12 Easy Baked Chicken Breast Recipes

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12 easy baked chicken breast recipes to help you get weeks of delicious family dinners to the table in under 30 minutes. Pick your favorite chicken seasoning or chicken marinade and bake up tender, juicy chicken breasts with very little effort.

A baking pan lined with foil has finished baked chicken breasts on top.

Knowing how to bake boneless skinless chicken breasts is an essential family dinner skill everyone should have.

This crazy easy recipe for baked chicken is one that I've been using over and over again in the last few months because it is so easy to change up the seasonings or marinade to make easy family dinners in under 30 minutes.

I just pair a seasoned chicken breast with 1 or 2 simple side dishes and a vegetable or salad and dinner is done in a pinch.

Today I'm sharing my 12 favorite ways to season the baked chicken breasts and how I turn each one into a full meal for my family.

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Why This is the Best Recipe

One of the essential cooking skills every home chef needs to have is knowing how to bake boneless skinless chicken breasts so that they remain juicy and tender.

This is the best baked chicken breast recipe because:

  1. SO Flexible: Use this easy method and you can swap the seasoning to make endless variations for your family.
  2. SUPER Juicy: The chicken bakes up so tender and juicy. No dry chicken here!
  3. CRAZY Fast: It should take you less than 5 minutes to prepare the chicken and while it bakes you can get other things done.
  4. Budget-Friendly: Buy chicken breasts in bulk when they go on sale and you'll always have an easy dinner at your finger tips.

Ingredients

All you need to make baked chicken breasts is 2 or 3 simple things:

  1. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
  2. Olive Oil and a Spice Rub -OR- A Chicken Marinade

If you want to know the best spice rubs for chicken and the best chicken marinades, keep reading. I've got 12 awesome ideas for you below.

However, for a classic baked chicken, simply use my homemade seasoned salt and you're good to go!

How to Bake Chicken Breasts

Preheat your oven to 400°F.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Add the chicken breasts to a zip top bag or mixing bowl and either:

  1. Drizzle olive oil over the top, sprinkle the dry spice blend, toss to coat. Ready to be used immediately.
  2. Pour the marinade over the top, toss to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes on the counter or up to 24 hours in the fridge.

Lay the chicken breasts on the prepared pan in a single layer, discarding the marinade if you used it.

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes, flipping it over halfway through cooking.

The chicken should register 175°F at the thickest part of the breast when tested with a probe thermometer.

Seasoned chicken is on a large roasting pan lined with foil.

12 Easy Baked Chicken Recipes

Now that you know how to bake chicken breasts you have the skills to make dozens of easy chicken dinners just by changing up the seasoning or marinade.

I know that having so many choices can be overwhelming, so below I've listed 12 of my favorite ways to spice up the chicken and turn it into an easy family dinner.

Season the chicken as directed and pair it with one or two simple side dishes and dinner is done in under 30 minutes!

1. Teriyaki Chicken

To make baked teriyaki chicken, season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and bake as directed.

Brush this thick homemade teriyaki sauce over the chicken breasts 5 minutes before they are finished baking and reserve a little extra for drizzling over the top of the baked chicken.

Serve the teriyaki chicken over bowls of jasmine rice with fresh green onions sprinkled over the top.

2. BBQ Chicken

Season the chicken breasts with your favorite barbecue dry rub or this chicken wing dry rub seasoning and bake as directed.

You can brush this sweet BBQ sauce over the chicken 5 minutes before it is finished baking or simply reserve it for drizzling over the top after it is finished cooking.

Or you can try my Alabama bbq sauce for something totally different.

Serve with your favorite barbecue side dishes but don't forget a vinegar based slaw like my carrot apple salad for spooning over the top.

3. Greek Chicken

Season the chicken with a Greek seasoning or Mediterranean herb blend and bake as directed.

Serve homemade tzatziki sauce for dunking and marinated tomatoes sprinkled over the top.

4. Fajita Chicken

Season the chicken with a dry fajita spice rub, canola oil, and a hefty squeeze of fresh lime juice and bake as directed.

Alternatively, you could use my Cuban mojo marinade which has citrus, cilantro, and garlic.

Add a sliced onion and red bell pepper tossed in a drizzle of oil to the pan with the chicken for easy roasted veggies.

Slice the baked chicken into thin slices and serve in tortillas with the roasted vegetables. This easy Mexican corn rice would be a delicious side dish or rice bowl.

5. Maple Bourbon Chicken

Season the chicken with a dry maple bourbon seasoning or your favorite prepared maple bourbon marinade and bake as directed.

Maple bourbon chicken breasts pair wonderfully with crispy roasted sweet potatoes or a baked sweet potato with brown sugar and butter on top.

You could even go one step further and make this maple bacon wrapped chicken.

6. Creamy Pesto Chicken

Season the chicken with a bit of garlic salt or your favorite Italian herb blend and bake as directed.

