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!
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 9x13” 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
Ingredient Substitutions
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.
Store/FreezeThis 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