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!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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….
Hi Nag, I was looking for a chicken recipe that was not complicated, that was more on the healthy side, that didn’t call for too much prep or exotic ingredients. Low and behold this recipe appeared as one of the first choices. Thank you for sharing this delicious masterpiece, it was truly a game changer and will be making more of an appearance at our family’s dinner table. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hi!! I’m cooking this now!! I only have light brown sugar will that make a huge difference? Thanks!
That will be fine! 🙂
I just mde this or it’s in the oven now. It looks good but all the juices from the oil and chicken make all the seasoning want to go to the bottom of the pan. How do I avoid this in the future? I didn’t have brown sugar what I did have was organic coconut sugar alt to cane sugar. It’s brown but I hope tastes as good. I used ms dash and Italian seasoning I had to improvise I didn’t have everything lol.
My husband said to write this recipe down, then write it down again, then put it on my phone , then email it to myself so I don’t lose it. States this is “the bomb.”
Nagi,
Thank you for this delicious recipe. My family has been looking for flavorful healthy meals and this recipe is perfect. I just browsed a few more of your recipes and the carnitas are next. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talent.
Thanks for the feedback Tim! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
That’s great to hear Tim! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
Thank you so much for the recipe. It was delicious.
Loved the recipe – very juicy. What spices would you use to make it a bit spicy?
Cayenne pepper!
How much Cayenne?
So simple and so delicious! Didn’t change a thing and turned out juicy and flavourful!
I love hearing that! So glad you enjoyed this Mary-Ann! N x
I like that it’s low in calories and looks juicy and delicious. Perfectly cooking chicken breast is almost everybody’s challenge, and I better bounce out of your blog before spending half my day browsing it 🙂
Always lovely to see you here Muna! I hope you are well! N x
Excellent recipe ngai!
You nailed it for sure!
Thank you & well done!
Terrific to hear you enjoyed this!! Thanks! N x
Tried this out the first time and must say it was easy to make and amazing!! The family thoroughly enjoyed it for a first time recipe. I was skeptical about the brown sugar but after it was baked, realized that they do sweat as per your notes 🙂
Great job with the recipe..keep up the good work and keep sharing especially for working mothers where we do need simple recipes that are not time consuming.
That’s great Iris! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
Easy, very moist and tasty. Definitely a keeper. I used some onion powder, curry powder and turmeric instead of garlic powder and herbs …very good!. And I cooked halved fresh peaches with a little molasses in the center in the same pan. Perfectly yummy!
That’s great Ruth! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
Oh my gosh! This is so yummy and didn’t take much effort to make.! It is very moist and has such delicious flavor. And the pounding was lots of fun! : ) Thanks so much for sharing. I can’t wait to have some friends over and cook some chicken….and act like it was really difficult to do.
Love hearing that Catherine! I’m so pleased you love this as much as I do! N x
Hi Nagi made this last night it’s a keeper.i have them on my grocery list for a repeat performance. I intend to make the sweet potato salad also. I will serve it as a light lunch I cook I cook twice a day for my invalid husband who cannot eat bread so a quick sandwich is off the menu I look for simple dishes .Thank you. I’ve been scanning the internet for the lovely bottles u used for the salad dressings do your Rember where you sourced them? I’m sure I would have more impetus to make more than one salad dressing at a time. So pretty.Tks
Hi Beryl! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this! The bottles were from a discount store, just a local one. I haven’t seen them since unfortunately. But I just use normal jars for all my salad dressings!
This is a delicious and very easy recipe which I love. It makes cooking a lot less stress free.
What would be the best way to re heat the chicken if you want to pre cook it in the afternoon before serving at a dinner party?
Thank you
Robyn
Hi Robyn! To be honest, breast is not the best for reheating because it’s so lean 🙂 But if you wanted to do so, then microwave is best. Loosely cover with cling wrap to keep the moisture in and reheat gently so it’s warm, not piping hot – don’t want to risk overcooking!
Oh – my – goodness! First let me say, I have never liked chicken breasts that I cook. They always come out exceptionally dry, so I would replace chicken thighs for every chickent breast recipe I found. THIS time, I decided to try the recipe as written, since you addressed the dryness factor and assured me that this would work. Well, you were absolutely correct! My breasts, though abnormally large, came out extremely juicy and tender after beating them to a meaty pulp. And even though I used a 9×13 baking dish instead of the tray, the results were the same. They even remained juicy the next day when I microwaved leftovers. This recipe will stay in constant rotation for me.
Glad you enjoyed it Martye! Thanks for letting me know! N x
i have never left a review on a recipe before, but i had to. i can’t cook very well and chicken? even less! but this recipe was awesome and so good. i used rosemary instead of oregano/thyme and it was delicious. thank you!!!!
You’re so welcome Sunny! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 N x
I was searching the web for a chicken breast recipe and decides to try this one. All I can say is wow! This recipe was exactly as it is described, juicy, tender and delish. Thanks for the recipe..
This is great chicken! The first week after my wife found this recipe I had it every night straight for the entire week.
Wow, high praise!! 🙂 N xx
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe! It was easy to put together and very tasty!
That’s wonderful to hear Jess! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
I wanted to try this with one large chicken breast instead of 4. How long should I cook it?
Hi Stephanie! How large is large? I think 20 minutes at the same temp will be fine for one around 250 – 300g / 6 – 10 oz, if just one (single breast cooks faster than multiple) 🙂
Can anything else be sub’d for thr brown sugar? Trying to watch my calories and go sugarless.
Hmm…. maybe add some extra garlic powder, onion powder and if you are in the States, 1/2 tsp Chili Powder. 🙂