So when a recipe calls for X cups of cooked or shredded chicken, I usually just use leftover chopped Fauxtisserie Chicken. But what about those days when I don’t want to cook a whole chicken just to use the leftovers the next day? Or when, maybe, it’s 3:00 in the afternoon and I haven’t started a chicken and my 2-year-old is napping and I can’t go buy a rotisserie chicken at the store (which reminds me of the time when my husband and I were broke college students and I was supposed to be cutting back on the grocery bill. I did NOT want to cook one night, so I got a rotisserie chicken, put it in the crock pot with the juices, and discarded the evidence). Or what about just how to cook a chicken breast just right, to the point where it’s not going to make you sick but it’s not dry and tasteless, either?
I’m going to cover the major methods of cooking a chicken breast. And because I’m living like a hobo right now (tonight, my kids ate spaghetti from paper bowls with plastic spoons on a towel that was on the floor because we’re squarely stuck between two houses), the lovely Sara was gracious enough to take the pictures for today’s post. But first, regardless of your method, there are a few chicken basics:
1. Defrosting. If you’re using frozen chicken, it’s best to defrost it first. If you’re really on top of it, you can defrost it a few days ahead of time in the refrigerator. I can guarantee you 100% that I am never that on top of things. This leaves the microwave defrost setting or placing it in a Ziploc bag in cool water, changing the water regularly. I prefer the cool water method because I almost always end up accidentally cooking at least part of the chicken in the microwave and unseasoned, microwaved chicken is not good.
1. Rinse the chicken breast in cool water. Especially if you’re buying it non-frozen. Especially if it’s non-frozen with skin and bones. Even if your chicken is well before its expiration date, those liquids it’s sitting in don’t smell good and if you don’t rinse the liquid off, it will affect the flavor of your chicken after it’s been cooked.
2. Pat the chicken dry. Unless you’re poaching the chicken, it’s not a bad idea to dry it off, even if it’s going straight into a marinade. Just grab a few paper towels and blot the water off the chicken.
3. Be safe. This is pretty much a no-brainer, but just in case your mother did not instill the same fear of salmonella in you as mine did in me, I figured I’d do it for her. More so than many other meats, uncooked or undercooked chicken can make you sick. Make sure you’re keeping track of where those chicken juices are going and what you’ve touched. Designate a knife and plastic cutting board that will only be used for cutting up the chicken and then make sure they go straight into the dishwasher. Wash your hands well and often and if you get chicken or chicken juices on the counter, wipe them up right away with something that will kill the germs. If you’re marinating your chicken and want to baste it while it’s cooking, reserve some of the marinade that will never touch the raw chicken instead of using marinade with salmonella germs to baste the chicken.
4. Marinating. I almost always marinate chicken breasts because it’s a great, cheap way to get some flavor into the chicken. You can use anything that has a little bit of acid (not the drug…we’re not that kind of blog…) in it–your favorite salad dressing, lemon, lime, orange juice, etc. One of my favorites is just juice from a few limes, a splash of red wine vinegar, and a few cloves of garlic. It works great on fish, too, but that’s another post.
Generally, you want to marinate chicken in the fridge for 4-8 hours or overnight. If you go for longer than 24 hours, things might start getting a little weird.
Poaching or Boiling
I have a quick disclaimer about poaching or boiling chicken. I seriously can’t even remember the last time I boiled or poached chicken, even in recipes that call for boiled chicken. I just don’t like it and I don’t like how it makes my kitchen smell afterwards. I think there are methods that are just as easy and so much better, so I just never do it. So if you’re dying to know about the intricacies of boiling chicken, I’m probably not the best person to ask; I would feel dishonest because I don’t feel like, for me at least, that it’s the best way to cook a chicken breast. For those of you who are dying to know the best way to poach a chicken breast, I begrudgingly present you with a great tutorial… 🙂 Just take note that there is a big difference between properly poaching chicken, and just boiling the heck out of it. One produces moist, tender, flavorful meat, and the other can just make stringy, flavorless, chewy meat.
Fauxtisserie Chicken Breast
So for those of you who like the taste of rotisserie chicken but don’t want to buy a whole chicken or don’t like dark meat, this method is for you. You use the same method as you use for Fauxtisserie Chicken, you just use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts instead. Just form 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them on the bottom of your slow cooker. Season your chicken breasts as desired (use a salt-based seasoning like seasoning salt, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, barbecue seasoning, etc.) and cook, breast-up, on low for 4 hours.
