This is the most popular of all chicken breast recipes that I’ve ever published. It’s a JUICY Oven Baked Chicken Breast sprinkled with a magic simple seasoning, baked until caramelised. It’s simple, fast and incredibly tasty! This is a reader-favourite alongside Honey Garlic Chicken, this epic Parmesan Crusted Chicken and crispy Garlic Chicken.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
A JUICY Baked Chicken Breast!
Though I always stand firm that brown meat is better than white – more flavour, more juiciness – lean chicken breast is a regular in my shopping trolley, week after week.
So today, I’m sharing my recipe for how I make Oven Baked Chicken Breast.
We can never have too many really great quick chicken breast recipes!
As simple as it sounds, if you whack a seasoned breast in the oven without thought, the chances are you’ll be chewing your way through dry chicken, furiously squirting over copious amounts of ketchup to try to salvage it.
It doesn’t need to be that way. Enter – a fabulous simple, magic chicken seasoning for baked chicken breast:
The Chicken Breast Seasoning
Made with just brown sugar, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, the secret ingredient in this is brown sugar:
Makes more seasoning, so you can coat the breast thoroughly and give it a beautiful crust without overpowering it with lots of spices that need longer to cook than chicken breast does; and
Makes it juicy – the chicken sweat while it bakes, so you end up with wetness that makes the chicken more juicy than the usual baked chicken breast.
Yes it adds sweetness but don’t worry, this baked chicken breast is still savoury!
How long to cook chicken breast
A medium chicken breast will take 18 – 20 minutes to bake at 220C / 425F. Cooking it hard and fast at a high temperature is the secret to gorgeous caramelisation and ultra juicy chicken inside. No dried out breast around here!!
The seasoning for this chicken is actually a really great indicator for when the chicken is cooked to perfection. Basically, once the surface of the chicken is caramelised, it’s cooked to perfection inside so get it out of the oven!
My last tip for a truly great Baked Chicken Breast is to pound it to even thickness, either with a rolling pin, meat mallet or even with your fist (very therapeutic). This has the double effect of even cooking as well as tenderising the meat.
The secret behind this baked chicken is the simple, magic seasoning
Most popular of all chicken breast recipes!
This Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast is the single most popular of all chicken breast recipes I’ve ever shared.
But don’t believe me. Have a browse below of what others have to say!
Try serving this with a side of Garlic Butter Rice with Kale, pictured in post. One pot carb + veg side, with kale made delicious! Otherwise, try a flavoured Rice Side like Tomato Basil Rice or Mushroom Rice.
If you’re in the mood for potatoes, try this Lemon Potato Salad, a classic creamy Potato Salad or a lighter No-Mayo Red Potato Salad with Charred Corn and Bacon.
And for something fresh, Spring Salad or Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing would go with the chicken beautifully. Else, simply drizzle steamed greens or a garden salad with Italian Dressing, Balsamic or French Vinaigrette. – Nagi x
More chicken breast recipes readers love!
Honey Garlic Chicken Breast – Super easy, super delicious!
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast – No breadcrumbs needed!
Chicken Kiev – A retro classic! Crumbed and fried chicken breast stuffed with oozing garlic butter …
Browse all chicken recipes
Baked Chicken Breast recipe
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts , 150 – 180g / 5 – 6 oz each (Note 1)
- 2 tsp olive oil
Seasoning:
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme , or other herb of choice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Garnish, optional:
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C (200°C fan).
- Pound chicken to 1.5cm / 0.6″ at the thickest part – using a rolling pin, meat mallet or even your fist (key tip for even cooking + tender chicken).
- Mix Seasoning.
- Line tray with foil and baking / parchment paper. Place chicken upside down on tray. Drizzle chicken with about 1 tsp oil. Rub over with fingers. Sprinkle with Seasoning.
- Flip chicken. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil, rub with fingers, sprinkle with Seasoning, covering as much of the surface area as you can.
