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Baked chicken is one of our family’s favorite easy dinners – it can go in all sorts of easy dinners, is great on salads, and comes out perfectly tender and juicy.
We’re sharing our recipe for the Best Baked Chicken Breasts – baked in olive oil, garlic, and a dash of lemon juice – for perfect chicken your whole family will love.
This chicken is delicious any day of the week, and always a huge hit with our kids.
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Table of contents
Baked Chicken Breast Recipe Ingredients
To make the best baked chicken breasts, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Chicken breasts – chicken is a light, neutral meat that is a great choice for low carb, low calorie diets and is great in a number of recipes since it pairs well with lots of other foods.
- Olive oil – olive oil is a delicious, briny natural fat that is great to cook with chicken that provides healthy fats to a diet and helps keep moisture in meat so it doesn’t dry out or get tough – you can also use butter in place of olive oil.
- Garlic cloves – garlic brings an earthy, pungent flavor to dishes and adds a rich taste to chicken that makes it crave-worthy without adding a ton of calories.
- Lemon juice – lemon juice works to not only tenderize chicken meat and soften as it bakes, but adds a tart, bright flavor that is a perfect compliment to cut through garlic and herbs!
- Italian Herbs – an Italian herb blend combining thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, and other Italian herbs brings a rich, balanced earthy flavor to dishes that everyone loves. You can swap this multi-tasking herb blend for another blend of herbs you love!
- Celtic sea salt
- Pepper
How to Bake Chicken in Oven
Prep
Gather ingredients, trim excess fat off chicken breasts, pat dry.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (Also can bake at 350, for 5-8 minutes longer.)
Marinate
Add ingredients to a bowl or plastic bag, covering chicken in marinade. Let sit at least 30 minutes, up to overnight (skip marinating if using frozen chicken breasts.)
Bake
Bake, flipping occasionally, until chicken reaches 160 degrees at the thickest part when using a digital meat thermometer.
Rest
Remove chicken from oven and lest rest 10 minutes before cutting. Discard marinade/cooking liquid.
Slice & Serve
Slice thin, serve, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Oven Baked Chicken
To see our web story of this recipe, click here.
Flavor variations :Use some of our ideas below for different flavors to try swapped out for the Italian Herbs we’re calling for below:
- Za’atar
- Adobo seasoning
- Fajita spices
- Taco seasoning
- Lemon pepper rub
- Montreal steak seasoning
How to bake chicken without drying it out. The two most important tips to baking perfect chicken are pretty simple – marinate first, and monitor cook time with a digital thermometer. Overcooked chicken is dry and tough.
Marinate chicken. Marinating chicken helps to lock in juices, tenderize meat, and give a great flavor – we’re not only marinating, but baking our chicken in the marinade, for even more flavor!
Use a digital thermometer. Using a digital meat thermometer is essential for baked chicken to ensure you’ve reached a safe temperature, and to make sure you don’t overcook your chicken breasts. Chicken is cooked at 165 degrees – which means removing from the oven at 160 degrees.
When is chicken breast done baking. Chicken will carryover cook to 165 if you remove from the oven at 160. Always let chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting to help the juices recirculate and lock in.
How Long To Cook Chicken Breasts. Chicken breasts will take about 25 minutes to cook at 350 degrees – 50 if baking from-frozen. One tip to get extra juicy chicken is to cook it for less time at a higher temperature – around 22 minutes at 400 degrees.
- 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees
- 22-25 minutes at 400 degrees
As always, please go by your thermometer temperature, not your clock, to gauge when chicken is done cooking.
Easy Chicken Breast Marinade
The base of our chicken’s flavor comes from the marinade we’re baking the chicken in – a simple chicken marinade is really easy to whip up. For any marinade you make, aim for 1 oil (olive oil, avocado oil), 1 acid (lemon juice, vinegar), and herbs. Dry herbs will work best – but you can use fresh if you’d like – add a bit more than dried.
- 1 cup olive oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic (with or without peel)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
How to store Oven Baked Chicken
Cool Completely: Allow the chicken to cool to room temperature before storing, but don’t leave it out for more than 2 hours to prevent bacteria growth.
Use Airtight Containers: Place the chicken in an airtight container or wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep it fresh and prevent drying out.
Refrigerate: Store the chicken in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Keep it on a shelf rather than the fridge door for consistent temperatures.
Freeze for Longer Storage: For extended storage, freeze the chicken in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 4 months. Wrap each piece individually or place parchment paper between pieces to avoid sticking.
Label and Date: Always label the container with the date to keep track of its freshness.
Oven Baked Chicken FAQs
Chicken breasts are fully cooked and safe to eat at 165 degrees.
Baked chicken takes 20-30 minutes to bake.
Yes. We recommend baking fully thawed chicken breasts for the best texture – but we’re adding the method to bake chicken breasts from frozen if you’re in a pinch and need dinner on the table. This method is safe to use for chicken right from the freezer, with a few basic tips:
Plan on double the cook time if cooking from frozen
Space single chicken breasts out across the pan – do not try to bake a clump of chicken breasts frozen together
Use a digital thermometer and make sure the middle of the thickest part of the chicken breast cooks to at least 165 degrees
Cover in olive oil – you won’t marinate chicken if it is frozen – but still bake it in our marinade recipe below to help keep chicken juicy and from drying out
Flip chicken as it cooks to ensure it is cooking evenly
Chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Overcooking is the main reason chicken becomes tough. Always check the internal temperature and remove the chicken as soon as it reaches 165°F (74°C) to avoid dryness. Brining the chicken before baking can also help keep it tender.
Yes, allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes after baking. This helps the juices redistribute throughout the meat, making it juicier and more flavorful when sliced.
Yes, but adding a small amount of oil or butter helps create a golden, flavorful exterior and keeps the chicken from drying out. If you prefer to avoid oil, consider basting the chicken with broth or a sauce during baking.
Marinating adds flavor and moisture, but it’s not required. If you choose to marinate, let the chicken sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes to overnight for deeper flavor. You can also rub the chicken with seasoning just before baking.
Bake chicken breasts at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts. Thicker pieces will take longer, so always check with a meat thermometer.
Chicken breasts should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature at the thickest part of the breast to ensure they’re fully cooked but not overdone.
What to Serve With Baked Chicken Breasts
Baked chicken is a recipe that goes with basically everything – we love it alongside broccolini or baby cauliflower, whole roasted cauliflower, whole roasted onions, air fryer corn on the cob, farro salad, and more!
To find the rest of our easy side dishes, please check out our side dish recipe index here.
You can find our other chicken recipes here.
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Perfect Baked Chicken Breast
Equipment
- DI ORO Silicone Spatula Set – Rubber Kitchen Spatulas for Baking, Cooking, & Mixing – 600°F Heat-Resistant & BPA Free Silicone Scraper Spatulas for Nonstick Cookware – Dishwasher Safe (4pc, Red)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, rib meat and extra fat removed
- 1 cup olive oil
- 6-8 cloves garlic, with or without peel
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 onion, diced, any color you prefer, optional
- 1 shallot, diced, optional
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a bowl or plastic bag, covering chicken in marinade.
- Let sit at least 30 minutes, up to overnight (skip marinating if using frozen chicken breasts.)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (Also can bake at 350, for 5-8 minutes longer)
- Add chicken and part of marinade to baking dish that has been lightly greased with a nonstick cooking spray, or lined with foil.
- Bake, flipping occasionally, until chicken reaches 160 degrees at the thickest part when using a digital meat thermometer.
- Remove chicken from oven and lest rest 10 minutes before cutting.
- Discard marinade/cooking liquid.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious!