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Scrumptious Baked Chicken Breast

Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Keyword baked chicken breast, chicken breast
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 378kcal
Author Victor

Ingredients

  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 clove garlic (pressed; or use 1 Tbsp powdered garlic)
  • 1 Tbsp dried parsley (or basil, cilantro, etc.)
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • Black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 cup chicken broth (hot)

For garnish:

  • Fresh limes, cut into wedges (optional)
  • Fresh herbs, chopped (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375F.
  • Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and pressed garlic, then sprinkle salt, pepper and dry herbs all over. Set aside.
    Tip: feel free to add any other seasonings you like to pair with chicken and that you have on hand. I like adding minced shallots, cayenne pepper, paprika, dry or fresh parsley, basil, cilantro, etc. 
  • Prepare and pour chicken broth in a 9" x 13" baking dish.
    Tip: use high quality chicken broth or chicken bouillon cubes. The better it tastes, the better your chicken breasts will taste. Salt it just right and use it as a dipping sauce later. You can even thicken it later, if you wish. It makes an amazing gravy.
  • Carefully add the chicken breasts, bone side down. Sprinkle chopped onion all over.
    Tip: you want chicken breasts to fit comfortably, without overcrowding or too much space in between. Overcrowding will lead to poor browning and longer baking times, while too much space in between will lead to broth evaporating very quickly and chicken breasts potentially drying out. I find that a 9" x 13" dish size works very well for baking 4 chicken breasts in this recipe.
  • Bake in the upper part of the oven for 60 minutes, until the tops are nicely  browned and the internal temperature has reached 165F.
    Tip: everyone's oven bakes differently, as they say, so you may want to check the internal temperature and adjust baking time to your liking the first time you make it. At 375F and 60 minutes my chicken breasts come out at slightly higher than 165F internal but that's never an issue as they taste surprisingly tender and juicy. I sometimes let my chicken breasts bake for 75 minutes at this temperature to get better browned tops, and they still came out very tender and juicy. I do recommend 75 minutes of baking time if you use cold broth.
    That's the beauty of this recipe: I never check internal temperature as I know that my chicken breasts won't be under-cooked, yet they will be delicious and succulent.
  • Remove from the oven, let rest in the pan for 5 minutes and serve with lemon wedges and fresh herbs. Squeeze some lime juice on the chicken before eating to make it brighter and more flavorful.