Let me share a secret with you. I do not like baked chicken. At least, Not usually. Whenever I see baked chicken on a menu or see it on the hot bar, I immediately think, “bland, slimy, dry.” Why would I want to eat that? Give me something grilled, sautéed, fried, but please, no baked chicken. You are already so excited to try this recipe, I can tell. Especially after that introduction. But…and this is a BIG “but…,” this is not that chicken. This chicken is full of flavor, skin as crispy as a cracker and is super juicy. This is the chicken that made me quit using boiled chicken in everything.
Like many great recipes, this one starts with butter. Don’t substitute olive oil or cooking spray or anything else, please. I promise, it’s worth it to use the real thing. Then comes the spice mix. This one relys on smoked paprika to give a deep, slow cooked flavor. Wanna know the number one reason why food doesn’t taste good? It is underseasoned. Don’t worry, we are going to load this chicken down with seasoning. Although you can use a boneless, skinless breast for this recipe, I highly suggest the bone-in, skin-on option. Chicken breast meat has a natural tendency to dry out due to a lack of fat. By leaving the bone in and the skin on, it helps lock in the moisture and keep your chicken super juicy. That’s it. Butter, spices, skin and bones is how we are going to make the Best Baked Chicken. Try it on it’s own or use it in our Chipotle Lime Tostadas for an extra boost of flavor or as the perfect chicken for the Picnic Salad.
To make the best baked chicken, here is what to do…
Best Baked Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
- 2 tsp butter, unsalted and softened
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C). If you have a roast setting on your oven, now would be a great time to use it. Otherwise, use the conventional setting.
- While the oven is preheating, cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and place your chicken on the parchment, leaving some space between each breast.
- Next, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Using your fingers, gently separate the chicken skin from the meat and spread 1/2 tsp of butter under the skin of each breast.
- In a small bowl, combine the last 5 ingredients to make your spice mix. Add 1/2 tsp of the spice mix under the skin of each breast and 1 tsp of the spice mix on top of the skin of each breast. Massage the spice mix onto the chicken to coat each piece evenly.
- Bake on the middle rack for 40-45 minutes, or until the internal temperature of each breast reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) and the skin is golden and crisp. Serve as is or allow to cool and use in your favorite recipes!
Notes
- If you plan to use the chicken in other recipes, remove the crispy skin and shred the meat while still hot or allow it to cool and slice or dice.
- If using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, reduce the spice mix applied to each piece by half and reduce cooking time to 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken has reached 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) internally.
- Each breast will yield approx. 1 c. of shredded or chopped chicken
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