Oven Roasting
Okay, for this one, you can use bone-in or boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Boneless skinless is quick and easy, but bone-in will give you chicken with more flavor and it tends to be juicier. But they both work great. If you’re after a particular flavor, marinating is a great way to go. However, if you’re after a more neutral flavor for something like chicken salad or a casserole, rub the chicken with a little extra-virgin olive olive oil
and sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.
If you want to meet somewhere in the middle, you could go the salt-based seasoning route from the Fauxtisserie Chicken method again–just sprinkle it on there.
Preheat oven to 350. If you’re using bone-in chicken breasts, place chicken, breast side up, on the baking sheet and roast for about 35-45 minutes (depending on the size it may less or more) or until the juices run clear and, if you’ve somehow magically found a meat thermometer that works (see diatribe here), the internal temperature is 160 degrees.
If you’re using boneless skinless chicken breasts (wow, I feel like I’m using the word “breast” a lot in this post…I hope I’m not attracting the wrong kind of audience from Google!), it will take less time. Depending on the size, about 20-30 minutes. Again, the juices running clear and the internal temperature are the best ways to be sure!
Whether you use boneless or bone-in chicken, remove from oven and allow to stand about 5 minutes before serving. This keeps the meat juicy and flavorful (and hey, not burning yourself is a positive side benefit). You can just toss the skin from the bone-in chicken.
Grilling
This is hands-down my favorite method. It’s quick and easy and I just think nothing else tastes as good as grilled chicken.
It’s largely the same as roasting, although I pretty much always marinade the chicken and sometimes I use a spice rub as well. But really, once your chicken is seasoned the way you want it, preheat your grill on high for about 10 minutes. If you have a temperature indicator, it will probably be around 450. Place seasoned chicken, on the grill and turn heat down to medium. Cook bone-in chicken breasts for about 8-9 minutes per side and boneless skinless chicken breasts for 7 minutes per side (don’t ask me where this 7 minutes came from, but it has never, ever failed me). Remove from grill and allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.
So are you all excited about chicken breasts now? Here are some of our favorite recipes to practice with:
Taco Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Fajitas
Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine
Teriyaki Chicken Salad Sandwiches
White Chicken Chili
Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers
Asian Cabbage Salad
Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Questions & Reviews
I used lemon, red wine vinegar, and garlic to marinate chicken breasts for about 4 hours today, and cooked them using the oven method. Before baking I sprinkled them with some season all. They came out so juicy and tender! I have been trying to cook a proper chicken breast for years, and they almost always come out either under or overcooked. I am amazed at how easy it was to make. Thank you so SO much!
Hi there, I found this page by googling “how to cook chicken breasts”. Great ideas!
I have a question: do chicken breasts need to be tenderized? I feel like I’m getting different information from different parts of the internet…I found one recipe where it looked like they basically pounded it flat, but it doesn’t look like that in your pics. I’d rather not go at a hunk of meat with a hammer if I don’t have to. :o)
By the way, it’s so nice to see that other people have trouble cooking chicken too! I was raised in a vegetarian household and am just now (at 24) learning to cook chicken – I felt like I was the only one who was clueless!
I made some today using her citrus/vinegar/garlic marinade and oven method, I did not tenderize or flatten them and they were delicious and juicy!
Thxs Sara I’m out here grilling in Minnetonka,MN pre Memorial Day.
Thxs for the help 🙂
The author of this post turned me away by unnecessarily likening their language to strange things, in fact boobs and narcotics, which did not help me cook my chicken. I shall presume, therefore, it was a male individual; potentially a pervert; potentially having a drug problem.
WHATEVER, BEST BITES.
Oh my word, this is about the best chicken cooking guide I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much!
