Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast is a simple and delicious way to make juicy, flavorful chicken every time. These oven-baked chicken breasts are covered in a tasty garlic butter sauce. This sauce keeps them tender and moist, with a golden and slightly crispy edge. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or easy meal prep!
Best Chicken Breast Recipe You’ll EVER Make!
If you love juicy chicken breast recipes, I’m sure you’ll love this one. My husband also loves it, especially because I cook it in garlic butter sauce. Who doesn’t love a buttery flavoured sauce?
This sauce gives more flavor to this recipe and helps the chicken breast to be tender, moist and juicy too. This sauce is so good that you don’t need to even use a chicken marinade.
I also love how quick and easy this recipe is. No complicated steps, wrapping, or brining required. You don’t need to pound the chicken breasts with a rolling pin or meat mallet. Also, there’s no need for parchment paper or plastic wrap either.
I absolutely love easy and quick baked chicken breast recipes for dinner. If you’re like me, try these delicious family chicken breast recipes too: Creamy Parmesan Chicken Breast and Stuffed Chicken Breast recipe. Want even more chicken breast recipes? Try these 50 Best Chicken Breast Recipes, Instant Pot Chicken Breast and this Air Fryer Chicken Breast Recipe.
Chicken Breast – I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for a lean, quick-cooking protein. After making this recipe many times, I found that this cut is the best. It has a great balance of tenderness and juiciness, especially when baked with garlic butter. But feel free to replace chicken breast for chicken thighs if it’s what you have.
Butter – I always opt for unsalted butter in recipes like this to give me full control over the salt levels. I’ve found that unsalted butter allows the garlic and other seasonings to shine without the risk of the dish being too salty.
Garlic – Freshly minced garlic is a must for its vibrant, aromatic flavor. I’ve tried pre-minced or jarred garlic, but nothing beats the flavor and freshness of fresh garlic in the butter sauce.
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Season all the sides of chicken breast with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. If you prefer you can also use your favorite spices like garlic powder, dried oregano and chili powder too.
2. In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the chicken breast. Sear for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
2. In a small bowl mix together the butter, Italian seasoning, parsley, and garlic. Then, pour the garlic butter mixture over the chicken breasts.
3. Place the skillet in the oven. There’s no need to flip them when baking.
4. Bake chicken breast for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
4. Remove the cooked chicken breasts from the oven. Using a spoon, drizzle some of the butter sauce from the skillet over the juicy, tender chicken breasts before serving.
Olivia's Recipe Tips:
- After removing the chicken breast from the fridge, pat dry the chicken with paper towels.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- You can use a regular skillet to sear your chicken if you don’t have a cast iron skillet. Then, transfer them to a casserole, or an oven-safe baking dish.
- If you want a more buttery sauce, add two extra tablespoons of butter.
The cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken breast and also on the power of your oven. Some ovens have slight heat differences.
But according to USDA, a 4-oz. chicken breast should be bake at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 minutes or 30 minutes to be fully cooked. If it’s smaller than 4oz, bake it for about 20 minutes.
However, to bake a 5 to 6 ounce chicken breast at 400F, it will take around 20 to 25 minutes.
It’s important that you use an instant read thermometer when cooking chicken breast to check that the internal temperature.
How do you keep chicken breast from drying out in the Oven?
Be sure to not over bake the chicken breasts to avoid them getting dried out when baked. We also put the garlic butter overtop the breasts so that there’s extra added moisture to it. This is how I make delicious baked chicken breast that retain all of their natural juices.
Serve this Recipe with:
This baked chicken breast recipe is amazing served fresh out of the oven with some veggie sides. But you can also slice, shred, or dice them to use in other dishes, like chicken noodle soup, chicken salad, or chicken chili.
I usually love to serve it with salads, rice, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, broccoli salad and sweet potato fries.
You can also serve with a delicious quinoa salad and yummy air fryer baked sweet potato.
More Chicken Breast Recipes To Try:
Chicken Mushroom Recipe
30 mins
Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
35 mins
Lemon Rosemary Chicken
40 mins
Mediterranean Chicken Recipe
35 mins
Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breast
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and black pepper
- 1/2 + 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tbsp butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and set aside.
- In a small bowl mix 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, butter, Italian seasoning, parsley, and garlic. Set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When the skillet is hot add chicken breast. Sear until golden. It’s about 1-2 minutes each side.
- Pour garlic butter mixture over the chicken breast. Place skillet in the oven and cook until cooked through. It’s about 20 minutes or until chicken breasts gets to an internal temperature of 165F.
- Remove from the oven. Using a spoon, pour some of the butter sauce left in the skillet onto the chicken breast. Also, if you prefer, top with fresh herbs before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
Follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #primaverakitchen. We’d love to see your recreation.
This was very good. I didn’t deviate from the recipe at all. Not only was it very flavorful, but it looked exactly like the pictures in the recipe. I made mashed potatoes and steamed some broccoli to go with. Thank you for such a great chicken recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that it turned out just like the pictures. Your pairing of mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli sounds perfect. I appreciate you sharing your experience, and I’m glad you found the chicken recipe flavorful.
