The Best Oven Baked Chicken

What’s so special about oven-baked chicken you may be asking? Depending on your method of cooking, it can definitely become an easy dish that will be requested by the family on a frequent basis.

cooke chicken cut up on a cutting board

The secret to getting your chicken breasts juicy, tender and oh-so flavorful -starts with the marinade! It’s packed with dried and fresh herbs, olive oil, seasoning and fresh lemon juice that’ll make you and those at your table come back for a  second helping. 

Letting your marinade soak into your chicken breasts while chilled in the fridge is key and once that’s done, all you need to do is pop your chicken breasts into the oven with no further babysitting required. 

marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl

Serve this Best Oven Baked Chicken with some of your favorite veggies and should you have any leftovers (unlikely!), you’ll have the added benefit of being able to be effortlessly incorporate your meat into other dishes for easy and quick midweek meals!

I’m loving this no-fuss recipe…how about you?!

RECIPE TIPS

  • I love any means of fast-tracking a meal and the prep involved which is why I have used skinless and boneless chicken breasts. No matter what cooking method you use, using bone-in chicken breasts will take much longer (about 15-30 minutes) longer to cook than when using boneless.
  • Have any leftovers? No problem! Store your chicken breast meat in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days and use it up in other recipes that call for chicken. I like to shred leftover chicken breast meat and then use it for convenient lunches such as these Enchilada Sliders

How to Make The Best Oven Baked Chicken

  1. Add all marinade ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until completely combined.chicken marinade in a mixing bowl
  2. Add chicken to large resealable bag. Pour marinade over chicken, seal. Place in refrigerator to chill up to 4 hours.chicken in ziplock bag with marinade
  3. Remove from refrigerator and set at room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set out 13×9 baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil.Place chicken in baking dish and discard marinade.4 marinaded chicken breast in a baking dish
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
  6. Remove from oven and let chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing.cooked chicken breast sliced on a cutting board
  7. Slice and serve immediately and store leftovers in refrigerator in airtight container.

CAN I OVEN BAKE MY CHICKEN BREASTS WITHOUT THE MARINADE?

  • Yes, you can! If you’re not one for a marinade, you can definitely leave it off. I do, however, suggest that you add some olive oil onto your skinless chicken breasts with seasoning – this will help to keep the moisture in so your chicken breasts don’t dry out and will also help to keep your seasoning on. 
  • Of course, if you don’t use the marinade in this recipe, then you can skip the 4-hour chilling time and go straight into baking your chicken. 

DO I NEED TO FLIP OR TURN MY CHICKEN BREASTS?

  • Nope! You’ll be happy to know that there’s no babysitting required when baking chicken breasts – no flipping and no turning is required. 
  • The only thing I caution you against is baking your chicken breasts on a very high heat as this will leave you with dry meat. 

SHOULD I BE COVERING MY BAKING PAN WITH FOIL?

  • Some recipes do suggest covering your chicken breasts with foil while baking them as a means of keeping them as moist and tender as possible.
  • Other recipes using breasts with skin on also direct you to cover them for a length of time and then bake uncovered for the remaining time to crisp up the skin.
  • Since this recipe calls for skinless breasts, I don’t need to worry about crisping any skin. The marinade does a great job on its own, keeping the breasts moist and tender so you can save yourself a little foil when following my recipe!
No ratings yet

The Best Oven Baked Chicken

The secret to getting the best oven baked chicken begins with the marinade. This marinade recipe is packed with herbs, olive oil and fresh juice.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
marinating time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients
 

Marinade

  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh oregano minced or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley minced and lightly packed or 4 teaspoons dried parsley
  • ¼ cup fresh basil minced and lightly packed or 4 teaspoons dried basil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Chicken

  • 4 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Fresh parsley finely chopped, for garnish, optional

Instructions

  • Add all marinade ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until completely combined.
  • Add chicken to large resealable bag. Pour marinade over chicken, seal. Place in refrigerator to chill up to 4 hours.
  • Remove from refrigerator and set at room temperature, 20-30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set out 13×9 baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil.
  • Place chicken in baking dish and discard marinade.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F
  • Remove from oven and let chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing
  • Slice and serve immediately. Store leftovers in refrigerator in airtight container

Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Make sure to share it with me below!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.