This post is sponsored by Foster Farms Air Chilled Chicken but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
This oven-baked chicken breast is a must-try chicken recipe! It's so delicious! The meat is so juicy and perfectly cooked with a homemade chicken seasoning blend! It's an easy weeknight dinner meal, fast, and packed with flavors!
There are so many chicken breast recipes out there! If you really want to know the secret to tender and juicy chicken, please keep reading because I am going to show you the best way to cook chicken breasts in the oven! I think you really have to try this oven-baked chicken breast recipe! No marinating or brining required!
This easy chicken recipe is made with simple seasoning! The chicken breast is baked in the oven at a high temperature until caramelized. Always cooked in perfection every time! It never fails me and I know that you're going to love it!
Check Out More Delicious Chicken Recipes:
- EASY ZA’ATAR ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST
- SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHICKEN BREAST WITH CREAM SAUCE
- HARISSA CHICKEN RECIPE – OVEN ROASTED!
- CREAMY CHICKEN MARSALA
- SLOW COOKER CREAMY CHICKEN WILD RICE SOUP
- GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN (SWEET AND SAVORY DEEP-FRIED CHICKEN)
- CHICKEN IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE
- MEDITERRANEAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH VEGGIES
- THAI BASIL CHICKEN (PAD KRAPOW GAI)
- HEALTHY BAKED CHICKEN TENDERS (AKA CHICKEN STRIPS)
- PANKO BREADED CHICKEN KATSU
Chicken breasts are a good source of lean protein without consuming a lot of fat depending on how you cook them. For many people, dark meat or chicken thighs are always the winners in my chicken recipes because they consider it to be more tender and flavorful than white meat. Well, not anymore! This chicken breast recipe proves that you can cook chicken breast beautifully, juicy, tender, and without drying it out!
Now, let's talk about the ingredients!
The Chicken Breast Seasoning Blend:
It's made with basic pantry ingredients: light brown sugar, paprika, ancho chili pepper, oregano (which can be replaced with any of your favorite herbs such as thyme), cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
The brown sugar is the most important ingredient in this recipe. It adds sweetness to the meat, it makes the chicken sweat while it bakes and resulting in more tender and juicy meat, and also gives that beautiful caramelized color on the surface.
To balance out the sweetness flavor from the sugar. I added ancho chili pepper and paprika. These spices add both vibrant colors and flavors to the dish. Both spices have a mildly sweet flavor but don't have much heat at all. The ancho chili pepper adds a nice smoky flavor to the meat. Therefore, this oven-baked chicken breast recipe is not considered as spicy food and very kid-friendly!
Feel free to add a small amount of chili powder or cayenne pepper if you want to add an extra spicy kick to the dish.
How to Oven-Baked Chicken Breast:
In this recipe, you are going to use medium-size chicken breasts that will take about 18 minutes to bake at 425F. It's relatively quick and easy! And the result is phenomenal!
You Should Pound Chicken Breasts Before Cooking Them:
Chicken breasts come in different sizes, therefore, they will cook at an uneven rate. For that reason, you will need to pound them out so they can cook at the same time. The pounding will also tenderize the meat, making them more tender.
Pounding the chicken breast to even thickness is very easy. Basically, you just need to place the chicken on a cutting board, cover it with plastic wrap, and pound using a meat mallet or rolling pin or the back of saucepan until all the pieces are of an even thickness. You want to start pounding from the thicker part area first.
Also, if the chicken breasts are too big, you can slice it in half horizontally, starting at the thickest end, working away from you and toward the thinner end.
In this recipe, I used Foster Farms Air-Chilled Chicken. Because air-chilled chicken doesn’t absorb excess water, it tends to cook faster than when chicken is water- chilled. It also offers other benefits such as better taste and texture. By using Foster Farms Air-Chilled Chicken, you will spend less time in the kitchen and more time with family eating quality, healthy ingredients!
You can learn more about Foster Farms Air-Chilled Chicken here.
I hope you will enjoy this chicken breast recipe! Don't forget to share and come back here to tell us what you think about this recipe!
Oven-Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 Foster Farms Air-Chilled Chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts, (about 5 oz each)
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1½ tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, (or use thyme)
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ancho chili powder, optional - (or use more or less according to your liking)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, (unsalted)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, (or use more or less according to your liking)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line the baking sheet with foil and parchment paper.
- Trim any membranes or fat from the breasts with a knife.
- Put the chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap or put it in a large ziploc. Pound with the flat side of a meat mallet, rolling pin, or the back of the saucepan to an even thickness.
- In a small bowl, mix in all the seasoning ingredients: light brown sugar, cumin, paprika, ancho chili pepper, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking sheet.
- Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle and rub both sides evenly with homemade chicken seasoning.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes depending on the thickness or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.Note: An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- Remove the cooked chicken breast from the oven then transfer to a clean plate. Serve and enjoy!
Kenny D
I'm late to the game here but wanted to chime in and say wrapping the breasts in plastic wrap gives no room for the breast to expand and flatten horizontally. Put them on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap and pound them.
The reviewer that complained about the seasoning is hilarious. There is nothing here that could taste horrible unless you hate seasonings in general.
Rika
Thank you Kenny for the comment :). Great tip on wrapping the chicken...I should rewrite that part.
Best,
Rika