This tasty baked chicken breast is cooked with garlic butter sauce in the oven for 20 minutes until tender and juicy. It’s sure to become an instant family favorite!
For quick and easy chicken breast recipes for dinner, give my family’s favorite dishes a try like this Stuffed Chicken Breast. We also love these 50 Best Chicken Breast Recipes, Instant Pot Chicken Breast and this Air Fryer Chicken Breast Recipe.
If you love juicy chicken breast recipes, I’m sure you’ll love this recipe. My husband also loves it, especially because I cook it in garlic butter sauce. Who doesn’t love a buttery flavoured sauce?
This sauce gives more flavor to this chicken breast and helps it to be tender, moist and juicy too. This sauce is so good that you don’t need to even use a chicken marinade.
Don’t be afraid to bake chicken in the oven – it won’t be dry or tasteless. This is one of the juiciest chicken breast recipes you can find online.
This is also one of my favorite chicken recipes because it’s so quick and easy to make. No weird steps, no wrapping or brining needed. You don’t even need to pound the chicken breast with a rolling pin or meat mallet and you don’t need to use parchment paper or plastic wrap either. The garlic butter sauce will bring all the flavors.
Ingredients to Make Baked Chicken Breast
- Chicken breast — I use boneless skinless chicken breast.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — Keep in mind that kosher salt is twice the size of table salt. A sprinkle of table salt is much saltier than the same amount in kosher salt.
- Paprika — Use sweet or smoked paprika.
- Butter — use Ghee if you’re doing Whole30.
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh parsley — chopped
- Garlic — minced
- Olive oil — extra virgin
Instructions to make Baked Chicken
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Season all the sides of chicken breast with salt, pepper and paprika. In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When the skillet is hot add chicken breast. Sear for about 1-2 minutes each side or until golden.
2. In a small bowl mix together the butter, Italian seasoning, parsley, and garlic. Set aside.
3. Pour garlic butter mixture over the chicken breast. Place skillet in the oven and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken breasts gets to an internal temperature of 165F.
4. Remove from the oven. Using a spoon, pour some of the butter sauce left in the skillet onto the chicken breast before serving.
Olivia’s Recipe Tips
- After removing the chicken breast from the fridge, pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
- Replace chicken breast for chicken thighs or even chicken legs if it’s what you have. I prefer to make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken breast. However, you can make it with bone-in and skin on chicken thighs too.
- To have a more buttery sauce, add two extra tablespoons of butter.
- If you like spices, add more paprika and Italian seasoning. You can also add your favorite seasonings like cumin, coriander, garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, and more. You can also add a little bit of brown sugar.
- Let the baked chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- You can use a baking dish or a baking sheet.
How To Store Leftovers
- To Store: Let the chicken cool, then place it in an airtight container. I prefer using glass containers because they don’t retain smells and are easier to clean. It’ll last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- To Freeze: You can freeze it for up to three months. For convenience, I suggest shredding, dicing, or slicing the chicken before freezing.
- To Reheat: Microwave your baked chicken with a damp paper towel over top the container to keep it moist.
How long to Bake Chicken Breast?
The cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken breast and also on the power of your oven. Some ovens have slight heat differences.
But according to USDA, a 4-oz. chicken breast should be bake at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 minutes or 30 minutes. If the chicken breast is smaller then 4oz, bake it for about 20 minutes.
However, to bake a 5 to 6 ounce chicken breast at 400F, it will take around 20 to 25 minutes.
How do you know when boneless chicken breast is done?
Check the temperature of the chicken breast with an instant read thermometer. Chicken is cooked when it reaches the internal temperature of 165°F (74˚C). Don’t forget to always insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken.
What should I serve with this Baked Chicken
- Over cauliflower rice with salad on the side
- Over roasted veggies
- Over quinoa, rice, dinner rolls or mashed potatoes if you’re not following a low-carb diet.
More Chicken Breast Recipes to Try:
- Delicious Baked Chicken Breast Recipe or Chicken Mushroom that are both super easy to make.
- Super Juicy Chicken Breast that we love for dinner.
