Amazing Oven Baked Chicken Breast

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 caramelized. It’s simple, fast and incredibly tasty!

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 tenderizing the meat.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts , 150 – 180g / 5 – 6 oz each 
• 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

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.