This is the most popular of all chicken breast recipes that I’ve ever published. It’s a JUICY Oven Baked Chicken Breast sprinkled with a magic simple seasoning, baked until caramelised. It’s simple, fast and incredibly tasty! This is a reader-favourite alongside Honey Garlic Chicken, this epic Parmesan Crusted Chicken and crispy Garlic Chicken.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
A JUICY Baked Chicken Breast!
Though I always stand firm that brown meat is better than white – more flavour, more juiciness – lean chicken breast is a regular in my shopping trolley, week after week.
So today, I’m sharing my recipe for how I make Oven Baked Chicken Breast.
We can never have too many really great quick chicken breast recipes!
As simple as it sounds, if you whack a seasoned breast in the oven without thought, the chances are you’ll be chewing your way through dry chicken, furiously squirting over copious amounts of ketchup to try to salvage it.
It doesn’t need to be that way. Enter – a fabulous simple, magic chicken seasoning for baked chicken breast:
The Chicken Breast Seasoning
Made with just brown sugar, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper, the secret ingredient in this is brown sugar:
Makes more seasoning, so you can coat the breast thoroughly and give it a beautiful crust without overpowering it with lots of spices that need longer to cook than chicken breast does; and
Makes it juicy – the chicken sweat while it bakes, so you end up with wetness that makes the chicken more juicy than the usual baked chicken breast.
Yes it adds sweetness but don’t worry, this baked chicken breast is still savoury!
How long to cook chicken breast
A medium chicken breast will take 18 – 20 minutes to bake at 220C / 425F. Cooking it hard and fast at a high temperature is the secret to gorgeous caramelisation and ultra juicy chicken inside. No dried out breast around here!!
The seasoning for this chicken is actually a really great indicator for when the chicken is cooked to perfection. Basically, once the surface of the chicken is caramelised, it’s cooked to perfection inside so get it out of the oven!
My last tip for a truly great Baked Chicken Breast is to pound it to even thickness, either with a rolling pin, meat mallet or even with your fist (very therapeutic). This has the double effect of even cooking as well as tenderising the meat.
The secret behind this baked chicken is the simple, magic seasoning
Most popular of all chicken breast recipes!
This Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast is the single most popular of all chicken breast recipes I’ve ever shared.
But don’t believe me. Have a browse below of what others have to say!
Try serving this with a side of Garlic Butter Rice with Kale, pictured in post. One pot carb + veg side, with kale made delicious! Otherwise, try a flavoured Rice Side like Tomato Basil Rice or Mushroom Rice.
If you’re in the mood for potatoes, try this Lemon Potato Salad, a classic creamy Potato Salad or a lighter No-Mayo Red Potato Salad with Charred Corn and Bacon.
And for something fresh, Spring Salad or Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing would go with the chicken beautifully. Else, simply drizzle steamed greens or a garden salad with Italian Dressing, Balsamic or French Vinaigrette. – Nagi x
More chicken breast recipes readers love!
Honey Garlic Chicken Breast – Super easy, super delicious!
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast – No breadcrumbs needed!
Chicken Kiev – A retro classic! Crumbed and fried chicken breast stuffed with oozing garlic butter …
Browse all chicken recipes
Baked Chicken Breast recipe
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts , 150 – 180g / 5 – 6 oz each (Note 1)
- 2 tsp olive oil
Seasoning:
- 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano or thyme , or other herb of choice
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
Garnish, optional:
- Finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C (200°C fan).
- Pound chicken to 1.5cm / 0.6″ at the thickest part – using a rolling pin, meat mallet or even your fist (key tip for even cooking + tender chicken).
- Mix Seasoning.
- Line tray with foil and baking / parchment paper. Place chicken upside down on tray. Drizzle chicken with about 1 tsp oil. Rub over with fingers. Sprinkle with Seasoning.
- Flip chicken. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil, rub with fingers, sprinkle with Seasoning, covering as much of the surface area as you can.
- Bake 18 minutes, or until surface is golden per photos and video, or internal temperature is 165°F/75°C using a meat thermometer.
- Remove from oven and immediately transfer chicken to serving plates.
- Wait 3 – 5 minutes before serving, garnished with freshly chopped parsley if desired. Pictured with a side of Garlic Butter Rice with Kale.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published March 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters in March 2019, no change to recipe.
* The story and details of the Handcrafted Japanese Knife giveaway that originally accompanied this recipe when published was moved into a separate post because the Giveaway has finished.
LIFE OF DOZER
It’s just hanging there, taunting him. He sniffs at it, suspiciously….
Done it. It was really good. Though reduce the brown sugar from 1.5 tbsp to 1 tbsp, it was still good and had sweet taste in it. My kids loved it and so my husband. Thanks nagi alwaaays!!!
Oh wow! I’m an absolute disaster in the kitchen and have the reputation as such. I tried this recipe and all I heard was “omg! This is awesome!”. Easy and a home run for novice chefs.. or walking kitchen disasters. You can’t go wrong.
