I really like having pre-cooked chicken in the fridge that I can use to quickly whip up a sandwich or wrap, or add protein to a bowl of pasta, salad, or one of my “leftovers” bowls. While I often use a rotisserie chicken for this purpose, they are sometimes just too salty and we have a hard time going through a whole chicken between the two of us. So, this week I experimented a bit more with the “low and slow” roasting method and made these incredibly tender and juicy Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts.
Roast Low and Slow for Tender Chicken
I first used the “low and slow” technique with my Oven Roasted Chicken Legs and was really pleased with not only the texture of the meat, but the delicious juices that were left in the dish after roasting.
This time I combined the butter with a trio of herbs and slathered it over two bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts. The breasts were quite large, so I lowered the heat a bit and let them roast even longer before removing the cover to let them brown. The results were even more incredible. I pulled the meat from the breasts after cooking, drizzled the juices over top, and have been snacking on the meat all week.
Can I Make Herb Roasted Chicken Breast in an Instant Pot?
Yes! You can make this dish even faster and easier! Just follow the technique used in my Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice recipe (pressure cook then broil to brown the skin). 👍
You ready for the most tender and juicy chicken breast EVER?
Herb Roasted Chicken Breast
Servings 4Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter, room temperature ($0.33)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (about 10 cranks of a mill) ($0.03)
- 2 split chicken breasts* (about 3 lbs. total) ($6.85)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275ºF. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to warm slightly as you prepare the butter herb mix (5 minutes or so).
- In a small bowl, stir together the butter, minced garlic, basil, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Rosemary pieces can be quite large, so either chop or crumble the dried pieces with your hands before adding them to the mix.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board and pat it dry on both sides with a clean paper towel. Smear the butter herb mixture over both sides of the chicken. Drying the meat will help the butter herb mixture stick. If the meat is too cold, it will form condensation as you rub the butter mixture over the surface and the butter will not stick.
- Place the seasoned chicken pieces in a casserole dish that is deep enough to fully contain the chicken. Cover tightly with foil, or with the dish’s lid if there is one. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, basting once half way through.
- Ater 90 minutes, remove the foil, baste again, and adjust the oven’s temperature to 425ºF. Bake the chicken at 425ºF for 20 minutes without the foil, or until the skin is deep golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Slice the breasts or pull the meat from the bone. Reserve the juices from the bottom of the casserole dish for drizzling over top of the meat.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Herb Roasted Chicken Breast – Step by Step Photos
Begin preheating the oven to 275ºF. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator so it has a few minutes to come up to temperature. In a small bowl combine 3 Tbsp room temperature butter, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill). Rosemary pieces can be large, so I just crush them up in my hand before adding them. Stir this mixture up until it forms a paste.
Place two split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on, about 3 lbs. total) on a cutting board and pat them dry with a paper towel. They need to be fairly dry for the butter to stick. Also, if the chicken is too cold they will form condensation and become wet again, which is why you’ll want them to warm a bit as you mix the butter. Spread the butter herb mixture over both sides of the chicken, coating it in a thick layer.
Place the seasoned chicken breasts in a casserole dish that is deep enough to fully contain the chicken. Cover the dish tightly with foil (this is important to hold in the moisture), or if the dish has a lid that’s even better.
Roast the breasts in the 275ºF oven for 90 minutes, basting once half way through (replace the foil as tightly as possible after basting). After the full 90 minutes, remove the foil, baste one more time, and adjust the oven’s heat to 425ºF.
Return the chicken to the oven and roast for 20 minutes without the foil, or until the skin is deep golden brown and crispy. (I garnished with some chopped parsley to give the photos color, but it’s not necessary.)
Give it one last baste with those delicious juices for good measure and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes.
Letting the meat rest a few minutes helps keep the juices inside and the meat nice and moist! Serve the chicken whole, or slice it up…
And don’t forget to pull any bits and pieces of meat left on the bones, like you would with a rotisserie chicken. It’s just too good to let any go to waste!
After I removed all the meat from the bones, I gave it another good dose of those delicious juices. SO GOOD.
It makes an impressive main dish, but I’m just adding a few pieces to everything I eat this week! Depending on how you serve it and how big your chicken pieces are, you’ll get 4-6 servings. Make sure to save those juices and pour them over top before stashing it in the fridge!
Could I add a tomato and basil sauce to this recipe while cooking it? If so when should I put the sauce in?
