If your baked chicken breast tends to turn out boring and bland, then you have to try this Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast. It’s basically like the most delicious homemade garlic bread but made with chicken instead of bread. It’s tender, juicy, has tons of herby-garlicky flavor, and it’s ridiculously easy. Plus, it’s quite versatile. Keep scrolling for all my ideas for how you can serve this super simple Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast.
How to Keep Baked Chicken Breast Juicy
For boneless, skinless chicken breast, it’s best to use a quick, high heat baking method to prevent the meat from drying out. I prefer to bake chicken breast at 400ºF for 20 minutes. The high heat allows the chicken to heat through to a safe temperature quickly, before it has time to dry out. Coating the chicken breast in oil or butter also helps slow the evaporation, which will keep the chicken juicy.
If your chicken breast is thicker than 3/4″ at its thickest end, you will want to pound it slightly to reduce the thickness and ensure quick and even cooking. An ideal thickness is 1/2-3/4″.
This high heat, fast baking method is ideal for boneless breasts only. You can find detailed instructions on how to bake bone-in chicken breast in my Herb Roasted Chicken Breast recipe.
Should I Use Butter or Oil?
As mentioned above, you definitely want to coat the boneless, skinless chicken breast in some sort of fat to help slow evaporation and keep the meat moist. While testing this Garlic Herb Baked Chicken recipe, I tested both butter and olive oil. Butter was definitely superior, although olive oil still worked. The butter not only added more flavor, but it was much easier to coat the meat in the garlic herb mixture.
How to Serve Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast
This simple Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast is a great go-to baked chicken recipe that you can use as a main dish, as an addition to salads and pasta, or even to fill sandwiches and wraps. Here are some great recipes that you can top with this baked chicken:
- Lemony Artichoke and Quinoa Salad
- Marinated Cauliflower Salad
- Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad
- One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Roasted Broccoli Pasta Salad with Lemon and Feta
- Tuscan White Bean Pasta
- Lighter Spinach Alfredo
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Wraps
Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast
Servings 2 breastsIngredients
- 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature ($0.26)
- 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about .5 lbs. each) ($5.07)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Stir together the butter, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill) until well combined and paste-like in texture.
- If your chicken breasts are thicker than 3/4″ at their thickest end, place them on a cutting board, cover with plastic, then gently pound the thick end until it is between 1/2-3/4″ thick. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet or in a casserole dish, making sure they are not crowded (a couple of inches of space between and around each breast). Spread garlic herb butter over the surface of each breast.
- Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The total cooking time may vary with the size and thickness of the chicken breast, so use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature of the thickest end of the breast has reached 165ºF.
- Once the chicken has baked through, let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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Nutrition
How to Make Garlic Herb Baked Chicken – Step by Step Photos
In a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp room temperature butter, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Stir these ingredients together until they are evenly combined and form a garlic herb butter paste.
If your chicken breasts are large and more than 3/4″ thick at their thick end, you will want to pound them slightly to make their thickness a bit more even, which will ensure even cooking. You don’t have to go crazy here and make them totally flat, just reduce the thickness of the thick end a bit, until it gets to 1/2-3/4″ thick. Placing a piece of plastic over the chicken prevents splatter and keeps your rolling pin or mallet clean. Each of these chicken breasts is about 1/2 pound in weight.
Pat the chicken dry to help the butter adhere. Place the chicken on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, making sure each breast has a bit of space around it. You should have about 1 Tbsp garlic herb butter for each breast. Spread the garlic herb butter over the chicken until it is coated from edge to edge.
Bake the chicken in the preheated 400ºF oven for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165ºF. The exact cooking time can vary a bit with the size or thickness of your chicken breasts. While I was testing this recipe, I had baked past the 165ºF (up into the 180’s) and the chicken was still surprisingly moist and juicy, so there is a bit of wiggle room here if you go over.
Meat thermometers are extremely useful for dishes like this, so there is absolutely no guesswork. They’re very inexpensive and definitely worth it. I recently got this digital meat thermometer (pictured above), but previously had a non-digital meat thermometer, which also worked, just not as quickly. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Once baked through, make sure you let the chicken sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing. This will also help the meat retain its moisture.
And that’s it! Your Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast is now ready to top your favorite salad or pasta, stuff into a wrap or sandwich, or just eat as your main dish with dinner. Check out my post for the Garlic Herb Seasoning for more ideas and ways to use this versatile seasoning blend!
