink) and the juices of the chicken should run clear when sliced.
How to Store Cooked Chicken Breasts
After the chicken is completely cooked through, you can either store the chicken breasts whole or you can slice or shred them first.
Helpful Tips
- Don’t overcook the chicken! This is the #1 way to ensure that you end up with juicy, flavorful chicken.
- Give it a quick broil finish. If you like your chicken to have a bit of a browned and crispy top, broil the chicken for a few minutes at the tail end of your cook time.
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Breasts
Recommended Equipment
- Large glass baking dish
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, all pounded to the same thickness, optional but highly encouraged
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or melted unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Seasonings of choice, I like to use Italian seasoning or Adobo seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. If desired, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness to allow for even cooking.4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Place chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish. Use a basting brush to coat both sides of all the chicken breasts with olive oil.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken, and add any additional seasonings as well. Use your hands to evenly disperse the seasoning if needed (then thoroughly wash your hands!).1 teaspoon kosher salt | 1 teaspoon ground black pepper | Seasonings of choice
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the thickest part of the breast measures 165°F (timing will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts).
- Let the chicken cool on a cutting board for 5-10 minutes, tented loosely with aluminum foil. Slice and/or store in an airtight container in the fridge, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.
What is the best pan for baking chicken?
I personally like to use a glass or ceramic baking dish because I find it lends itself to a juicer, more moist chicken.
You can also use a cast iron skillet, but are more likely to end up with a crispy skin on the chicken. If that’s what you’re going for, then it yields excellent results!
What is the best knife for cutting chicken?
To slice my cooked chicken, I use a 6″ or 8″ chef’s knife. We have a Global 6″ chef’s knife that’s always served me well!
How to clean up after raw chicken
After you’ve dealt with raw chicken, you want to make sure you thoroughly clean your counter, cutting board, utensils, and yourself!
Use hot, soapy water to scrub it all down, and make sure you also toss any dish cloths and aprons in the wash as well.
Converting chicken breasts to measurable quantities
Something I’ve noticed frequently is that people have a tough time quantifying how much a single chicken breast produces in terms of ounces or cups for recipes they’re trying to make.
It’s difficult to give an exact measurement for how much a diced chicken breast is in cups, or how many ounces of shredded chicken comes from a single breast since the size of chicken breasts varies widely – but the below can be considered some very rough guidelines.
“How much does a chicken breast weigh?”
If we’re assuming average-size chicken breasts, each breast likely weighs between 4-6 ounces.
“1 pound of chicken equals how many cups?”
One pound of chicken breast meat is around 3 cups.
“How many chicken breasts is 2 pounds?”
If we’re assuming average-size chicken breasts, two pounds of chicken breasts will be between 5-8 individual breasts.
FAQs
Can I eat leftover chicken cold?
Yes, it’s safe to eat cold leftover chicken (chicken salad is my go-to way of enjoying it). As long as it was previously cooked through to 165F and stored properly.
Can you freeze oven baked chicken breast?
Yes! After cooking, allow it to cool completely. Then transfer it to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze 1 hour until frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe container for up to 3 months (don’t forget to put a date on it). This method ensures the chicken breast don’t stick to each other in the freezer.
A M A Z I N G and so delicious looking so pinned this to try out