If you’ve ever pulled a dry, flavorless chicken breast out of the oven and wondered what went wrong, I’ve been there too. After years of making quick weeknight dinners for my family, I found that the secret is what you put on top. This Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast is covered in a simple sauce made with melted butter, fresh garlic, seasonings, and parsley, then baked in just 20 minutes. The butter keeps the chicken juicy and tender the whole time it bakes. No brining and no complicated steps!
Say Goodbye to Boring Chicken Dinners!
If you’re looking for chicken dinner recipes that aren’t boring, this garlic butter chicken breast is about to become your new weeknight favorite.
I’ve been making versions of this recipe for years, and it’s one of those dishes my family never gets tired of. Pierre, my husband, asks for it on repeat and honestly, I get it. That garlic butter sauce is everything.
What I love most about this recipe is that it proves chicken breast doesn’t have to be dry, bland, or complicated. On Primavera Kitchen, I’ve built my whole approach around quick, easy dinner recipes for busy families and this one delivers every time. The garlic butter sauce does all the heavy lifting: it keeps the chicken incredibly juicy and tender, and packs in so much flavor that you don’t need to marinate, brine, or pound the meat beforehand. No extra steps, no mess, no stress.
I always serve it with my Parmesan Crispy Smashed Potatoes or creamy mashed potatoes since potatoes are perfect for soaking up every drop of that buttery sauce. It’s one of those dinners that feels a little special even on a Tuesday night.
Key Ingredients
All ingredients and their amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Chicken Breast – I always reach for boneless, skinless chicken breasts when I need a quick, lean protein on a busy weeknight. After making this recipe more times than I can count, I know this cut works beautifully here. It soaks up the garlic butter sauce so well and stays juicy and tender when you don’t overbake it. That said, if chicken thighs are what you have on hand, go for it! They work great too.
Butter – I always use unsalted butter in this recipe, and I think that makes a real difference. It gives me full control over the salt, so the garlic and seasonings can do their job without the dish ending up too salty. I’ve learned over the years that this small detail matters more than people think.
Garlic – Please use fresh garlic here. I really mean it! I’ve made this with jarred, pre-minced garlic before, and it’s just not the same. Fresh minced garlic gives the butter sauce that sharp, aromatic flavor that makes this recipe so good. It’s one of those simple things that takes the whole dish to another level.
Love this garlic butter chicken breasts recipe. Moist, flavorful, quick prep, so delicious. This is the best way to prepare skinless, boneless chicken breast without drying the meat. I have used this recipe many times – always perfect.
By Barbara
How to Bake Chicken Breast
Step 1: Seasoning & Searing
I always season all sides with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika before searing for just 1 to 2 minutes per side. I’m not cooking the chicken here. I’m actually building flavor. I’ve found this quick sear is what locks in the juices and gives you that golden crust that makes all the difference.
Step 2: The Garlic Butter Sauce
I prefer fresh garlic over anything from a jar. I think the flavor difference is huge. I always use unsalted butter so I can control the salt, then I just mix everything together and pour it right over the chicken.
After that, the skillet goes straight into a 400F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. I always recommend using an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature to make sure your chicken is perfectly cooked every time and never dry.
Step 3: The Finished Chicken
When it comes out of the oven, I like to spoon that garlic butter sauce from the skillet back over the top. I’ve learned it’s liquid gold, so don’t skip it! I also recommend letting it rest 5 minutes before serving. I think that’s what takes this baked chicken breast recipe with sauce from good to really, really good.
Foolproof Baked Chicken Breast Recipe Tips:
1. Don’t swap the butter for olive oil. I’ve tried it both ways, and trust me, the butter is what makes this recipe. It browns and bastes the chicken as it bakes, and that’s where all the flavor comes from.
2. Mix the garlic into the melted butter. Don’t add it raw directly on the chicken. I always mix the minced garlic into the butter sauce first so it gets coated and protected by the fat. This is what prevents it from turning bitter in the oven.
4. I always pull the chicken out of the fridge 15–20 minutes early. Then, I pat dry the chicken with paper towels. Cold chicken makes the butter seize before it can coat properly. Room temperature chicken makes such a difference here.
5. Rest it and save every drop of pan butter. I let mine rest for 5–10 minutes, and in that time the pan drippings thicken into the most incredible little sauce. I always spoon it over at the table. Don’t skip this step!
6. Big chicken breast? I cut it in half horizontally. Smaller, even pieces cook faster and you get so much more butter contact on every bite, which is exactly what we’re after here.
More Chicken Breast Recipes For Dinner
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and black pepper
- 1/2 + 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tbsp butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and set aside.
- In a small bowl mix 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, butter, Italian seasoning, parsley, and garlic. Set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When the skillet is hot add chicken breast. Sear until golden. It’s about 1-2 minutes each side.
- Pour garlic butter mixture over the chicken breast. Place skillet in the oven and cook until cooked through. It’s about 20 minutes or until chicken breasts gets to an internal temperature of 165F.
- Remove from the oven. Using a spoon, pour some of the butter sauce left in the skillet onto the chicken breast. Also, if you prefer, top with fresh herbs before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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I’m not a fan of breast usually I eat dark meat but it was very tasty. Thanks Olivia
You’re very welcome. Thank you so much for commenting 😉
Making these now…they already look good before even putting them in the oven!
Happy to hear that!
This is a delicious meal. I had leftover chicken and garlic butter sauce. I sauteed mushrooms, reheated chicken and sauce I mixed in angel hair pasta and voila, another meal. Thanks for this recipe!
