This baked chicken breast comes out juicy every time: weigh it, coat it in a smoky-sweet paprika rub and bake it hot at 450°F for 12 to 25 minutes, depending on its size.
After more than a decade of developing meal prep recipes, I've baked a lot of chicken breasts, and this is the method I keep coming back to. I tested chicken breasts side by side at 400°F, 425°F and 450°F, and the hottest oven won by a mile: the 450°F batch was noticeably juicier. The other secret is simple. Weigh your chicken so you know exactly how long it needs, then let it rest before you slice it. No brining, no searing, and about 30 minutes start to finish, just like my perfect baked chicken thighs.
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Why You'll Love It
- Quick: it's ready in under 30 minutes.
- All purpose: great for chicken salad, tacos, wraps and salads.
- Works with any size: there are times for small, medium and large chicken breasts, plus butterflied ones, so it works with whatever you have on hand.
Still not convinced? Take it from Joyce, who says, “This is such an amazing recipe! I have made this many times and it is always delicious! The rub is perfect and so flavorful. The chicken comes out very moist.”
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Watch the Video
Watch the video below for all the tips and tricks to getting juicy chicken breast. You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast- this post covers boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Bone-in and skin-on breasts need longer in the oven.
- Oil- the oil helps the rub stick to the chicken, and helps the outside brown up. I recommend extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.
- Spice rub- paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and salt bring such a delicious blend of flavors
- Brown sugar- the sugar melts in the oven and gets golden and caramelized, making the outside of the chicken even more flavorful. If you are low carb, you can skip it (it still tastes great without it!)
How to Bake Chicken Breast
1. Prepare rub- in a small bowl, mix together the spices.
2. Weigh chicken- the bake time depends on the size of your chicken, so it's best to weigh each piece (or estimate from the photo above). If one is much thicker than the others, butterfly it (see below).
3. Oil chicken- toss or brush the chicken in a thin coating of extra virgin olive oil.
4. Apply rub- sprinkle the rub over the chicken, then use your hands to press it in so it sticks.
5. Bake- bake at 450°F, using the chart below for the time, and flip the chicken halfway through so it cooks evenly. Check it with a digital meat thermometer: it's done at 165°F in the thickest part.
6. Cover + rest- when the chicken is baked through, take it out of the oven. Cover it with a metal baking dish or aluminum foil and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
💡 TIP- Resting helps the juices settle into the meat. Cut into it too soon and the juices rush out, leaving the chicken drier and less tender.
7. Slice- always slice chicken breast against the grain. If you cut with the grain, the chicken will be stringy and chewy.
How to Butterfly a Chicken Breast
Butterflying gives a thick chicken breast an even thickness, so it bakes faster and more evenly (and makes a great sandwich-sized piece). All you need is a very sharp chef's knife.
- Hold it flat: lay the chicken breast on a cutting board and place your non-dominant hand flat on top of it.
- Slice through the side: holding the knife flat (parallel to the board), carefully slice into the thickest side of the breast. Keep going until you're about half an inch from the other side.
- Open it like a book: lift the top half and fold it open. You now have one wider, thinner, even piece.
Oil, season and bake it the same way, using the butterflied time in the chart below.
How Long to Bake Chicken Breast
| Chicken breast | Weight | Time at 450°F |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 5 oz | 12-15 minutes |
| Medium (the average grocery store size) | 7 oz | 15-20 minutes |
| Large | 10 oz | 20-25 minutes |
| Butterflied | 7 oz | 10-15 minutes |
Variations
- Make it less spicy: some readers reduce the paprika and pepper, or add a little more brown sugar, so the chicken has less of a “bite”.
- Use a different cut: this rub is fantastic on chicken thighs, drumsticks, even a whole roast chicken. The cooking time will change.
- Go extra juicy: brine it first. Dissolve a handful of salt in a large bowl of lukewarm water, submerge the chicken and refrigerate for 1-6 hours. Pat dry before following the recipe as written.
Ways to Use It
- Make grain bowls with rice or quinoa.
- Stir into pasta with a creamy sauce.
- Turn into tacos, nachos or quesadillas.
- Serve over salad with your favorite dressing.
- Tuck into a bun for a sandwich.
FAQ
The most important thing is to pull out your chicken breasts when they are at (or close to) an internal temperature of 165°F. I highly suggest investing in a digital thermometer so you can eliminate guesswork.
It's also very important to rest your chicken for at least 5 minutes, and to slice it against the grain.
Yes. Flip it halfway through so the top and bottom cook evenly.
Metal. At 450°F, glass is getting quite hot, so I suggest a sturdy metal baking sheet rather than a dish, which also lets air circulate around the chicken as it bakes.
Yes, with a few changes. Check them out in this Perfect Grilled Chicken Breast recipe!
No. Some recipes have you pound chicken to an even thickness, but here you weigh it and match the bake time to its size instead. If one breast is extra thick, butterfly it.
