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!
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.
- 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.
For more 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.
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.
Deborah says
This is a family favorite here. We just love it and I make this several times a month.
Olivia says
Aww I’m so happy to hear this 😉
Helen says
Chicken came out so moist and delicious!
Olivia says
That’s awesome. Yes it’s so tender and moist!
Danielle P says
My husband is very picky, but he loved this dish! Thank you.
Olivia says
This is awesome!! happy he liked it.
Sarah says
Kind of bland.
Olivia says
I’m surprised to hear that since garlic and butter is one of the most flavorful sauce ever. Are you sure you use the right about of butter, garlic and salt?
Ivy says
Could you by chance have COVID? That would make sense!! This would have been bland if you omitted the garlic,herbs,and paprika!! In that case you clearly used a separate recipe. This is a recipe I always go back to. Please don’t comment if you didn’t follow the recipe.
Donovan green says
I made this for my first time cooking and it came out amazing this shit good asl
Olivia says
lol amazing!
zenobia regina harris says
it was really good special the garlic, any more recipe with garlic.
Olivia says
Yes we have lots of garlic butter recipes. On the search bar just type “garlic butter” and you will see all the recipes with garlic.
zenobia regina harris says
ill use saltless and it still came out good.
Ingrid says
This is definitely 5 stars! It is quick, easy and delicious!
Olivia says
So happy you liked it!
bob mackie says
I have probably made his 50 times – it feels rich and moist like you’d get in a restaurant, tastes amazing. I don’t follow the amounts anymore I just use lots of butter and the spices listed, plenty of salt too. So good! Keeps my wife happy. Thanks so much for the recipe! Dinner in half an hour.
Olivia says
You’re very welcome. So happy you both enjoy this recipe. Thanks for stopping by and leaving this feedback 😉
Annie Lux says
Just made this! Yummy and my husband wants to add it to the rotation (yes I will!) I served it with rice but I bet mashed potatoes would be even better! Thank you!
Olivia says
That’s awesome. I’m happy to hear that!
Nancy says
Same instructions to follow if pan fried instead of baked ?
Olivia says
It’s better if you make this recipe with small pieces of chicken breast so it will cook well inside and you probably won’t burn the chicken.