Thank you. Happy you like it and angel hair pasta with it sounds great.
Made this tonight and it was so moist and delicious!
That’s great!!
Breast is the best! (If you can cook like Olivia, haha)
This recipe was amazing, never tried paprika on garlic chicken. Very simple!
This would have saved me on the nutricken diet.
My husband is a new fan of yours! (he says hi!)
Thanks Olivia!
That’s so awesome! I’m so thrilled to hear you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! Thanks a lot for your feedback 😉
Rarely, do I find really good recipes. This really did taste like it came from a restaurant. Will definitely be using this one again and again. Thanks!
That’s awesome! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe 😉
Made your recipe garlic butter chicken breast:) it is Amazing 😉 I basically live on boneless chicken breast! This is my Fav!!! Paprika is my all time spice, and I use hot paprika. Thank you! My grandparents are Hungarian, Soo I grew up on lots of paprika dishes 😋😋
Awesome!! So happy you like it!
Just pulled chicken out of the oven to rest, since my breasts were approximately 4 oz I cooked for 20 mins basted the breasts and stood by for 2-3 mins and then pulled them out. looks just as pictured. Made white quinoa and pan seared summer veggies. Looks delicious can’t wait to dig in!!
That’s awesome. Happy to hear that 😉
My son is very picky but he loves this recipe. Now I will be cooking this at least twice a week Thank you so much Olivia
Your comment just made my day. Thank you so much 😉
Do you need to pound out the chicken ?
Not necessary. But when some parts of chicken breast are thicker than other parts, they will cook at an uneven rate. So pounding the chicken will allow to cook it evenly.
Very good. I didnt have parsley so I substituted with basil, thyme and some rosemary. Overall easy and delish. Thank you.
Awesome. It’s a very easy dish to put together and it’s so flavourful!
I was curious if we substitute the grass fed butter with regular butter would it still taste the same?
Yes it does!
Do you cook them at 350?
400F
What if I don’t have fresh OR dry parsley???
Parsley is optional. If you don’t have it, don’t add.
Nice and easy recipe that results in a very satisfying meal. Kids ate it up. That’s a win.
That’s awesome. Glad to know your kids enjoyed it 😉
Fixed this for my client and he loved it!
Awesome!
Can you substitute chicken tenders for the chicken breasts?
Sorry I can’t confirm it with you, but I’ve never made this recipe with chicken tenders. Please let me know how it turned out if you try it 😉
Love so easy and came out perfect! Tasty tooMiche
Can you make this ahead of time and refrigerate?
yes you can.
If i refrigirate these, what is the perfect way to reheat them?
I normally just warm them up in the microwave.
I must say this recipe turned out delicious. Pretty easy to make and full of flavor.
Thanks
You’re very welcome!
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. I didn’t know about the parchment paper amazing!
You’re very welcome!
Bachelor here. Made for guests over a bed of basmati race with fresh baby spinach. Got a couple “you won’t be a bachelor for long…” comments. So it definitely went pretty well. Thanks
That’s really great! Happy to hear that 😉
I’m a chef at a restaurant a 5 star gourmet place, also in culinary arts college and this recipe caught my eye. The aroma smells amazing! I might introduce this to the restaurant 🙂
Wow thank you!!! I’m so happy to hear that especially coming from someone who is a professional chef. Thank you again 😉
I was looking for a different recipe for chicken breasts and came across yours. I made it last night and it was delicious. My husband especially liked the butter garlic sauce. Thanks for sharing
Right? The garlic butter sauce is the best! Thanks for stopping by 😉
Thank you for the recipe the whole family loved it and it was simple and quick. My only problem was the chicken was a little dry, cooking it at 400 might be too much in my oven so if your oven cooks high maybe bring the temp down or the time. Still full of flavor!!
Happy you like it. You just need to bake until the chicken gets the internal temperature of 165F. If you cook for long time it will be dry.
Just tried this recipe with olive oil and basil and it came out amazing! Thank you
Awesome 😉
I don’t have a cast iron pan , any suggestion on how to make , this sounds amazing
You can use any other skillet you have on hand 😉
The recipe was simply awesome,only thing which I felt lacking was the spices didn’t thoroughly went inside.
Would love if u can suggest something.
Thanks
You can season the chicken and marinate it over night.
This was so easy and so good ! We will have this again !
Awesome 🙂
I’m currently making this recipe for the second time, the first time my family loved it! But I will say it’s a little much garlic for my taste, and a little lemon pepper seasoning would do so much for this recipe! Overall an amazing recipe and I plan on making it many times.
Awesome. You can always reduce the amount of garlic according to your taste and yes lemon pepper seasoning works great too 😉
My husband and I both loved this chicken!
So happy to hear that 😉
So I do something similar with the garlic butter to my pork chops. I think I’m the only woman that doesnt own a cast iron I seared them and then put it in a baking pan still turned out amazing never would have thought to do this with chicken loved it!
I made this for dinner & paired it with cacio e pepe, and it was a hit! My teens loved it! Super good!!!
Amazing! I’m so so happy to hear you and your boys liked this recipe!
Just got done eating this. It was so good and a hit with my young boys and husband! Thank you! Def making this again 😉
You’re very welcome!
They taste delicious! Thank you so much!
I’m trying to log the nutrition in myfitnesspal. By serving 1/3 does that mean that’s the value for 1/3 of a single breast?
Yes it does.