- Bake 18 minutes, or until surface is golden per photos and video, or internal temperature is 165°F/75°C using a meat thermometer.
- Remove from oven and immediately transfer chicken to serving plates.
- Wait 3 – 5 minutes before serving, garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired. Pictured with a side of Garlic Butter Rice with Kale.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published March 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in March 2019, no change to recipe.
* The story and details of the Handcrafted Japanese Knife giveaway that originally accompanied this recipe when published was moved into a separate post because the Giveaway has finished.
LIFE OF DOZER
It’s just hanging there, taunting him. He sniffs at it, suspiciously….
This recipe is amazing!!! I was looking for something different to do with chicken breasts and realized I had all the ingredients, including a mallet when I found it! 🙂 I’ve already passed it to friends!
Super easy! Delish, moist, tender, excellent flavor! Quick clean up! Served with garlic shells and veggies. Everything was ready at the same time. I will definitely be asking this to my arsenal ❤️
Lovely, juicy! It comes out exactly as promised. A great recipe for when you don’t have time to marinate your chicken.
Yummmm!! Really enjoyed this recipe. Accidentally had left out chicken thigh instead of breast but it worked well as I just laid them flat in the tray.
Always so pleased with your recipes, Nagi! You are my go-to when looking for new recipes!
Yummy & quick! we all loved it and I passed the recipe to my friend and they loved it as well, thank you.
This was so FAST and easy. I’m always looking for great new chicken recipes and this one’s a Keeper. The spices all work beautifully together. Only change I made is to us 1/2 Oregano and 1/2 Thyme.
This is the best oven roasted chicken I’ve had in a long time! I love how simple and fast this recipe is. My chicken was a little on the thicker side, so I baked it for ~25 minutes and they came out perfect and juicy. Thanks!
Wondering if I could used large tenders. If so how long would I cook for
Hi Carmen, if they are large, I would bash them a little thinner to be more the size of breasts – they should be the same cook time depending on their weight. N x
Didn’t pound the chicken so I went 30 minutes, perfection!
Thankyou, this recipe is so quick and sooo tasty…, the Oven Baked Chicken Breast…I am subscribing…
AMAZING! I added onion powder and I had really thick pieces of chicken so I cooked them probably a total of 28 mins and they came out perfect! Will definitely be adding this to the meal rotation!
Just made this tonight and it was REALLY good. It’s true that it is juicy and tender. I didn’t change anything on the recipe except I accidentally used a smidge of Poultry Seasoning. For some reason I thought it called for that. I must have been seeing things. I went with the oregano as in the recipe. I’ll make this again. I served it with Orzo to which I added some minced garlic, butter and parmesan cheese – stirred it around in a skillet after boiling the orzo per pkg instructions. Went together very nice.
A quick and easy recipe that my family enjoyed. I added tarragon vs. the oregano, as well as thyme and paired the meal with stuffing and oven roasted sweet potato. A sweet (not too sweet) and savory 1hr. meal from prep to table. And an economical meal; 5 servings were plentiful from 3 chix breasts, 2 sweet potatoes, and a stove top stuffing. TY!
Really good and super moist. For a variety of reasons, I used bone-in breasts with skin and baked at 350 for an hour. They were perfect.
Easy, fast, delicious!
Great loved it do it again!!😃
I cooked this chicken last week for my partner and I. We loved it so much for It’s taste, tenderness and juiciness that it has now become one of our weekly dinners!!!
I just made this tonight and my family loved it!! Thank you so much
Wow! This was the best baked chicken breast recipe that I’ve ever made! We made extra for Sunday dinner with my family. I thought there would be leftovers for today. Nope! A second tray of chicken is baking now. Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe.
One of the juiciest and tastiest chicken breasts I’ve ever made. Only thing we would do next time is drop the brown sugar down 1/2 TBSP. It was a little too sweet, even for the kids, but perfect recipe!