Baked Chicken Breasts

Published March 30, 2019. Updated April 13, 2019

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

This Baked Chicken Breast recipe couldn’t get any easier! You’ll love this quick oven method and that you get flavorful, tender, juicy chicken every time by following these simple steps and using this delicious seasoning blend.

Oven Baked Chicken Breasts in a row in a glass baking dish.

Easy Flavorful Oven Baked Chicken Breasts

When you need dinner on the table but don’t have a lot of time for prep or lengthy cooking times this chicken is the perfect thing to make! Plus it’s a great year round recipe. We all love grilled chicken but there are plenty of days when it’s way too hot or way to cold out for grilling.

The seasoning I go with most for baked chicken breasts is the one listed here. It’s an all-purpose, rotisserie style seasoning but you can easily swap this seasoning for a favorite blend you may have and just use this same cooking method. Other great options would be an Italian, Greek, curry or cajun seasoning.

It’s also a great recipe for meal prep and leftovers are great for a salad or soup the next day.

Who knew baked boneless and skinless chicken breasts could be so good? I always used to think skillet browned or grilled chicken breasts was pretty much the only way to go but this recipe will tell you otherwise.

Overhead image of a seasoned baked chicken breast on a white serving plate along with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.

Ingredients for Baked Chicken Breasts

  • Chicken breasts – look for chicken breasts as close to the same size as possible so they bake evenly.
  • Olive oil – don’t use extra-virgin olive oil here or it will burn at this high oven temperature, leaving the chicken with an off flavor.
  • Garlic powder – I like to use garlic powder here instead of fresh garlic so it evenly coats all of the chicken, plus at this high of an oven temperature it could burn.
  • Onion powder – onion powder is another delicious flavor addition here. It helps give it that classic rotisserie chicken flavor.
  • Dried thyme – dried herbs will actually work better here then fresh for a concentrated flavor.
  • Dried oregano – you could also try using Italian seasoning in place of the thyme and oregano.
  • Paprika – this not only offers a nice flavor but it gives the chicken a nice color, to mimic the look of a roasted chicken.
  • Chili powder – chili powder also gives the chicken a nice color, it adds another layer of dimension here too. Chicken breasts are pretty flavorless so it’s all about the seasoning here.
  • Salt and pepper – be sure to season properly with salt otherwise the chicken will taste flat.

Ingredients needed to make oven baked chicken breast shown here including small chicken breasts, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, salt pepper, olive oil and parsley.

How to Bake Chicken Breasts

  • First you’ll start out by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Pound the thicker parts of the chicken out so the breasts are almost an even thickness across. You don’t want them pancake thin but they should be no more than 3/4-inch thick.
  • In a small bowl whisk together all of the spices.
  • Place chicken in a baking dish, brush olive oil over both sides. When in a rush you can just drizzle the oil into the pan and dredge the chicken breasts through it to coat.
  • Then sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of the chicken.
  • Bake chicken in preheated oven until fully cooked through (it should register 165 in center of each), about 16 – 20 minutes (if you used larger breasts it will take longer). Let rest 5 minutes for juices to evenly redistribute before slicing and serving.

Spices in a mixing bowl to season baked chicken.

Tips for the Best Baked Chicken Breasts

  • Pound the thicker portion (the top portion) of the chicken breasts so they aren’t so thick, you want near an even thickness across. This way thinner portions wouldn’t cook faster than thicker portions and become over cooked and dry. Pounding the chicken also helps tenderize it.
  • Brush with olive oil. This gives the chicken breasts a bit of a richer flavor and helps keep them from drying out on the exterior.
  • Marinate or season season season. Chicken breasts are pretty boring and basic but when either marinated or seasoned well they can take on a whole new delicious flavor. I like this rotisserie style seasoning for both color and flavor here.
  • Leave some space between them in the dish so the hot air can circulate and they’ll bake evenly.
  • Careful not to over-cook. Anything much past 165 degrees and the chicken breasts will start to dry out and who wants dry chicken? I highly recommend using an instant read digital thermometer here.
  • Let the baked chicken rest about 5 minutes before serving, it’s just one of those food laws of meat and chicken. It lets the juices redistribute and reabsorb into the chicken, rather then ending up on your plate if cut into immediately after baking.