What to Serve With It
- Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic Butter
- 7 Easy Rice Recipes
- 7 Cauliflower Rice Recipes
- Staple Kale Salad
- Fluffy Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower
Storing and Reheating
- Fridge- cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer- cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and store in a larger meal prep container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheat- warm single servings in the microwave until steaming hot, or larger portions in a covered dish in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes.
💡 TIP- for meal prep, let the chicken cool completely before slicing. It seals in the juices and keeps it moist for days.
More chicken recipes
This recipe was originally posted 07/2018 ...same great recipe!
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Best Baked Chicken Breast
Video
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts see note 1
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Rub
- 4 teaspoons paprika
- 4 teaspoons brown sugar see note 2
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450°F.
- Toss or brush chicken with olive oil.
- Stir together the rub and sprinkle over chicken breasts. Turn chicken breasts until completely coated in rub.
- Place on sturdy baking sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between the chicken breasts.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and return to the oven. Bake chicken for total time according to size of chicken breast: 5 oz (12-15 min) 7 oz (15-20 min) 10 oz (20-25 min) butterflied 7 oz (10-15 min) or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Remove from oven and cover with a baking dish for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove baking dish and transfer to a cutting board. Cut against the grain and serve.
Tips:
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
Larry says
This was great! A couple of observations--boneless chicken breasts bake more evenly if you whack 'em a little to even out the thickness. Also, instead of the garlic powder, I steeped a couple of smashed garlic cloves in slowly warmed olive oil (and/or butter) for a few minutes. Strong fragrance, but subtle taste.
Denise says
So true! I need to get a mallet. Thanks for your review, Larry!
George says
No need to buy a mallet. A wooden rolling pin or an empty wine bottle will suffice quite nicely.
Lorna says
Hi, I'm about to make some baked chicken breast tonight myself. I have a question for you; the chicken breasts in your pictures look like they're skinless, boneless, breast pieces. The ones I'm cooking tonight are split chicken breast halves; they're very large pieces, with the skin and bone. I'm only cooking 2 pieces, but even they weigh about 800 grams total (appr 1.76 lbs, I'm Canadian I weigh most everything in metric). I'm almost positive it's going to to take a longer time for them to bake then the times listed in your recipe. I'm wondering if I shouldn't also bake them at a lower temperature? They're going to need a much longer time to cook then the boneless, skinless breasts; they might get overcooked, dried out, or even burned, if I cook them at 450°. Have you ever done this recipe with regular chicken with skin on and bone in? If so, would love to hear your results! By the way, thank you for the wonderful rub recipe as well! My uncle was just recently put on a cardiac diet for a heart condition; it's been so hard lately finding foods I can make for him that meet his dietary needs. IE, low sodium, low fat, low sugar, etc. I don't normally fry our chicken, it's always baked, but everywhere you look there's so much hidden sodium in the store-bought products we buy! I used to think shake & bake and seasoning salt was a godsend in my kitchen! Not anymore though; way too much sodium in both of them and some even have more than 1 type of sodium! if i were to use those ingredients now, I'd probably kill my uncle just with the salt alone, never mind all the chemicals that are in these products! Your recipe, and especially the rub mix, are a welcome addition to my kitchen. I can use that rub mix on other meats as well, or at least I'm going to try. I plan on using it to roast a turkey in the next month or so.
Denise says
Hi Lorna! I have not tried this recipe with bone-in skin-on chicken breasts, so I'm not really sure on cook time. This recipe calls for 450, so I think the temp would be fine...I'd check on them after 25-30 minutes and check using a thermometer. Good luck!
Marty Suckstorff says
I cooked two of them, 1.5 lbs each, boneless and skinless. Turned down to 425 then 20 minutes per side, plenty of rub on each side. Came out just right at 160 using meat thermometer. Let rest for 10 minutes then cut into thin medallions for use in chicken sandwiches and then froze flat in two 1 qt freezer bags with air pressed out a much as possible. I ate the tips of each one though while warm before freezing. Yum. Rub is nice, not overpowering. I did substitute 1 teaspoon of the paprika with 1 teaspoon of turmeric since that spice is quite good for the heart and body and not that much different in flavor from paprika, IMHO especially with the other spices involved.
Alaiza says
Really helpful post! My chicken turned out perfect. Thank you 🙂
Denise says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed, Alaiza!
Sara M. says
This chicken breast recipe is by far the tastiest and literally cooks the chicken perfectly. My chicken breasts had varying sizes so I went by your cook times and removed the smaller ones first and they all came out perfect. The dry rub is out of this world so I had to share this page with just about everyone I know. Props to the chef 🙂
Denise says
Yay! You totally made my day! So happy you enjoyed, Sara and thanks for your review.