So easy and absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
You’re so welcome!
Absolutely delicious recipe! We love garlic in our house and this tasted like a scampi style chicken. We made rice and broccoli on the side and added a bit of the sauce to them after we added it to the chicken. Soooooo good. Definitely a keeper recipe and so easy and quick. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that the garlic flavor was a hit. Your addition of rice and broccoli with extra sauce sounds delicious! I’m glad you found the recipe easy and quick—definitely a keeper indeed. Thanks again for sharing your experience!
Can I brown chicken if still somewhat frozen? This recipe is amazing!!! I have made it numerous times and made a pot pie!
You can’t really brown a frozen chicken, as it won’t cook evenly. Browning works best when the chicken is fully thawed to allow the surface to crisp up properly and develop that delicious golden color. I’m so glad you love the recipe, though!
Absolutely delicious. We made roasted red potatoes with garlic and parmesan and a lettuce salad
Amazing! Thank you for stopping by 😉
Have you ever tried to cook it in a crockpot after searing it? Looking for shortcuts on days I have more time to prep in the morning than I do in the afternoon/evening.
No, I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work well. Please let us know how it turns out if you give it a try! 😉
This was so easy and fat and delicious. It’s a staple now.
Happy you liked it!
Just made this for dinner, as in my family is eating it right this second. I put it over rice with green beans. I poured the mixture over the chicken and rice after plating. My picky 5 year old has said it’s super good like 3 times. She wants it for her school lunch tomorrow and for dinner again lol. I might double the sauce next time to marinade it and have more to cover it with. And I also caution bake time for others. I set the timer for 15 mins and they were already at 168-175. I thought I’d need longer than recommended because they were pretty fat! Glad I checked early. Overall, plan on doing again!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with your family, especially your picky 5-year-old—getting that kind of approval is always a win! Doubling the sauce sounds like a great idea for even more flavor. I’m glad you plan on making it again!
I love this recipe. Not only does it taste wonderfully delicious and it is tender, it is also quick to make.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Quick, tender, and delicious is exactly what I was aiming for—so happy it hit the mark for you! 😊🍽️
Such quick and yummy recipe! My super picky 7 year old even loved it!
So happy to hear that!!
Our whole family absolutely loved this! Even my 2 year old who has always refused to eat chicken, but tonight he ate every bite! It felt like a major victory! Will definitely be making again!
Thank you so much for your kind message! I’m thrilled to hear that your whole family loved the recipe, especially your 2-year-old—that’s such a win! 🥰 Hearing stories like yours truly makes my day. I’m so glad you’ll be making it again!!!
Wow, this was a hit with my family! The recipe was so easy to make and a 5+ out of 5 stars! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with your family! Thank you for the 5+ stars—your feedback means a lot! 😊
I made this for my husband, son, daughter and son in law for Sunday dinner. They all LOVED it and wanted more. There were NO leftovers. I followed the recipe, added extra fresh minced garlic, used Tuscan herb olive oil. I’m making it again 2 days later per family’s request. Lol
I made this for my husband, son, daughter and son in law for Sunday dinner. They all LOVED it and wanted more. There were NO leftovers. I followed the recipe, added more than 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic, a garlic smoked salt and pepper seasoning and used Tuscan herb olive oil. Served with aor fryer baby gold potatoes and green beans. I’m making it again 2 days later per family’s request. Lol
Thank you for sharing! Your additions sound absolutely amazing, and I’m so glad your family loved it that much. Making it again so soon is the best compliment—enjoy! 😊
How many leftovers were there?
2nd time making it, love it!
SO happy to hear that 😉
I’m a novice of a cook, but it turned out really good and the chicken was just about perfect. I put a lid on the pan while it was cooking to help chicken stay juicy. Made it with steamed broccoli, seasoned with crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt. Thanks for sharing. Gonna have to wait for my other half for their opinion of it lol
That’s awesome! Covering the pan is a great trick to keep the chicken juicy. Your steamed broccoli sounds like the perfect side. Hope your other half loves it too! 😊
My family loved it. Will have to make more portions next time.Rox
Sooo happy to hear that. My family loves this recipe too, especially my little guy 😉
My family loves this recipe. It’s my go to when I want to make a quick meal. Baked potatoes ( in the microwave) and a salad or vegetable
Aww so happy to hear that. My family also love this recipe with a salad and a side of potatoes. It’s the best 😉
I have been enjoying your recipes, but on this one, my chicken is already at 165 afterr 3-4 minutes on the skillet. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks for your message! If your chicken reaches 165°F after just 3–4 minutes, it may be cut too thin or your skillet might be too hot. Try lowering the heat and using thicker breasts for even cooking. 😊
My family loved this and it was so easy! The recipe is exactly right, unlike many found on the Internet. Thank you!
That means so much—thank you! I’m thrilled your family loved it and that the recipe worked perfectly for you. 😊🍽️
Very good!
Happy you liked it!