Get all the tips and tricks to cook pan seared chicken breasts perfectly every time! Easy and quick to make, add these juicy chicken breasts to your favorite salads, sandwiches, pastas and other main meals.
Pan Seared Chicken
Chicken breasts are quick, easy and delicious when you know how to cook them in a skillet. Make restaurant quality meals at home with these juicy pan seared chicken breasts!
Be sure to try these Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Breasts and this Oven Fried Chicken Breasts.
How To Make Pan Seared Chicken Breasts
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
Prep: Pre heat the oven and spray a baking dish with non stick spray. Pound each breast with a meat mallet.
Season and bake: Season each breast with salt and pepper. Bake until cooked through.
Cook: Brush each breast with melted butter and sear in a hot skillet on each side.
Do you need to bake chicken before searing it?
I use the reverse sear technique for these chicken breasts, I find that it really help to lock in all of those juices and flavor.
Baking it in the oven also ensures that the chicken is fully cooked through without risking burning it on the stovetop.
Can you cook the chicken ahead of time?
Yes. Let the cooked chicken cool to room temperature and you can keep it in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days.
You can reheat the chicken in the oven or serve it cold in sandwiches and salads. It’s a great option for meal prep lunches.
Make It Your Own!
I like to simply season the breasts with salt and pepper, but if you like, you can also use a herb or spice mix like Herbs de Provence or taco seasoning.
It is important to season the breasts before you cook them to really bring out the natural flavors.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite thing about having chicken for dinner is that it really goes with everything! Serve it with rice, veggies, salad, or any of your favorite side dishes.
Try these easy side dish recipes:
- Simple Roasted Vegetables
- Loaded Smashed Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Pennsylvania Dutch Green Beans
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Use good quality chicken breasts. Buy free range / organic if you can.
- Do use a meat mallet to pound the chicken. This helps to break and tough fibers and makes the chicken wonderfully tender. You can also use a rolling pin.
- The chicken is cooked when it’s internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
72+ Chicken Dinner Recipes
See our Chicken Guide for all the best chicken recipes plus tips and tricks for juicy chicken every time.
More Chicken Recipes
- Easy Chicken Tetrazzini
- Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
- Chicken Alfredo Gnocchi Bake
- Chicken Pot Pie
- One Pan Roast Chicken and Potatoes
- Whole Roast Chicken
- Roasted Peruvian Chicken and Green Sauce
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.
Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 6-8 ounces, each skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt if using table salt, use 1 teaspoon
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275°F.
- Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside.
- Pound thickest part of each breast with a meat mallet just until it has equal thickness on both ends.
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper evenly over each breast and place the breasts in the sprayed baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake until breasts register 145-150 degrees with an instant-read thermometer, about 20-30 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and remove chicken from oven. Transfer to a plate and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a large skillet, set over medium-high heat, heat oil just until smoking.
- Brush each breast lightly with melted butter and place them in the hot pan. Brush the top-side of each breast with butter.
- Sear the breasts until bottom side is golden brown, 3-4 minutes per side. R
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and use tongs to flip each breast over.
- Cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 155-160°F, an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately or transfer breasts to a plate, cover with foil, and set the plate of breasts in the (turned off) oven to keep warm until ready to use.
- Enjoy!
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 good quality chicken breasts. By free run / organic if you can.
- Do use a meat mallet to pound the chicken. This helps to break and tough fibers and makes the chicken wonderfully tender. You can also use a rolling pin.
- The chicken is cooked when it’s internal temperature reaches 145F.
Nutrition Information
That looks delicious!
It is!
This one didn’t work for me the way the recipe described. It took almost 60 mins in the oven to get to 145. Then I ended up with so much smoke when searing them I had to open the windows. I dried them before searing so I’m not sure what caused that. Any ideas?
I am sorry this didn’t work out for you Linda!
When putting recipes on could you please add Email to the different ways of getting the recioe.
I’ll look into that!!