My new favorite chicken recipe! I used pre-mixed dried herbs ( Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset) and it worked just fine. Chicken was moist and flavorful, even the next day. A winner!
Living in expensive NYC, I really appreciate your blog.
Happy to hear it Geri!
My chicken Breast was delicious however my breast was a bit bigger so it cooked a little longer and I added a little water to my baking dish to make dressing out of it and it was definitely a winner ty.
Ik vond het erg lekker
greats from Holland
As a work from home Male, I always try to find nice and delicious recipes for my super hard working wife. This right here, and I can cook guys, has been my wife’s favorite dinner meal including chicken. So much that I am cooking this once a week with the above mentioned recipe. I actually made it last night but exchanged salt, pepper and onion powder for Adobo (which is a latin, mainly from Puerto Rico seasoning mix) and was quite impressed with the outcome. Also added extra butter, and the leftover herbed butter was added to mashed potatoes and the kids loved it!
This is the most perfectly delicious chicken recipe I’ve ever tried. I may have used too much butter as my chicken was slightly floating in it towards the end but it was so moist and delicious – it worked! I’ve always been nervous to serve up baked chicken but this is a winner
Thid was moist, flavorful and easy to prepare. In my oven it took longer than 20 minutes to get to a safe temp, but my oven is less than awesome and i probly didnt pound them enough. Either way, we enjoyed it and next time i’ll pan for a bit longer
Fantastic! The whole family loved it and my toddler couldn’t get enough. And so easy. Definitely will make it again and again!
I don’t ever review a recipe, nothing has really stood out to me enough to feel the need, but this dish turned out absolutely perfect. The flavor is phenomenal and the chicken was so juicy! Super easy recipe with very few ingredients needed. A++ in my book! Will definitely be making this again, and soon!
Really yummy and easy! I have a hard time making chicken that’s not dry and this was just right. I served it with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies and it was perfect.
Absolutely amazing. Very quick and easy recipe and the rice is so moist and delicious. Extra butter/sauce that is created during cooking is amazing on rice. 5 out of 5.
This is a very easy and quick recipe. The chicken was very moist. Delicious 😄
Yum! Delicious, juicy, and so easy! Thank you!
That was an interesting comment from Janet. Anyway, I like your herb mixture. I will definitely be trying that and jumping off from there with a few of my own. I buy the “Italian” herb mix a lot. I should probably just make my own.
I have two chicken suggestions that I find work well. One is chicken baked in salsa. I use my own leftover salsa that I have canned (Balls Zesty Salsa) but anything would work. The meat comes out incredible moist without added fat. Perhaps it has something to do with the cider vinegar that’s used to make the salsa? The other suggestion is a recipe that I think I originally found in the “American Heart Association Cookbook.” Bake chicken in a cup of wine with tarragon, salt and pepper (covered). My mom always loves this one but then, she loves black jelly beans.
I like your blog a lot. It’s on my list that I usually read daily. Thanks!
I see lots of recipes now referring to “baked” meats, whereas when I was growing up, oven cooked meat was “roasted..” Being curious, I checked a couple of places and dictionaries. What I have taken away from that research is that if meats are basted or cooked with added fat, they are roasted. Rotisseries that rely on radiant heat, ie the elements in an oven that direct heat to the surface of the meat, produce roasted products. I guess things like microwaves and convection ovens might result in “baked” products. We have recently developed a voracious appetite for “roasted” veggies, which are cooked in an oven on sheet pans.
It’s certainly confusing–the rotisserie cooked chickens I buy at my supermarket are now labeled “baked.” “Grilled” is another term that is used in not precise ways, ie grill vs griddle.
In any case, this recipe looks delicious and the oven is a great way to generate leftovers, that is, cook 6 of these, serve 2 and have 4 for planned meals later in the week
I don’t know about formal definitions, but I associate baking and roasting with different temperatures, too. I usually associate roasting with higher temperatures that promote browning (above 400*) and baking with lower ones (such as the default oven temp of 350*) but not so low as a slow-cook temp. That is weird that your grocery labels rotisserie chickens as baked chicken though, I’d definitely call those roasted!
Cover the chicken with a piece of parchment paper! I think the technique is called “dry poaching”, and it makes it super moist and idiot proof.
I do this twice a week for burrito bowls.
Dry poaching is awesome!