Juicy Chicken Breasts

Tender and juicy chicken breasts are enjoyable, easy to eat and a great way to get more protein and feel satisfied after a meal.

We often prepare several pieces of chicken to cut up and mix in Chop Salads throughout the week.

The Easiest Juicy Chicken Breasts

Chicken is safe to eat when cooked to an internal temperature of 165℉.  To keep it tender, cook until it reaches 160℉, remove from the heat and rest for 10 minutes while it continues to cook. Then slice, serve and enjoy!

We’ve conducted over 20 trials to find that the oven and slow cooker are the easiest methods for our family. These methods allow us to most easily temp check the chicken while cooking.

Since there is variation in appliances, after making this plain chicken recipe a few times you’ll have the cooking time down and won’t need to keep checking. Cooking meat repetitively whether it’s pork chops in the oven or brisket in a roaster will help you refine the process and build confidence.

How To Season Plain Chicken

We have tested a variety of seasonings and find a cajun or a Crejole seasoning (like Tony’s Chachere’s) to be our favorite.

Another basic option that we like on all meat is this McCormick Salt and Pepper with Garlic.

Adding a little flavor, but not too much to the meat allows it to mix in to any meal like Chicken Casserole with Red Lobster Biscuit Mix, a Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Sub or Chicken and Potato Casserole very well.

Time and Temp To Make Chicken In The Oven

For best results preheat the oven and allow the meat to warm up a bit a room temp (20 to 30 minutes) before setting in the oven. This will decrease the temperature swing the protein is subjected to which will help keep it more tender.

Arrange seasoned chicken, spaced out evenly in an ungreased glass baking dish.

Chicken breasts weighing about 3/4 pound each will cook in 35 to 45 minutes in an oven preheated oven 350℉.

The goal is to remove the meat from the heat when it reaches 160℉ inside and allow to rest on the counter for 10 minutes while it continues to cook to 165℉. This is the secret to maximum juiciness in chicken breasts.

Use an accurate, quality, digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken in the center of the thickest part of the breast.

How Long To Cook Chicken Breast In A Slow Cooker

Two breasts in a 4 quart (or larger) slow cooker on low, spread out with space around each side cook on low about 1 hour 40 minutes

Or cook on high for about 1 hour 15 to 20 minutes.

Chicken is finished cooking and safe to eat at 165℉, but STOP cooking at 160℉ for the best, most tender and juicy meat!

Step By Step Instructions

Trim any remaining pieces of fat off of a raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Season each breast with 1/2 teaspoon cajun or creole seasoning and rub the seasoning in with your fingers.

The key is to stop cooking when chicken reaches 160℉ – turn off the heat and the meat will continue cooking to a safe, internal temp of 165℉.

Variables that Affect Cooking Time:

• Size of chicken breast – we purchase the store brand bigger packs of chicken and the breasts are typically 3/4 pound each, but can range from 1/2 to 1 pound each.
• How close the pieces of meat are – breasts pushed closely together will take longer than a pan with more room.
• Temperature of meat when you start cooking (straight out of the fridge or brought closer to room temp).

What The Experts Do

Here are the fine tuning tips that I learned from meat scientist at the Ohio State University and through other trainings that chefs have offered.

Stop cooking the meat 5 degrees before the final temperature. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes. 

The meat will continue to cook. This makes the actual finished temp 165℉. 

If you take out of the oven at 165℉ it will continue to cook to about 170℉. Each degree over 165℉ will begin to slightly dry out the meat and make it tough.

Remove meat from the fridge and allow to warm up to room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking. This decreases the temperature swing that proteins encounter allowing them to stay a bit more tender.

Avoid putting salt on the outside of raw meat. Water follows salt (why brining chicken works well), so putting salt on the surface will draw moisture to the surface instead of keeping it inside the meat. 

Tips For Success

• Through testing we prefer a 9 x 13” pan versus a sheet pan. Chicken will purge some juice while roasting and it could be an issue for pans with shorter sides. A bigger sheet pan does give more space to spread out the meat to cook evenly.
• Leave space around each chicken breast in a glass baking dish with sides to help them all bake evenly.
• Use a larger lasagna type dish to allow room for heat to circulate evenly around each breast.
• I haven’t noticed a difference in brands. Bigger breasts hold more juices so I always use a pan with a rim to help contain the juices.
• Get good baking at 350℉ and know your time and meat spacing in the dish before turning oven up to 375℉. At higher temps your window to catch the chicken at 160℉ is smaller.

Juicy chicken is delicious served with Black Beans and Yellow Rice or almost any of our salad recipes.

More Family Favorite Meals

Crock Pot Spaghetti is designed so the pasta can simmer and cook in the meat sauce right right in the slow cooker.

Sausage Mac and Cheese is creamy, packed with Velveeta and oh so good.

My Mom’s Meatloaf – so simple and delish!