Easy Baked Chicken Breasts

This Easy Baked Chicken Breasts recipe post is for my girls who are doing a lot of cooking on their own now. Big Sis is a brand new college graduate and Little Sis is a sophomore in college. Both enjoy cooking and eating healthy which feels like a HUGE accomplishment, if you ask us parents! But, wait, how is this even possible?? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I packed them cute lunches in kindergarten?? They’ve both asked me how I cook my chicken on several occasions, so here’s how to cook tender (but well-cooked chicken) with very little mess and fuss.

For YEARS, I struggled with cooking chicken, always afraid to undercook it. So, instead, it got overcooked – too dry, tough and hard to swallow. Better safe than sorry, I thought! But then, I finally decided to find a way to make it safe AND palatable. If restaurants can do it, so can I!

Steps for Tender and Easy Baked Chicken Breasts:

Opt for a better quality, fresh chicken, if possible. I’m lucky to have The Fresh Market walking distance to my house. They have weekly specials on hand-trimmed chicken breasts which are all-natural and 99% fat free. They also come from chickens that are fed an antibiotic-free and 100% vegetarian diet. So, I try to reserve my chicken purchases to “cheap chicken Tuesdays” as much as possible. That said, I’ve had no issues cooking frozen breasts either. You will just need to add more cook time.

Invest in a good oven thermometer. This has leveled-up my chicken-cooking. No more dried out, chewy chicken! No more worrying about salmonella! Monitoring the chicken doneness with a meat thermometer is a fool-proof way to delicious, juicy baked chicken, time and time again. This ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2 — Instant Read Thermometer is a game-changer and takes the guesswork out of cooking chicken. A must-have on the college shopping list, too!

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the chicken from wrapper using a fork and place directly on the prepped pan. Set the fork on the side of your pan, then throw out the packaging – no touching of raw chicken and if you’re careful, there’s only 1 single utensil to wash thoroughly! Sprinkle both sides of the chicken generously with 4 simple spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika, flipping over with aforementioned fork. I pretty much season my chicken this way for use in about any dish.

Place chicken in oven and set a timer for 25 mins for smaller/thinner chicken breasts, 30 mins for medium sized breasts and 35 minute for larger ones. I try to get it close to full baking time without going over to minimize the number of times I open the oven to check the temperature. If you have a mix of sizes, group them together and check the smaller sized breasts first, in the thickest part of the breast. Once the first ones hit 163+ degrees F, quickly transfer it to your cutting board or plate and place remaining breasts back in the oven. Check about every 5 minutes until breasts reach cooked temperature (~163 degrees F). This is when that quick read thermometer comes in handy!

Let the chicken rest. During this time, the temperature of the chicken breasts continues to rise about 5 degrees higher. This is why you can take the chicken out a little below the FDA-recommended internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Big Sis prefers to be even more safe than sorry, so I usually let it go up 167+ before taking it out of the oven.

Slice chicken breasts at an angle or on the diagonal. Cutting across the grain like this makes chicken more tender by shortening tough muscle fibers.

Ways to use it:

Once sliced up, serve as is, use in other dishes or sandwiches. Some of my favorite ways to use easy baked chicken breasts are in:

• Sandwiches: Caprese-style topped with sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil and drizzled balsamic glaze, dice up further to make chicken salad, or simply replace deli meat with this healthier option.
• Favorite chicken casseroles like Grandma’s Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bake, Donna’s Chicken Lasagna and Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
• As protein in your favorite bowls and salads such my Rice Bowls with Protein
• Simply serve on the side with your favorite pasta dishes like Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta or in Chicken Alfredo and Veggies Lasagna

Store any leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days. If it looks like we’re not going to go through it all by day 2, then I’ll make it last longer by freezing it up to ~6 months (be sure to write the date on it). It’s great to have on hand for last-minute easy casseroles. Easy baked chicken breasts don’t get much easier than this!

And now for the recipe…

Essential Tools

Here’s a list of essential items I use to make my chicken tender and most every time.

• ThermoWorks ThermoPop 2 — Instant Read Thermometer
• TempPro TempSpike 1000FT Wireless Meat Thermometer Digital with 2 Probes
• Nordic Ware Naturals 3 Piece Set – USA Made Aluminum Commercial Quality Sheet Pan for Baking or Roasting, Encapsulated Galvanized Steel Rim Prevents Warping; Half Sheet, Jelly Roll and Quarter Sheet
• John Boos Block BBQBD Reversible Maple Wood Edge Grain BBQ Cutting Board with Juice Groove, 18 Inches x 12 Inches x 1.5 Inches
• OXO Good Grips Multi-Purpose Scraper & Chopper
• Pyrex Simply Store (5-Pack) Large Glass Food Storage Containers Set

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Christine, aka happyvballgirl : )

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