In many of my recipes, I call for baked chicken. Throw some in, I say, as if most people have baked chicken waiting for them in their fridge. Well, this is because I DO have baked chicken in my fridge at least a couple of days out of the week. Still, it’s wrong of me to assume that you do too. So here is a very easy baked chicken recipe. Now you too can have baked chicken lying around in your fridge. 😉
I’m always running late or running out of time it seems. It would be so much easier to eat out every night. But a few years ago, when I first moved to New York, I ate out every single meal for a whole month. No exaggeration. Every. Single. Meal. Let me tell you, I felt like crap. And because so many restaurants use similar methods to make their dishes taste “better,” all of my meals started to taste oddly similar. From that point on, I decided (or try) to eat at home at least 4-5 times a week. I don’t always succeed, but I do OK most of the time.
I’m able to do OK, because I always have something I can just heat up or quickly throw together. With leftover baked chicken breasts, you can make delicious stir-fries, fried rice, pasta, noodles, etc., with a good dose of healthy protein. Just slice or cube them, and throw them in whatever you are cooking.
Just make sure you don’t overcook them. If you sear the chicken breasts first, they shouldn’t take more than about 20 minutes to bake. They will be super juicy. Just look at the image below. They are wonderful just out of the oven (with sauce if you’d like), but surprisingly good even when reheated. When reheating, add about a tablespoon of mirin to the cubed or sliced chicken and mix. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes before you throw them into whatever you are cooking. This will rid the reheated chicken of any gamey taste/smell if any exists.
Easy Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
chicken breasts
salt
black pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
paprika*
canola or grapeseed oil
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix two parts garlic powder to one part each salt, pepper, onion powder, and paprika. For 2 large chicken breasts, I use about 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp each of everything else. Evenly sprinkle the chicken breasts with the seasoning mixture.
- Heat a oven-safe pan/skillet on moderately high heat. Add about 1-2 TB spoon of oil to the pan. Once heated, place the chicken in the pan. Cook until golden brown on each side – about 3 minutes (no more!) on each side.
- Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake in preheated oven, on the top rack (away from the heat source), for about 20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken breast reaches 165 degrees and juices run clear.
- Remove from heat. Allow the chicken breasts to sit for about 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. Serve as desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Cook’s Note*:
If I don’t have some of the spices, I use Old Bay Seasoning. It’s a good all-around seasoning for fish and chicken.
I don’t use olive oil for this, because the smoke point is too low.
If I plan to make veggies or sauce for the chicken, I make it right on the pan that the chicken breasts were cooked in. The bits left on the pan really adds to the flavor of the veggies or the sauce.
As stated above, if you are reheating the chicken, mirin really does the trick in ridding it of any gamey smell/taste if any exists. Cut the chicken breast as you’d like, and add about a TB of mirin and a healthy dose of black pepper. Mix and allow the chicken to sit for a few minutes (can be as little as 3 minutes!) before reheating.
Chicken is the only meat I cook, so this will come in super handy! I love the idea of browning the chicken a bit first before baking!
So you eat chicken on occasion? This is probably the easiest thing ever to make, and browning does make a difference in taste. Ooh, if you eat chicken, we should try out a traditional Korean restaurant. The vegan place is pretty good, but doesn’t quite taste authentic. You have an adventurous palate right? Korean food can be very spicy! 😀
It does help a lot to have precooked chicken on hand. Saves so much time on weeknights and makes eating out much less desirable. Okay, a little less desirable. 😉 Great tip!
Yeah, it’s always tempting to just get takeout. If not for these, I would eat out a lot more often. I usually just feel like planting myself, face first, in my sofa and vegging! 😀 Thanks for coming by the site Carrie!
I’m with you. There is ALWAYS a chicken breast in the freezer! What a simple and delicious way to prepare it. I usually pan fry on the stovetop and it make a huge mess. I like the idea of baking it. Thanks!
Thanks MJ! These are lifesavers for me during the week. I like to bake these, because it’s less work than other ways of preparation! I know, so lazy. 😀 Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
i have to say that I freeze half of the time just in case if I forgot to use it. I love chicken so this is great post, and many will find it useful!
I’ve never tried freezing them. But then again, these never last more than 2-3 days. 😀 Thanks Sandra! I hope you are having a great weekend!
Sounds like a good idea; I do too many eggs or pizzas..
By the way, I love every Korean dish I’ve ever tried.
I was there, once; a beautiful country!
I don’t blame you for doing a lot of eggs and pizzas. They taste good & are easy! Pretty good combination. 😀 Yes, Korea is a beautiful country, although I haven’t been back there in decades (not since I was 9!). I hope you give some of the Korean dishes on the site a try. Thank you for your comment & for coming by the site Mark!
It definitely helps to have pre-cooked chicken at all times. I often use it in salads (to make them more substantial and filling), Mexican dishes or many Asian dishes. Just reading the way you cook your chicken, I can see that the chicken will come out nice and juicy and not dry at all!
Hi Julia~ I love Mexican and all types of Asian dishes too. And having these comes in pretty handy, especially with those cuisines. Thank you for your kind words & I hope you are having a great start to the week! 🙂
I almost always have chicken in either the refrigerator or the freezer! And having baked chicken around certainly is handy. I really like the idea of using some mirin to refresh the chicken when reheating – excellent tip. Good post – thanks.
I think it’s the easiest way to get some good protein in my meals. I have a freakishly good sense of smell; so I always have to find ways to “refresh” things I’m going to reheat! 😀 Thanks for the comment & for coming by the site John!