Juicy baked chicken breasts every time
Why use bland chicken breasts on your salads, in your casseroles and in your chicken salad recipes?
Let’s face it, boneless/skinless chicken breasts are nothing to write home about. We eat them because we know they are healthier and have less fat than other cuts of the bird. But because of this, they also tend to dry out and just taste bland. Chicken skin traps in the moisture and just makes the chicken taste better.
How to get the flavor we want without the calories and fat of the chicken skim
Lucky for us, there is a way to do this that is quite easy. We need to “create” a skin for the chicken to render a juicy outcome. This is done by using parchment paper! Click here to see my favorite parchment paper. It has a graph so you can always get the perfect parchment size you need.
The flavor is all in the seasonings
You literally can use just about any seasonings you like with this recipe, changing it up with your differing needs. For example, if you were making chicken quesadillas, you could season these with chili powder, cayenne, lime zest and cilantro. If you were making a baked pasta dish with these you could use garlic powder, Italian seasoning and lemon. The sky is the limit!
Perfectly juicy oven baked chicken breasts
Ingredients
- 2 large Chicken breasts Skinless, boneless with rib meat approximately 2lbs
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 4 large Lemon Slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder and lemon zest on a plate. Coat the breasts with olive oil and dredge them in the spice mixture. Place breasts in a small casserole dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray making sure the breasts are not touching each other. Arrange the lemon slices on top of the chicken.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper approximately 3 inches wider than your casserole dish on all sides. Wrap the paper around the chicken, tucking that paper under the breasts around all 4 sides.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Let rest for at least 15 minutes.
