Baked chicken breast: a juicy oven recipe with a time and temperature chart

The short answer: for juicy baked chicken breast, pound boneless breasts to an even 3/4 inch, rub with oil and seasoning, and bake at 425°F for 16 to 20 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F. Rest 5 minutes before slicing.

• Key numbers: 425°F oven · 3/4 inch thick · 16 to 20 minutes · 165°F inside · 5 minute rest · leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge
• Cost: about $1.72 a serving for 4 with a Walmart Great Value frozen bag, or about $1.37 with a fresh tray
• Free and paid next step: get the free recipe book starter pages (we email it to you), or plan the week around this recipe with the Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99).

Prep time: 10 minCook time: 20 minTotal time: 35 minServings: 4 servingsTotal includes 5 min of resting, chilling or rising.

Times, temperatures and prices in this baked chicken breast guide were checked November 4, 2026. Below you'll find a time chart for every oven temperature and thickness, the base recipe, eight seasoning blends, fixes for dry chicken, frozen chicken, storage and meal prep, and the cost per serving.

How long to bake chicken breast: time and temperature chart

Times are for boneless, skinless breasts straight from the fridge, on a metal sheet pan in a fully preheated oven. They are starting points. Ovens run hot or cold, and breasts vary a lot in size, so start checking at the low end of each range.

Done is a temperature, not a time. Every row ends the same way: the thickest part must reach 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. That is the safe minimum for all poultry on the FoodSafety.gov temperature chart. Color is not a safe test. USDA notes that safely cooked chicken can still look a little pink.

Which temperature is best? 425°F is the sweet spot for most families. It is hot enough to brown the outside before the middle dries out, and dinner is done in about 20 minutes. Use 350°F or 375°F when the chicken shares the oven with a casserole or a sheet of potatoes. Use 400°F for thicker breasts that you don't want to pound.

The USDA's own chicken cooking time chart lists 20 to 30 minutes at 350°F for a 4 ounce boneless breast half and 30 to 40 minutes for a 6 to 8 ounce bone-in breast half, which matches the low-temperature end of the chart above.

Easy oven baked chicken breast recipe

Serves 4 · Prep 10 minutes · Bake 16 to 20 minutes · Rest 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds total
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or dried oregano or thyme)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. Heat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the middle. Give it the full 15 minutes so the pan starts hot.
2. Even out the chicken. Put the breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap or in a zip-top bag and pound the thick end with a rolling pin, meat mallet or heavy skillet until the whole breast is about 3/4 inch thick. If a breast weighs 10 ounces or more, slice it in half sideways into two thinner cutlets instead.
3. Pat dry. Blot both sides with paper towels. A dry surface browns, and a wet one steams. Skip rinsing: USDA advises against washing raw poultry because it splashes bacteria around the sink.
4. Season. Mix the paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the oil over the chicken, then sprinkle the blend on both sides.
5. Arrange. Line a rimmed metal sheet pan with foil or parchment and lay the breasts flat with an inch of space between them. Crowded chicken steams instead of roasting.
6. Bake 16 to 20 minutes. Start checking at 15 minutes. Slide the thermometer in from the side into the thickest part. Pull the pan at 165°F.
7. Rest 5 minutes. Move the chicken to a plate or cutting board and leave it alone. The juices settle back into the meat instead of running onto the board.
8. Slice across the grain and serve, or cool for meal prep.

Want it juicier still? Dry brine. Salt the chicken (use the teaspoon from the recipe) up to a day ahead and leave it uncovered on a plate in the fridge. Add the rest of the seasoning and oil right before baking. Salt has time to soak in, so the chicken holds on to more moisture in the oven.

8 baked chicken seasoning blends

Each blend is enough for about 2 pounds of chicken breast. Mix the dry spices, rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon of oil, and season both sides. Add the wet glazes only in the last 5 minutes so the sugar doesn't burn. For a dedicated citrus-and-cracked-pepper seasoning method, make our lemon pepper chicken.

Why baked chicken breast turns out dry, and how to fix it

Dry chicken almost always comes down to one of six things. Here is what to change next time.

A word on glass dishes. Glass and ceramic heat more slowly than metal, so chicken in a glass baking dish often takes a few minutes longer than the chart. That's fine. Just go by the thermometer.