This is a pre-made sauce? I suppose you could just add it in the beginning and let them all cook together. It’s hard to say without experimenting with it or knowing exactly what the sauce is.
OMG! I just tried your recipe this evening. It was to-die-for. Absolutely delicious! A definite winner with my family. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. I’m a big fan. Your instructions are so easy and hassle free. Thank you!
Tonight was the third time that I have used this recipe. Previously, I used the split breast and it was great. Tonight, I only had the boneless, skinless breast on hand and used them. My family loved them just as much. I did have to decrease the time on the uncovered baking, but they were moist, flavorful, and delicious. This is now a “go to” recipe for me.
Hello. This looks delicious. I’m confused about one thing, though. The recipe calls for three tablespoons of butter, but the picture posted clearly shows more than that. Can I assume that the amount in the picture has been tripled, and disregard it?
There are only three tablespoons of butter in the photo. :) Are you seeing the minced garlic and thinking that it was more butter? The butter is the three rectangles standing on their sides in the small bowl.
OMG. I see now. On their sides, they look like half sticks. Sorry! I made it, and it was delicious! Definitely a repeat recipe.
No problem! That happens all the time with photos. :)
Tried this with skinless, 1inch thick cut breast, only cooked for the 90min and it was eat with your fingers tender and very good. Making again tonight and will try to remember to take pictures.
Really wanting to try this recipe but as an Australian in addition to converting oven temperature to Celsius do you also need to adjust for fan forced ovens?
From what I understand you do need to adjust recipes when changing from conventional to convection ovens, but I have no experience in this area, unfortunately.
Can you specify in the ingredients list that this recipe is for bone-in, skin-on chicken? Might save some people from making the whole recipe and then realizing they weren’t using the right chicken (like I did…)
It is noted in the recipe. There a star by that ingredient in the list with a note below to explain what “split breasts” are, for people who are unfamiliar with different cuts of chicken. It was too long to put that all in the actual list at the top.
It’s really not a big deal. I made it with boneless skinless chicken breasts and they came out perfect.
Made this last night no words could tell you how much we loved it. Husband got great deal on chicken thighs and we were chickened out. Made this and he was over the moon about it even the next day he said that was so moist and good. He never talks about food this way.He is 70 years old and after34 years of being together he says Do not lose that recipe well that says it all. Thank you big fan
I’m really looking forward to cooking this! I was curious what sides would pair well with this dish, and other recipes on your site. Have you considered linking some of your side dish recipes to your main dish recipes? Sort of like “These sides pair well with this dish” and have links to your other recipes. Either way, I’m still loving all the simple and creative dishes you create!
You could do something really simple like mashed potatoes and steamed or roasted broccoli. :)
I made this for my family last week and am back to get the recipe for dinner again this week! This chicken was easy and delicious! I definitely recommend it.
Do you think I could use this same method for chicken leg quarters? Quarters were on sale this week – $4.90 for 10lbs! Now I gotta figure out what to do with all of it!
P.S. – Your blog is awesome and so are you!
Yep! I did it with leg quarters originally (there’s a link to that version in the intro). It works great! :)
I made it today with skinless breasts (I can’t get any other where I live). After the initial “warm-up” period I increased the temperature to 425F, but after 20 minutes there was still no browning. I gave it additional 10 minutes (I generally have to add baking time to your recipes – I guess my oven is weaker than yours), but still no luck. By that point I was really hungry, so I switched to the broiler + fan and that did the trick, although I think the prolonged browning period also dried out the meat a little. Next time I’ll do the broiler + fan right from the moment I increase temperature.
Unfortunately the naked meat will not brown the same way that skin does. :(
I would love to know how long you cooked the breasts for at the lower temperature. I was also unable to find the split breasts at my grocery store, so I am using the boneless, skinless kind.
I made this last night and it was amazing! As you wrote, the chicken comes out juicy and the flavors were excellent. I’ll be making this regularly now. Thanks!
Would the boneless chicken breast take longer? What is the inside temp supposed to be? As one of the users said I too only have boneless right now. I am definitely going to make this soon with bone in chicken, I just don’t have it right now.
Boneless will take less time, but they will also not be as juicy or have as much flavor. According to the FDA, the safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165ºF.
What is the directions for using boneless/skinless?
Unfortunately that won’t work for this recipe. It would require very different times and temperatures, which I haven’t tested.
OMG! This was excellent and so so easy, We also pot carrots and potatoes in and bake it all together. I will make it again and again and again!!!