Sprinkling seasoning mixture over raw chicken breasts in glass baking dish before baking.

How long to Bake Chicken Breasts?

The baking time will really vary depending on a number of things including oven temperature, chicken breasts size, thickness of chicken breasts, temperature of chicken breasts to start with and the size and type of the baking dish used.

At 425 degrees using 6 oz chicken breasts the earliest they’ll likely be done is around 16 minutes but maybe more so start checking at that time and add more as needed until they’ve reached 165 degrees.

Can I Use Chicken Thighs?

Chicken thighs will work here too, just increase the baking time by about 10 minutes or as needed to reach 165 degrees in center.

Close up image of chicken breast in glass baking dish set over a grey surface, after baking in the oven.

What Should I Serve with Chicken Breasts?

Chicken breast sliced into nine pieces, showing white, tender, moist interior.

More Chicken Breast Recipes You’ll Love:

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Baked Chicken Breasts
5 from 12 votes

Baked Chicken Breasts

For perfectly baked chicken breasts follow these easy steps and you'll have delicious chicken every time! Swap this seasoning blend out with another favorite you may have, just use this same method.
Servings: 4
Prep6 minutes
Cook19 minutes
Resting time5 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Pound chicken with the flat side of a meat mallet to even out thicker portions and to help tenderize.
  • In a small bowl whisk together garlic powder, thyme, onion powder, oregano, paprika, chili powder, 3/4 tsp salt (or to taste) and 1/2 tsp pepper.
  • Place chicken in baking dish, brush both sides with olive oil.
  • Season both sides of chicken evenly with the spice mixture.
  • Bake in preheated oven until center of chicken breasts registers 165 on an instant read thermometer, about 16 - 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving and slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Baked Chicken Breasts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 245 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 108mg36%
Sodium 637mg28%
Potassium 629mg18%
Protein 35g70%
Vitamin A 250IU5%
Vitamin C 3.3mg4%
Calcium 8mg1%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Categorized:

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

47 Comments

  • Evelyn Gassaway

    I have a SUPER picky family and they loved this recipe. I struggle to find dinner ideas. They don’t like foods mixed together, like I do, such as casseroles and soups. I asked if they would like to have this again and I got a resounding YES! Thank you for sharing this easy, flavorful recipe.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m happy to hear your family approved :)! Thanks for leaving a review!

  • Marcel

    I tried this chicken recipe and it was so good. Thank you
    P.S. I used extra virgin oil because that’s all i had, I’ll have to get the regular olive oil for cooking

  • Pam

    I was looking for a recipe that I could manage in my tiny kitchen. I made this..the prep was easy and didn’t create a lot of mess to clean up, which is important to me. The chicken was perfectly seasoned…just delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m so glad you liked the recipe Pam! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!

  • Tilda

    I made this last night and it was good and moist. And easy way to bake chicken. I will try it again. I omitted some of the spices.

  • Bonnie Brazel

    I have not tried this yet but will this week. Baked chicken us our favorite.

    • Donna

      Trying this recipe tonight! Used my spin on seasoning so keeping my fingers crossed.

  • Mary Kaufman

    How do I save this recipe to Pinterest? Please let me know. Thank you, Mary Kaufman

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry for the delay, I’ve had my web developer add a pin button at the top of each post (the other social sharing buttons were give the site big time issues so had to get rid of them). You can also hover over an image and a pin it button should appear on the upper right. Hope that helps!

  • Kathryn M Gomes

    This recipe has too much sodium. I would rather use Sea Salt. But I not sure why the recipe has so much potassium.