Baking frozen chicken breast and other common questions

Frozen chicken breast. You can bake chicken straight from frozen. USDA says chicken can be cooked from frozen in the oven, and that cooking takes about 50 percent longer. There's no need to rinse off the ice glaze. Separate the breasts, brush them with oil, bake 10 minutes, then add the seasoning (spices stick better once the surface thaws), and keep baking at 400°F to 425°F for about 28 to 38 minutes total, until 165°F. Do not cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker.

Thawing. The safest ways to thaw are in the fridge (overnight to 1 or 2 days), in cold water in a sealed bag (about an hour for a 1 pound pack, changing the water every 30 minutes), or in the microwave right before cooking. Never thaw chicken on the counter.

Covered or uncovered? Uncovered. Foil traps steam, which keeps the chicken pale. Cover only if you're baking chicken in a sauce, like a casserole.

Bone-in breasts. Bone-in, skin-on split breasts take about twice as long, but the skin crisps and the bone helps the meat stay moist. Bake at 400°F to 425°F for 35 to 50 minutes.

Other ways to cook it. If the oven is busy, try our pan seared chicken breast (about 15 minutes on the stove) or air fryer chicken breast. Our how to cook chicken guide compares every method, and chicken thigh recipes cover dark meat.

Storing, reheating and meal prepping baked chicken

Baked chicken breast is one of the easiest proteins to cook once and eat all week. These storage times come from the USDA home storage chart.

• Refrigerate within 2 hours of baking, in shallow containers so it cools fast.
• Reheat to 165°F. Splash a tablespoon of broth or water over sliced chicken, cover, and microwave in short bursts, or warm in a covered pan at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Freeze it sliced. Lay slices flat in a freezer bag, press the air out and label the date. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

A simple meal prep plan: bake 4 pounds on Sunday (two sheet pans, one blend on each). Slice half for lunches and dice half for dinners. You'll get grain bowls, wraps and salads for most of the week. Our meal prep ideas and freezer meals guides have more ways to stretch a batch.

What to serve with baked chicken breast

Pick one starch and one vegetable, and dinner is done in the same oven time.

• Starches: mashed potatoes, fluffy cooked rice, air fryer baked potatoes, buttered noodles or garlic bread
• Vegetables: roast broccoli, green beans or carrots on a second pan at 425°F for 18 to 22 minutes while the chicken bakes
• Salads: a crunchy Greek salad or a simple bagged salad kit
• Soups for a cold night: a cup of broccoli cheddar soup or potato soup

Leftover ideas: dice it for chicken salad, slice it into chicken fajitas or quesadillas, stir it into chicken noodle soup, or pile it on a pasta salad. More weeknight plans live in our easy dinner ideas.

What baked chicken breast costs per serving

Chicken breast is still a budget protein. On November 4, 2026, Walmart.com listed the Great Value boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3 pound frozen bag, at $9.84, or $3.28 a pound. A fresh Freshness Guaranteed tray was about $2.57 a pound, sold by weight. The national average for boneless chicken breast was $4.20 a pound in September 2026, according to BLS average price data.

A 4 ounce portion of roasted chicken breast has about 187 calories and 35 grams of protein, based on USDA FoodData Central values for roasted breast meat, so this is a lot of protein for the money. Prices change by store and week, so check your own receipt.

Budget tips: the 5 and 8 pound frozen bags were cheaper per pound ($2.99 and $2.50 on the same day), so buy big when the freezer has room. Write the price per pound in a grocery price book to spot real sales. Our guides to meal planning on a budget, how to grocery shop on a budget and the grocery budget for a family of 4 show how to build a full week around one cheap protein.

Want more methods than baking? Our chicken breast recipes hub has 86 dinners with cost, protein and cook time. Prefer a quick skillet meal to oven-baked breasts? Try our chicken and broccoli recipe.

Looking for lighter ways to use it? Our healthy chicken recipes collect balanced chicken dinners with calories per serving.

Plan your chicken dinners and save the chart

Add a cheesy crust: Parmesan crusted chicken.

• Meal Planner & Grocery List, $3.99. A weekly menu grid and an aisle-sorted grocery list, so the Sunday chicken bake is planned into lunches and dinners.
• Family Recipe Binder, $6.99. Fillable recipe pages and cards for your time chart, favorite seasoning blend and family dinners.
• Family Life Admin Bundle, $15.99 ($23.95 bought separately). Includes both printables above plus three more family organizers.

Browse all our Printables for more planners and kitchen pages.

Pound it even, bake it hot, and trust the thermometer. Once you do that, baked chicken breast stops being the dry dinner and becomes the easy one. Pound thin for cutlets and finish in a lemon-caper pan sauce with our chicken piccata recipe.