Christie Hawkes says
Hello Denise! Thank you for this wonderful tip. I am definitely going to try this for next week's meal prep. Donna from Retirement Reflections recommended your blog to me, and I'm so glad she did!
~Christie
Peggy says
1. My brown sugar was hard as a rock so I had to chisel brown sugar dust out for the rub. I added red pepper flakes. No onion powder so ...
2. I piled chopped onions on top when I took them out to flip them. I've got an in-oven thermometer so I can pull them out right at 165 degrees. They are big--like your 10.5-oz pic--and ...
3. The alarm went off at like 21 minutes. They look delicious--honestly, just like your picture. I am hungry and it is hard to wait for them to rest so I have already eaten half of the chocolate cake I set out for dessert.
4. 10 minutes resting under a sheet pan. I feel like a real chef now. I put some bottled peanut satay sauce on a plate and slice against the grain ...
Wow, delicious! Really good. (The onions are dried and a little crispy. Not photogenic, but quite tasty.) Definitely the best chicken breasts I've ever made, although I am not a habitual cook.
The pan is going to be hard to clean though, even though I sprayed it with olive oil spray.
Thank you, Denise! Really appreciate this.
Denise says
Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed them, Peggy! And I need to get myself one of those oven thermometers...you just leave it right in the chicken as it bakes? Genius!
Christie Hawkes says
I'm going to check out a thermometer like that too! Thanks Peggy.
Peggy says
Yeah, it's amazing. There's a coated wire that you just let feed out of the oven. Keep the control piece on the counter, not the stovetop, as it's not supposed to get hot. Mine is an Accu-Rite, I think it was $10 at Walmart. My mother (age 87) thinks it's black magic.
Sanchez says
Your baked checken breast is so delicious.
Denise says
I'm so happy you enjoyed!
Robert Derby says
Your baked chicken breast is so delicious.
Denise says
So happy you enjoyed!
Boyd Kobe says
Can’t wait to try these, as well as many more other listed, love the video’s as well as the optional choices, the BEST user-friendly site around !!!
Denise says
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Makhluk says
This was awesome! I omitted the sugar, because I didn't want a sweet taste, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I may have cooked my chicken too long - I went with the longer cooking time without checking the weight - because the internal temperatures were around 190°, but the meat was still moist and delicious. Thank you for this recipe.
Denise says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, Makhluk 🙂
Kristin A. Metzger says
I tried this with a marinade; it did not work - it coked too hot and the marinade burned in the dish and set off the smoke alarms in the house. Next time, I'll try it with a dry rub.
Denise says
Hi Kristin! Which marinade did you use it with? I haven't tested this with any of the 7 chicken marinade recipes because I worry it would over-reduce. I'd love to hear if it was one of my recipes! Thanks so much 🙂
Janae says
Would I need to modify the bake time if I'm adding more chicken breasts? Let's say, I want to bake 6 instead of 4 or even more.
Denise says
Hi Janae! Nope you can keep the cook time the same. Make sure not to squish them together on the pan and they should cook exactly the same. Hope you enjoy!
Healthy Eating 101 says
Love the rub ingredients! Easy to prepare as they are like staples in every kitchen. Pinned this tasty recipes!!
- Natalie
Denise says
Thanks Natalie!
Carol J Chapman says
Can you freeze the chicken after cooking, had too much chicken but had to cook it.
Carol J Chapman says
Sorry, I jusr read that you can freeze it.
Christina Danos says
Very helpful, thank you! My chicken turned out perfect .
Denise says
So happy to hear this! Thanks so much for your review, Christina!
Maureen Barrett says
Thank you so much! I have been over cooking chicken breasts for years, but not any more! Delicious and juicy and my husband (who usually does the cooking) loved it!
Denise says
I'm so happy to hear this, Maureen! Thanks so much for your review 🙂
Mrs. O says
THANK YOU! I have been making chicken for over 25 years and this is the best recipe! Easy and the chicken is flavorful and juicy.
Renee says
This recipe was fantastic! Perfectly cooked, juicy and tasty.
Jolly says
I wouldn’t recommend this the chicken comes out under cooked. I had to put it back in the oven thankfully I took the first bite or my family would’ve gotten sick.
Linda V. says
Jolly, This could be avoided by using an instaread thermometer. 165 degrees for chicken.
Linda P. says
Your chicken being undercooked has nothing to do with the recipe. Cook time for any cut of meat can vary depending on type and size, so it's important to check the internal temperature. Check breast size varies greatly.
Linda P. says
*Chicken
FaithHarmony says
also varies with ovens.. ive noticed this sharing recipes with friends.. Not sure if its a difference between gas & electric? mines cooking right now.....according to my oven lol mayb 15mins on each side at the recommended 450. . we shall see...so far my house smells incredible....
Jacquita Geiss says
This was the best chicken I ever baked!
Denise says
Wow, huge compliment! Thanks so much for your review, Jacquita!