You’ll love this healthy, gluten-free, juicy Italian baked chicken. Boneless skinless chicken breast prepared with a simple spice mixture, garlic, and olive oil, and finished with fresh parsley and basil!
Why This Recipe Works
- Mediterranean Diet Friendly: High-protein, low-fat, and heart-healthy.
- Fast & Convenient: Prep to table in under 30 minutes.
- Juicy Never Dry Chicken Every Time!
Juicy Italian Baked Chicken Breast
Boneless skinless chicken breast is a great source of lean protein, which is why it is a welcome part of the Mediterranean Diet and featured in countless recipes on this site. However, if not cooked properly they are also the least forgiving if all the chiken parts and prone to drying out. Don’t worry! I have you covered.
I use a few tricks to make sure my baked Italian chicken recipe comes out tender and juicy every time! It’s the same technique I use for my grilled chicken breasts, and it works every single time!
Important Tips for Juicy Baked Chicken Breast
Particularly for those who are new to cooking, one of the big questions is, “How do I bake chicken breasts without drying it out?” Here are a few tips that have worked well for me:
- Pound the chicken. I’m a big fan of pounding chicken breasts into thinner, more evenly flat pieces; it helps them cook faster and more evenly. And by pounding, you’re also tenderizing the chicken breast, which means you’ll end up with a juicier and tastier chicken dinner. If you don’t want to pound it you can also slice the breasts into thinner chicken cutlets.
- Avoid baking the chicken for too long. This is the thing about cooking chicken breast, one minute makes a difference! Always watch carefully, and test the chicken temperature using an instant-read thermometer. Once the chicken registers 165°F, it’s ready.
- Cover the chicken when baking? In this recipe, I have found covering the chicken breasts for the first 10 minutes was helpful in allowing steam to cook the chicken from the inside first. Then, once uncovered, it finishes cooking more quickly, which helps to avoid dry chicken breast.
- Let the chicken rest before serving or slicing through. This is a known rule, just like with a good steak, once the chicken hits that magic 165°F remove from heat and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes so that the juices redistribute. And this time, I actually covered the chicken while it rested. I’ve found that to work even better.
How to Make Italian Baked Chicken
- Preheat oven to 425°F. First, pound chicken breasts into thinner, more even pieces. A clean way to do this is to place the chicken breast in a zip-top bag first, then pound on your cutting board.
- Season with salt and pepper, then combine with the remaining spices and fresh garlic. Add a generous drizzle of Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil and juice of about 1/2 lemon. Work it! Make sure the chicken is well coated with the spices etc.
- Prepare a lightly oiled baking dish like this one. Spread red onion slices on the bottom to make a bed for the chicken. Now Arrange chicken on top and throw in tomatoes (’cause Italian!)
- Cover and bake for 10 minutes, then uncover and finish baking until the chicken’s internal temperature reads 165°F, about 10 minutes more or so (depending on how thick your chicken pieces are). Don’t forget. Remove from heat and let chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes (you can cover it during this time). Garnish with fresh parsley and basil.
How Long to Bake Chicken Breasts?
It’s important not to over-bake boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Baking time will vary, depending on the size of the chicken breast and your oven temperature. I prefer a high-heat oven at 425°F for this chicken recipe. In my experience, cooking them at a lower heat for 30 minutes will produce dry meat.
- To bake chicken breast at 425°F like in this recipe, it will take somewhere between 18 and 20 minutes.
- To bake at 400°F the chicken breast will cook in 22 to 26 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts.
- To cook chicken breasts at 350°F this will take closer to 30 minutes.
Perfect Pairings
There are endless sides and salads I can recommend to serve with baked chicken breast, just make sure you start your sides first as this chicken recipe doesn’t take long to cook. Here are some favorites of mine:
- This easy Mediterranean olive oil pasta carries similar flavors.
- For something fresh, panzanella salad or my big easy Italian salad
- For a hot side dish, my Italian roasted vegetables are an obvious choice, but roasted fennel is an easy weeknight side, and you only have one vegetable to worry about cutting into quarters!
More Italian Chicken Recipes to Try
- Easy Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Chicken Putanesca
- Baked Sheet Pan Chicken Meatballs
- Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
- Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tsp dry oregano
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 5 to 6 Campari tomatoes, or small Roma tomatoes, halved
- Handful chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Pat chicken dry. Place a chicken breast in a large zip-top bag and zip the top (make sure to release any air in the bag first), then place it on your poultry cutting board. Using a meat mallet like this one, pound to flatten the chicken. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken breast pieces.
