What’s the secret to this baked and seasoned chicken breast recipe? It’s all in the homemade dry spice rub! The mix of brown sugar, Italian seasoning, and paprika creates the most delectable flavor. This recipe is quick and easy, healthy, and simply one of the best chicken breast recipes for weeknight dinners or meal prep.
What’s in this Baked Chicken Breast recipe?
I absolutely love baked chicken breast for weeknight dinners! This seasoned chicken breast recipe gets its flavor from the best chicken seasoning, which can be mixed together with a few staples from your pantry and spice cabinet.
- Chicken Breasts: This recipe is for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. A healthy option that’s quick and easy to cook for any dinner.
- Brown Sugar: This dry chicken rub uses brown sugar for a deep flavor you’re going to love.
- Italian Seasoning: This blend is a mix of herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram. It adds the perfect savory, herb-y blend.
- Paprika: A bit of paprika adds some depth. I like using sweet paprika, but you can use smoky or spicy paprika if you like more heat.
- Garlic Powder: This adds a subdued garlic flavor.
- Onion Powder: This adds a bit more savoriness to the spice rub.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil helps to adhere the seasoning to the chicken breasts. It also helps to cook and crisp it up in the oven.
- Salt & Pepper: A little bit of salt and pepper rounds out the chicken rub.
If you like, feel free to use this seasoned dry rub on bone-in chicken breasts, or chicken thighs.
How can I make this chicken breast dry rub spicier?
This seasoned chicken breast has a great herb-y, savory flavor. If you want to make it a little bit spicier, try adding smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes to the dry spice rub.
Chicken breasts should be baked in an oven set to 400F. The internal temperature should reach 165F before consuming.
Baking chicken breasts at 400F will take about 16-18 minutes.
Yes. I recommend defrosting chicken breasts overnight in the refrigerator before baking. While you can cook directly from frozen, you will need to increase the cooking time, and it can lead to drier chicken.
Chicken breast tends to dry out quickly since it’s lean meat (not much fat), so it’s important not to overcook it. This is a quick recipe, so take it out out of the oven as soon as it reaches the right internal temp.
Rub olive oil directly onto the chicken, and then rub the dry seasoning mix all over. The oil will keep it in place.
How to Store and Reheat Simple Baked Chicken
Store baked seasoned chicken breast in an airtight container, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, warming in 30-second intervals. Or reheat in the oven at 350F. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 165F when reheating.
This is a healthy meal prep idea, so be sure to make a few pieces for easy dinners or lunches throughout the week.
How to Freeze Baked Chicken Breast
Store leftovers in freezer-safe containers or resealable bags, and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.
What to Serve with Seasoned Chicken Breast
A simple baked chicken breast can be served for any meal, with any side dishes you love. For regular weeknight dinners, add anything from roasted mushrooms and parmesan roasted potatoes, to creamed green beans, Air Fryer baked potatoes, or broccoli cheese casserole.
Or go super healthy (and tasty), and serve these with Instant pot rice and roasted Brussels sprouts.
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Best Baked Chicken Breast Recipe (Simple Seasoning)
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Drizzle the oil over the chicken breasts.4 large chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Combine the brown sugar, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and rub it all over the chicken breasts until evenly coated.2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/2 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Place the chicken on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or in a greased casserole dish.
- Bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Use an instant read thermometer to make sure that the chicken is cooked through, it should register at 165F. The chicken breasts should be an even white color throughout.
- Let the breasts rest under some tented foil for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
- If you like things spicy, try adding a little cayenne to the seasoning mix.
Nutrition Information
I like my chicken in the thinner side so I used thin cut breasts for this. I added a little (maybe 8th of tsp) of cayenne and it was delicious. Even my 2 picky eaters loved it. Tha ns for the new recipe!
We’re so glad to hear you loved it, Amber!
Outstanding! Chicken was tender and moist and flavorful! I did add Cayenne and I butterflied the breasts so they were large and thin. Thank you!! This will be my go to!
We’re so happy to hear you loved this recipe, Jeannie!
This was a quick and easy hot summer recipe…in the Toaster oven, outside! It smelled delicious and baked up juicy. Yes. Give it a rest before diving in-I shredded it. Leftovers!
While the oven was hot and the chicken was resting and cooling, I roasted some vegetables, including peeled, whole cloves of garlic, a little oil, a little S&P. Delicious. Thanks for a simple “go-to” recipe that is a good candidate for a variety of meals. This will be on repeat, yes.
This was SO easy and SO delicious!! I used smoked paprika and added Bang Bang (a sweet/spicy seasoning). I doubled the spice amount as the chicken breasts I had were huge. The flavor was great. I will definitely make this again.
Thanks so much for sharing, Sabrina!
This recipe is great! My husband and I loved it! Going to keep it frequently.
So glad you enjoyed it, Lori!
The baked chicken is excellent. I used boneless, skinless chicken breast. It was so easy to prepare. Low calorie. Delicious. If you’re tired, hungry, and too busy to cook, make this. Put it in the oven. Make a salad and dinner is done! Waistline friendly. High protein and healthy. Don’t go overboard on the salt. Makes great leftovers for tomorrow. Love it. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.
Thanks for stopping by, Bonnie!
Made this for dinner tonight, everyone loved it! Will absolutely make it again.
So glad it was a hit!
I love the flavor and how easy it was. But are the cooking times more for a tenderloin type cut? I used average size chicken breasts from Sam’s Club and they took way longer to be cooked through.
Very good. Definitely juicy! We will be having this again soon!
I love to hear that!
Absolutely amazing the kids loved it
I love to hear that!