Immediately after the chicken has finished cooking, spoon dollops of prepared pesto over the top and let the warmth of the chicken heat it through.

Alternatively, you could slice the chicken and toss with a pesto pasta like my cheese tortelloni with pesto. This easy caprese salad would make a perfect side dish.

Or you could season the chicken with Italian herbs and bake it. Then chop it up and turn it into my creamy chicken pesto sandwich! It's a great make-ahead sandwich filling for busy nights.

7. Lemon Pepper Chicken

Season the chicken with a dry lemon pepper spice blend and bake as directed.

If you love lemon as much as I do, you could pair the chicken with my lemon butter pasta with fresh chives or chop it up and add it to my lemon orzo salad with fresh tomatoes and dill.

8. Cajun Chicken

Season the chicken with a simple Cajun seasoning blend and bake as directed.

There are so many great ways to use Cajun chicken, but two of my favorites include serving it with baked red rice with bacon or slicing it and serving it on top of a homemade Alfredo sauce cream cheese pasta.

9. Caribbean Jerk Chicken

Season the chicken with Caribbean jerk seasoning and bake as directed.

You could toss bell peppers and onions in the mix and roast them right on the pan at the same time.

Use Caribbean jerk chicken to make jerk chicken quesadillas, rice bowls, or chicken sandwiches with remoulade sauce.

10. Blackened Chicken

Season the chicken with a dry homemade blackening seasoning rub and bake as directed.

You could make a blackened chicken sandwich with my easy whole wheat hamburger buns, lettuce, sliced tomato, and a dollop of spicy remoulade sauce.

If they're on sale or you enjoy cooking with chicken thighs once in a while, a fun variation is my Cajun blackened chicken thighs recipe.

11. Tandoori Chicken

Prepare a tandoori marinade for chicken and let the chicken sit for at least 30 minutes. Bake as directed.

Serve tandoori chicken with toasted pieces of naan bread or my crispy wild rice salad.

12. Asian Lime Chicken

Let the chicken marinate in my easy Asian marinade with soy sauce and lime. Bake as directed.

You can serve it alongside the Asian chicken pasta salad, served either warm or cold.

Make Ahead Freezing Tips

You can also use this easy baked chicken breast recipe to prep a big batch of cooked chicken for freezing to add to casseroles.

Cook the chicken with the seasonings you love. Let them cool completely. Then just chop them into a small dice and store in plastic ziptop bags in the freezer for up to 6 months.

To use the baked chicken, thaw it in the fridge overnight and then use in your favorite pasta or casserole recipe. Here are a few my family loves:

📖 Recipe

A baking pan lined with foil has finished baked chicken breasts on top.

Easy Baked Chicken Breasts

5 from 2 votes
This super easy baked chicken breasts recipe can be combined in nearly unlimited ways for delicious chicken dinners using your favorite spice blends and marinades in your pantry right now! Mix and match any of the flavors listed below and use your baked chicken to toss into pasta, salads, sandwich wraps, or make rice bowls.
TOTAL TIME 35 minutes
PREP TIME 5 minutes
COOK TIME 30 minutes
YIELD 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Option 1: Dry Seasoning

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp seasoning blend of your choice See notes

Option #2: Marinade

  • 1 cup marinade of your choice See notes

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Option #1: Dry Seasoning

  • Place the chicken in a zip top baggie or large mixing bowl and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Add the dry seasoning of your choice and toss to coat.

Option #2: Marinade

  • Place the chicken in a zip top baggie or large mixing bowl. Pour the marinade of your choice over the top and turn to coat with a fork. Let the chicken marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes up to 24 hours in advance.

How to Bake the Chicken Breasts

  • Once you've seasoned your chicken with one of the options above, place the chicken in an even layer on a large baking sheet. Discard the marinade if you used it. You may want to line the baking pan with aluminum oil for easy clean-up.
  • Bake the chicken for 30 minutes, turning it over halfway through cooking. The chicken should register 175°F at the thickest part of the breast when tested with a probe thermometer.

Recipe Notes

Seasoning Options for Baked Chicken Breasts

This method for baking chicken breasts will work for a wide variety of easy chicken breast recipes just by varying the spice blend or marinade you use.
Some of the most popular ways to season chicken include the flavors listed below. For more side dish ideas and how to serve the chicken, see the notes in the article above.

Dry Seasoning Blends for Chicken:

  1. BBQ Rub
  2. Mediterranean Herbs or Greek Seasoning
  3. Fajita Seasoning
  4. Italian Herb
  5. Cajun Blend
  6. Blackening Spice
  7. Caribbean Jerk
  8. Lemon Pepper

Chicken Marinades:

  1. Teriyaki
  2. Asian Lime
  3. Maple Bourbon
  4. Pesto
  5. Tandoori Marinade
COURSEMain Dish
CUISINEAmerican

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A pan of baked chicken breasts is ready for the oven and then shown finished baking.

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