- Season the chicken with kosher salt and pepper on both sides and place in a large mixing bowl or dish. Add spices, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon juice. Combine to make sure the chicken is evenly coated with the spices and garlic.
- In a large lightly oiled baking dish or pan, spread the onion slices on the bottom. Arrange seasoned chicken on top, and add the tomatoes.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 10 minutes covered, then uncover and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or so. Watch carefully. This can take less or more time depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. To be sure the chicken is cooked through, use an instant digital cooking thermometer. It should register 165 degrees F.
- Remove from the heat. Let the chicken breasts rest (cover with foil or another pan) for 5 to 10 minutes or so before serving. Uncover and garnish with fresh parsley and basil. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Important Cook’s Tips: Do not skip pounding the chicken (step #2). Pounding the chicken into thinner, and more evenly flat pieces helps it cook faster and more evenly. And by pounding the chicken breast, you’re also mechanically tenderizing it, which means you’ll end up with a juicer and tastier chicken dinner.
- Cook’s Tip: Let chicken rest before serving to allow juices to redistribute.
- Visit Our Shop to browse Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and spices.
Nutrition
Italian Recipes to Try Next!
Turkish
Döner Kebab with Chicken
Meat and Poultry
Feta Brined Chicken
Meat and Poultry
Mediterraenean Stuffed Chicken Breast
Bundle and Save!
Four of our best-selling signature olive oils, perfect for everyday use.
Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
Visit Our Shop.
Absolutely delicious!! Added some croutons which added a little extra crunch as well 🙂
So glad to hear it, Rachelle!
Absolutely a delicious dinner. So easy and quick.
Plenty leftovers for another night. Will be making
This dish often.
So glad to hear it! Thank you
I used bone in chicken thighs it took longer but delicious. I also used a 15 can of diced tomatoes because I didn’t have fresh tomatoes. Thank you so much for this recipe it was so good
Great, Marlaine! Thanks for sharing your variation!
Do you know the nutritional facts for this dish??
Hi there. The nutrition information appears right below the recipe notes. You should see a “Nutrition Facts” label.
Made this recipe for dinner tonight to try something different. My husband and I really enjoyed it! I will say I had to cook it a bit longer than noted to make sure the chicken was cooked thoroughly and even sprinkled some parm cheese on top and broiled for 5 minutes! So good! We will be making this again
Super easy and flavorful, made some buttered linguine as a side.
Nicole, thanks so much for sharing! I like your idea of adding a sprinkle of Parmesan!
This turned out way better than I could have ever imagined! I used Roma’s from the garden. Husband is now in love with me again, haha. Wish I had found this before I quit that horrible nutricken diet. Thank you Suzy!
Hahah! Thanks, Darlene! Made my day!
I could eat this every day!!
I’m so glad to hear it, Kim!
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and getting ready to make it again tonight. it was soooo good. really easy and full of flavor. I didn’t have any chicken breasts on hand and used boneless, skinless thighs. I pounded them as well — they took a little longer to cook, of course, but were very good — yum! and husband really liked it too!
Awesome! Glad you liked it Vicki and thanks for stopping by to comment!
Can I replace chicken breast with the thigh of the chicken? I don’t like chicken breast very much
Thanks
Sure! And if you do so, you can skip the whole bit with pounding. Chicken thighs are tender and don’t really require that.
I made this dish according to the recipe. The only difference, I used some grape tomatoes I had on hand instead of regular tomatoes. It came out excellent and full of flavor
I’m so glad to hear it, Janis! Thanks for sharing
This was delicious! So easy to make! I am going to try the chicken with the marinade on the grill. Can’t wait to make this again. My husband loved it!
Awesome, Thanks so much for sharing, Sheryl!
This recipe looks amazing! No leftovers of this dish in my home – guaranteed!
Oh dear ! With you all the way ! Grazie milla !
My pleasure!
This was an easy recipe to make and it was so delicious!! You did an amazing job explaining every step of the recipe thoroughly.
This dish will definitely be added to my families dinner rotation.
Awesome! Thank you, Rob!
I am always on the look out for new chicken recipes to try and I love that this is so doable and looks so good!
Abigail, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one!
Wow this was so flavorful, my family loved it! Thank you 🙂
So glad!!!
Looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it! Did you ever try it with thinly sliced chicken breasts? Do you think they are as juicy? How about a little white wine. Thx. Love your recipes
Enjoy, Susan! Let us know what you think!
These are so delicious and full of flavor. Love how easy this recipe is to get on the table.
Yay!!! Thanks for trying Jen!