It’s a whole lot easier to measure dry ingredients into a large bowl, add enough oil to make a slurry, and toss the chicken in it. Great recipe otherwise.
Added a tsp of ground cumin and used them for “fajitas” with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, quick white rice and black beans. Superb, quick and easy. Boys were well pleased.
I often get inspiration from your Instagram posts. This recipe is one. I have your beautiful book but sometimes find the index is not easy for me to use. Would you consider including the page number, in your posts, for those of us who’d like to look up/refer to the book. Sorry if this is even more admin in your busy life.
So delicious and super easy! Will definitely be a regular to go recipe!
Omgosh this was right up my alley. I’m always ruining chicken breast because I like things to cook lonnnng. I cooked it in the toaster oven exactly the way you said and do you know it tasted like it had just come off of the grill! ( prob the paprika)…kudos!!!
Bless you for giving metric and Celsius. Saves me converting.
Delicious, juicy chicken! It was a hit with my family!
Quick, easy and delicious! My husband even had seconds. I’ll make this again for sure.
It smells delicious, but I clearly missed something. This was only 140 degrees at the 18mi ute mark. Are they room temperature to start? Are you doing 425 convection? So higher temperature? I don’t know what I did wrong 😢
You should definitely cook to temperature not a given time. Ovens vary and size of chicken etc. It will be done when proper temp is reached. One thing to remember is carry over. You will get a few more degrees after removing from the oven as it continues to cook a bit. So factor that in when pulling your meat from the oven.
How long should I bake if I use chicken tenders?
Thank you 😊 As a vegetarian Mum who cooks Chicken for her sons this was super easy and so helpful when I find meat stressful to deal with. Very grateful 🙏🥰🌺
This was very good! I will make it again. I may add oil to the rub, marinate the chicken and cook it on the charcoal grill.
Very basic & simple prep – Superb flavor & tenderness!!!!!
Just excellent! I never, ever get chicken breast right, but this recipe is so easy to follow with clear directions. It came out very moist, and the mix of spices makes the chicken very flavorful. Thank you so much!
By far one of the best baked chicken recipes I’ve made. Tender and juicy. I doubled the seasoning recipe to make sure I had enough. I also cut 4 large chicken breast in half then followed to a T. Even my daughter who typically hates anything new or that isn’t chicken nuggets loved it. My son and husband said to keep it on the rotation for sure.
a lot of the reviews on this site seem fake, how could you possibly have 5 stars on everything
You should try some of Nagi’s recipes and you will know why there are 5 stars, I have a fussy husband and he loves her recipes
Hey John, you must be new to this site and I understand your scepticism. But, these recipes are reliably NO FAIL. I’ve been a visitor for just a couple of years now, but I literally use nothing else now. Everything turns out exactly as described. It’s clear they’ve been tested and tested again with different approaches, because the notes are incredibly detailed and valuable and if you don’t like a particular spice or type of fish for example, there are alternatives that have been recommended. Every dish I’ve created from these recipes (and every week I do a new one), turn out perfect. Try them. I’ve not tried this recipe yet (doing it tonight) which is why I noticed your comment. But I cook only Nagi recipes now and never been disappointed. Try and you’ll know why they’re usually 5 stars.
I had the same thought. Her chocolate mousse is my go-to but three other recipes were so bad (with excellent reviews) it makes me doubt all others.
Because she is that good, never had a miss in the several years I have been using her recipes
If you aren’t going to comment on the chicken, why are you commenting at all! Some people are just so negative 🙁
I have been making Nagi recipes for years and they have never failed me. If you watch the video and follow the recipe it turns out right every time and that’s how she keeps getting 5 stars.
Yep – reviews are true! I love to cook & Nagi is my absolute go to for new recipes. I suggest that you give some a try yourself!
John John John..oh ye of little faith..Nagis recipes are tirelessly tried and tested prior to publication..hence they are pretty perfected. I always review and after 5 years using this site have to say I’ve never given less than 5 stars..because everything is damn delicious on here.
John, you obviously haven’t tried the recipes. I am trying hard to think of a recipe that missed the mark.
You must not have used her recipes before. She really tests them out an tweaks them a lot. Even from the cookbook to this page there are updates. This is my go to site to check timing for my own recipes as she nails it.
I’ve been using this site for a while, and as a new home cook, i can’t fault her.
I had some boneless chicken breasts but they were “seasoned”, so very tender. I used this recipe but did not add salt and did not pound the chicken as they were already tenderized. Turned out perfect! Exactly as described, tasty, perfect coating, moist. Very good recipe that I will use again and again.
I tried your recipe with my very fussy son…. It was a total hit 100%! I swapped the paprika for cayenne pepper as my son prefers it to paprika was very spicy but with mouth watering flavours you just can’t say no! I would say I would be doing it again but I’ve already done it again! Your secret ingredient is definitely the key to this recipe; works so well with the rest of the flavours. Looking forward to more recipes. Thank you