Oven Baked Chicken Breast

Mireille · 09/16/2018 at 5:56 pm

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Yes, this recipe will make you dance and sing it is that good. Juicy chicken in the oven is made with homemade pesto and done in less than 20 minutes. So are you ready to learn how you can make oven-baked chicken breast pesto? Let’s get started!

Oven-Baked Chicken Ingredients

To make this juicy oven-baked chicken breast you need but a handful of ingredients on your grocery list:

Chicken breast – choose skinless chicken breast for this recipe
Cherry tomatoes – cut the tomatoes in half
Pesto – if you grow basil use it to make homemade pesto or use store-bought
Chili powder – to sprinkle on top of the chicken use homemade chili powder
Olive oil – to cook the chicken breast
Brown sugar – to add a sweet hint to the chicken

You can find all the ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How To Make Oven-Baked Chicken Breast

Start this recipe by preheating the oven to 425℉/218℃.
To make sure the chicken breast is done within 20 minutes cut the chicken breast in half.
Cover the chicken with cling film and pound it with a rolling pin to make it flat.
Put the chicken on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Drizzle olive oil on the chicken breast and cover the chicken breast with oil using your fingers to rub it in.
Take half a tablespoon of homemade pesto and cover the chicken with pesto either with a brush, your fingers, or a spoon.
Combine the chili powder with a pinch of brown sugar and stir it well to make sure the chili powder absorbs the sugar. Then sprinkle the chili powder mix on the chicken breast.
Flip the chicken breast and repeat the steps so olive oil, pesto, and seasoning. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and divide them on the baking tray. You can put a pinch of salt on the tomatoes if you like.
Bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
When done remove the baking tray from the oven and transfer the oven-baked chicken breast and tomatoes to warm serving plates and serve immediately.

A Super Easy Chicken Recipe

The beauty of chicken recipes is that in general, they are easily prepared and fast. I love fast recipes and this recipe is one of them.

Do you remember the classic basil pesto recipe I shared the other day? Well, it is one of the ingredients in this recipe as well.

It will give your oven-baked chicken breast lots of flavors and prevent it from going dry. Because that is something to always look out for when you cook chicken in the oven.

You do not want dry chewy chicken which happens if you bake at high heat and with no baking product. In this recipe, I add two secret ingredients to prevent dry chicken:

The first secret ingredient is olive oil. Coating your chicken with some oil prevents it from going dry. I have made oven chicken breast without olive oil and chances are the meat will turn dry from the heat.
The second secret ingredient is a little bit of brown sugar. It gives the chicken breast a nice color as it caramelizes in the oven and it also adds a subtle sweetness to the homemade chili powder. No worries you will not have some sweet chicken as a result, it is a subtle addition.

As your oven will do the hard work you have time for other things while your chicken cooks in the oven.

This recipe is gluten-free and also keto/low-carb friendly.

Can You Make Oven-Baked Chicken Ahead?

Yes, you can make this recipe ahead of time. Not only to serve for a fast dinner but you can also add it to salad, put it on bread, or wrap it in a tortilla.

So, you can serve the chicken hot or cold, both are an option.

Just make certain to cook the chicken through before storing it. You do not want to have half-cooked chicken when you store it.

How To Store Oven-Baked Chicken

You have several options to store this chicken recipe. Always let the chicken cool completely, preferably within half an hour before storing:

Refrigerator – you can store oven-baked chicken in the fridge. Put the chicken in an airtight food container or a resealable bag. You can store oven-baked chicken in the fridge for up to 2 days
Freezer – if you want to store it longer you can store it in the freezer. Again, store in a freezer-friendly food container or Ziploc bag

How To Reheat Oven-Baked Chicken

You have several ways to reheat oven-baked chicken with pesto:

Oven – you can reheat leftover chicken in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃ and put the chicken on a parchment-lined baking tray. To prevent the chicken from drying out while reheating, you can cover them with aluminum foil and reheat for 5-7 minutes or until warm
Air Fryer – you can also reheat the chicken in an Air Fryer. Preheat the Air Fryer to 375℉/190℃ and wrap the chicken in aluminum foil to prevent the chicken from drying. Warm for 3-4 minutes or until warm
Cast-iron skillet – you can also reheat the chicken using a cast-iron skillet. Preheat the skillet and add a little bit of oil. Add the chicken and heat it gradually so the chicken can heat through instead of only heating the outside of the chicken

Serve Oven-Baked Chicken With

You can eat this chicken with a host of different side dishes, e.g.:

Mexican potatoes – crispy crunch spicy potatoes. You can’t go wrong with this side dish
Mexican rice – red hot Tex-Mex rice is a one-pan recipe that fits perfectly with this chicken recipe
Keto fried rice – want to eat low carb then prepare this cauliflower low-carb fried rice. You will love it
Naan bread – chicken and naan bread is a great combination. Make this easy naan bread when the chicken breast is in the oven and you are good to go
Basmati rice – Basmati rice is one of my favorites. With its lovely fragrance that is a great combination with chicken

More Easy Chicken Recipes

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