We love chicken breasts, but my husband always prefers I use a stovetop method because it never dries out. I just don’t always have the time to stand over the stove with five kids running amuck, so I was looking for tips on oven baking. Thanks for posting this. And I had to laugh at the comment about typing the word “breast” a lot because the ad on the sidebar right now is for nursing bras at diapers.com. 🙂
I really enjoyed your website and appreciate your humor!!! Thanks!1
Loving this site! I am only learning to cook properly now (I’m 27), and I’ve had a few disasters! But I’ll keep on trying 🙂 I have a really nice recipe that includes green tabasco and worcestershire sauce, garlic, paprika, vinegar and some mayo in it. It’s a marinade I suppose and you use either boneless, skinless strips or breasts. Then you’re supposed to fry it. Now, I need to know what would be a good temperature for this? Cause the sauce is really nice, the chicken not always! This is for a eating plan I’m on, so no extra fats and so on allowed…
I am having a dinner party and I want to have chicken wings as part of the meal. How long should I bake them for to make them taste perfectly tender?
You’ll have to follow a recipe specifically for chicken wings, off the top of my head I’m not sure!
I just wanted to say thank for posting all of this. I was terrified of cooking chicken (before this I only knew how to cook it via saute). I got it right the first time!!! This is great. Thank you.
Thanks for helping me become a better cook! my son is a bit older than yours and i had to learn to cook for him! he loves this 🙂 delicious
Thanks again,
Sagi.
Great info!! I always have the hardest time with chicken. And I am so, so excited about the Fauxtisserie chicken breasts. I wanted to try your Fauxtisserie chicken but my slow cooker is too small for a whole chicken.
It looks like the links at the bottom of the article are missing the “:” from “http://www….”. These in particular:
Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine
Teriyaki Chicken Salad Sandwiches
White Chicken Chili
Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers
The last picture looks yummy!
Cute, blog… very informative, keep up the outstanding job
No Sara, Ur not using the word breast to much, lol. This sounds really good, think i’ll go try it, RIGHT NOW, lol. Seriously, right now sounds good to me.
I can’t thank you enough for this blog! I’ve been so happy with
everything I’ve made and you aren’t intimidating like so many
recipe sites can be.
I suck at cooking. I’m 18 years old and want to suprise my mom from work and give her a good meal.and make something I won’t be afraid that would probably kill her. I was joking but this tips came in handy.THANK YOU!!!
Success! Thank u for talking the neophytes of the cooking world through the basics.
Love love love this post! Very helpful for a new homemaker. I love to cook but I have a very busy work schedule so getting good, tasty shredded chicken has always been a difficult thing for me, cause first I wasn’t sure what the best way to do it is, and second I never had time to experiment!! By the way, you mentioned the whole “breat” thing.. Well my mother always said “chicken chest” when I was growing up because she said “chickens don’t have breasts!!” Anyway, that gave me a good laugh. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!
Thank you for giving just the basics for oven roasting chicken breasts.. No one gives just the basic they are always doing some crazy dish. I have a friend who doesn’t like ALOT of foods so to be able to just find a good simple oven roast was a breath of fresh air. Thanks
That sounds really good and I love the way you write! I like marinating my chicken in yogurt – gives it a tangy flavor.
I googled “how to cook chicken” and this was the first hit. While I don’t think I learned anything, this was an entertaining read and I’m glad I found it.
thanks its kinda hard to cook when moms not around like she use to be i use you guys for tips on cooking foods now so i might just have more questions later i really want to learn how to make some good lemon pepper chicken
I just have to say THANK YOU so much for posting how to bake chicken breast in the oven! I used to just boil the life out of my chicken, and I didn’t really like it. Now I bake my chicken with the olive oil every chance I get and it comes out perfect everytime! I even have to keep an eye on my husband to make sure he doesn’t steal pieces of the chicken before I can use it! Thank you for creating a new tradition in my family!
I like your straightforward directions. You did, however, miss something. When baking chicken pieces… do you cover them?
Nope, don’t cover ’em. 🙂
Great post! The humor was a nice touch!
Awesome post! My track record for cooking chicken is pretty dismal. Whenever I tell my wife that I’m cooking chicken for dinner, I just hear crickets chirping. I don’t blame her, so I’m really trying to improve.
The foil/fauxtisserie trick is genius, and I’m definitely trying that soon =)
Thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post – I’m not the best cook to begin with, but no matter what I do, I cannot seem to get chicken right… I so excited to start using some of these suggestions!!
thank you! finally, a google first-result article on cooking that isn’t from a content farm full of uselessness.
you rock!
Thanks for helping me become a better cook. My husband is a little older than I and has been married before to a complete domestication goddess. And although I come with my own set of strengths, cooking is not among them. I have applied your tips and tricks with great success!
Thanks again,
Nicole