- Chicken Fajitas and it’s stays good in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Spicy Green Beans Chicken Breast Skillet
- Easy and quick to make Mediterranean Chicken Skillet.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have a cast iron pan, no need to worry. Use a skillet to cook chicken, then transfer to a foil pan or baking dish before adding garlic butter and baking.
Tip: if you bake it in a sheet pan or casserole, add some potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli to make it a one-pan meal.
No, there’s no need to flip it when baking.
I recommend using a garlic butter sauce, as it adds extra moisture to the chicken. This is how I prepare this easy chicken dinner to ensure it retains all its natural juices.
It comes down to what you prefer and how you like your chicken. Both baking and pan-frying can make tasty chicken breasts, but baking usually needs less oil, which some people prefer for health reasons.
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast
Video
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 + 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tbsp butter (melted) use Ghee if you're doing Whole30.
- 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 20-30 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 before serving.
Tips
- Fresh garlic tastes a lot better than pre-minced garlic, so I recommend you use fresh garlic cloves.
- Get chicken breasts similar in size, so they cook evenly.
- If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can cook the chicken in a regular pan. After cooking it on the stove, transfer the chicken to a baking dish or sheet pan. Finish cooking the chicken in the oven.
- To store: Store leftover chicken breasts in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- To reheat: You can reheat in the microwave when ready to eat. You can also eat chicken cold.
- To freeze: Freeze the cooked chicken breasts in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
Watch the Baked Chicken Breast Web Stories.
SAL says
I’m not a fan of breast usually I eat dark meat but it was very tasty. Thanks Olivia
Olivia says
You’re very welcome. Thank you so much for commenting 😉
Andre says
Making these now…they already look good before even putting them in the oven!
Olivia says
Happy to hear that!
Gamma says
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!
Olivia says
Thank you. Happy you like it and angel hair pasta with it sounds great.
Stacey Ross says
Made this tonight and it was so moist and delicious!
Olivia says
That’s great!!
Darlene Coplen says
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!
Olivia says
That’s so awesome! I’m so thrilled to hear you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! Thanks a lot for your feedback 😉
Traniece says
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!
Olivia says
That’s awesome! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe 😉
Jo says
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 😋😋
Olivia says
Awesome!! So happy you like it!
Teresa says
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!!
Olivia says
That’s awesome. Happy to hear that 😉
Moni says
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
Olivia says
Your comment just made my day. Thank you so much 😉
Laura accavatti says
Do you need to pound out the chicken ?
Olivia says
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.
Melissa R. says
Very good. I didnt have parsley so I substituted with basil, thyme and some rosemary. Overall easy and delish. Thank you.
Olivia says
Awesome. It’s a very easy dish to put together and it’s so flavourful!
La'Tavia says
I was curious if we substitute the grass fed butter with regular butter would it still taste the same?
Olivia says
Yes it does!
Whitney Neff says
Do you cook them at 350?
Olivia says
400F
Samantha Au says
What if I don’t have fresh OR dry parsley???
Olivia says
Parsley is optional. If you don’t have it, don’t add.
John says
Nice and easy recipe that results in a very satisfying meal. Kids ate it up. That’s a win.
Olivia says
That’s awesome. Glad to know your kids enjoyed it 😉
Cheryl Johnson says
Fixed this for my client and he loved it!
Olivia says
Awesome!
Jenni says
Can you substitute chicken tenders for the chicken breasts?
Olivia says
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 😉
Michele Gourlay says
Love so easy and came out perfect! Tasty tooMiche
EStear says
Can you make this ahead of time and refrigerate?
Olivia says
yes you can.
Rose says
If i refrigirate these, what is the perfect way to reheat them?
Olivia says
I normally just warm them up in the microwave.
Gregory Frogg says
I must say this recipe turned out delicious. Pretty easy to make and full of flavor.
Thanks
Olivia says
You’re very welcome!
Stacy Ratcliff says
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. I didn’t know about the parchment paper amazing!
Olivia says
You’re very welcome!
Jason says
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
Olivia says
That’s really great! Happy to hear that 😉
Jeffrey says
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 🙂
Olivia says
Wow thank you!!! I’m so happy to hear that especially coming from someone who is a professional chef. Thank you again 😉