Baked Chicken Breasts
Posted Aug 18, 2021, Updated Feb 24, 2024
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These oven baked chicken breasts are perfectly seasoned, flavorful and juicy. This is the best baked chicken recipe because the breasts are infused with spices and stay moist – a great way to meal prep chicken for the week!
Chicken breasts are easy and versatile to make and enjoy, however it can be difficult to find new and fresh ways to eat them (check out these homemade chicken nuggets, yum)- let alone recipes that are easy enough to make during the week.
Well, this baked chicken breasts recipe is the best – resulting in moist, juicy, flavorful chicken! It’s easy to make and so versatile it can be paired with just about any of your favorite sides (like roasted broccoli – yum) for a healthy meal your whole family with love.
This recipe calls for coating the chicken in a spice rub and letting it sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours so the flavor penetrates all the way to the center of the breasts.
There are ways to shorten this, that we’ll discuss later, but I love that I can prepare the recipe in the afternoon and they’re ready to bake at dinner time when things are pretty busy around here.
Baked Chicken Breasts: Ingredients & Substituions
- Chicken Breasts. You can use thighs, wings, or bone-in chicken breasts if you prefer. You will just need to adjusting the baking time accordingly.
- Olive oil. any neutral oil works in this recipe, the alternative I recommend to olive oil is avocado oil.
- Spices (paprika, garlic powder, onion powder): You can change up the spices if you’d like or add extras. I sometimes like adding turmeric or mustard powder but I find the recipe turns out best as it is written.
- Lemon juice. Lime juice can be used in place of lemon juice, if desired.
How to Cook Chicken Breasts in the Oven
Let’s walk through what I think is the best way to cook chicken breasts in the oven! Don’t forget to watch the video.
Make the Spice Mixture
Mix together salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Coat Chicken Breasts
Next, put the chicken in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, turn to coat each breast with oil. Evenly space the chicken breasts on a wire rack on a baking sheet.
Let the Chicken Rest
Next, sprinkle each chicken breast evenly with spice mixture on both sides, patting it down to make sure it sticks.
Then, cover the coated chicken breasts and let them sit in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. This allows the spices to penetrate all the way to the core of the chicken so every bite is bursting with flavor.
You can shorten this and let the breasts sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or you can just go ahead and bake them right after coating and this baked chicken will still be delicious!
Bake
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 9×13” baking dish. I always bake my chicken breasts at 400 degrees (a generally higher temperature) to seal in the moisture.
Transfer the chicken breasts from the wire rack to the baking dish and drizzle the top of the chicken with lemon juice (if desired).
Bake for 15-25 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Baking time depends a great deal on the thickness of your chicken breasts – thinner breasts cook faster than thicker ones.
I always recommend using a quick-read thermometer when cooking meat to ensure it is done properly.
Serve
Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving warm. Here are some ways we enjoy eating this baked chicken:
- With a salad: bake it and serve it on top of (or on the side of) this kale salad, Greek salad, quinoa salad, or this burrata salad.
- I almost always serve this recipe with side of roasted vegetables: most commonly I make some roasted broccoli, but additional favorites include roasted brussels sprouts (or brussels sprouts with bacon), roasted butternut squash, roasted carrots, roasted beets, and balsamic roasted vegetables.
- Homemade bread goes perfectly with this recipe, try our dinner rolls, no knead bread, homemade french bread or pretzel bread.
- Serve it with a side of rice or potatoes (like these roasted sweet potatoes).
Store/Freeze
This oven baked chicken can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Or in the freezer for up to 1 month. I suggest storing it sliced so it’s easy to grab some out of the refrigerator/freezer to use
Baked Chicken Recipe FAQs
A small chicken breast (4 oz like in this recipe), takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to bake at 400 degrees F.
You can cover the chicken to cook it, however I do not and this recipe still turns out moist and delicious.
I like to bake chicken at 400 degrees F. It’s hot enough to cook the outside and seal in the moisture but not so hot that it dries out the chicken.
Yes. I don’t cook this chicken with foil and it’s perfect! Use a glass or ceramic baking dish.
The best way to tell when chicken breasts are done is to use an instant read thermometer! You want the chicken breasts to reach 160-165 degrees F. Remember they will continue cooking slightly in the pan when it is removed from the oven.
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Oven Baked Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (boneless, skinless – 4 total)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Place a metal wire rack on a baking sheet.
- Mix together salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Place chicken in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, turn to coat each breast with oil.
- Evenly space the chicken breasts on the wire rack on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle each chicken breast evenly with spice mixture on both sides, patting it down to make sure it sticks.
- Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. (note: You can shorten this and let the breasts sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or you can just bake them right after coating and this baked chicken will still be delicious).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9×13” baking dish.
- Transfer the chicken breasts from the wire rack to the baking dish.
- Drizzle the top of the chicken with lemon juice (if desired).
- Bake for 15-25 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Baking time depends a great deal on the thickness of your chicken breasts.
- Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving warm.
Video
Notes
- Chicken Breasts. You can use thighs, wings, or bone-in chicken breasts if you prefer. You will just need to adjusting the baking time accordingly.
- Olive oil. any neutral oil works in this recipe, the alternative I recommend to olive oil is avocado oil.
- Spices (paprika, garlic powder, onion powder): You can change up the spices if you’d like or add extras. I sometimes like adding turmeric or mustard powder but I find the recipe turns out best as it is written.
- Lemon juice. Lime juice can be used in place of lemon juice, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So delicious! I have made this many times and it has become my go to baked chicken. This is in my “Laura’s Best” list. Thank you!
Thank you so much Sara!! I’m so glad you love it and I feel so honored that you have a “Laura’s Best” list! 🙂