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
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I really appreciate all your recipes! They have been a life saver.
I am wondering what are your thoughts about marinating the chicken in advance and leaving it in the freezer to bake or grill later
Thank you for your time!
Hi, Mariana. Thant should be okay. Just be aware, sometimes marinated chicken too long in a marinade with citrus could possibly affect the texture, but I think you’ll be safe here because there’s so little lemon.
I am making this now, and am sure it will be fantastic, but it is going to be at least 35 minutes to cook, even after pounding. At 20 minutes, they registered only 104 degrees.
I would argue one should remove from heat at 155F at most because internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests. Also, I would suggest tenting with foil while resting to prevent drying out.
Thank you for the feedback!
I love recipes where semi-experienced cooks can substitute and embellish as their needs and available ingredients dictate…..and this is one of those recipes. Frustrated with dry, tough chicken, I looked for a better recipe and found this one. Wow…..it is terrific. I only had yellow onions, so I used those. I did not have tomatoes, so I used a jar of roasted red bell peppers I had left over from creating a charcuterie board. I had a lot of fresh basil so I added that after the bell peppers and put it all in the oven. While that was cooking, I noticed I had a 1/2 box of trumpet pasta, so I cooked that sauteed it with fresh garlic and olive oil. Once the dish had cooked and I was letting it set with foil over it, I realized I had some shredded mozzarella in the fridge. I sprinkled that on top and put the foil back on for 10 minutes. This was the most delicious Italian chicken recipe I have ever made. The chicken was moist and tender, the herbs, garlic, fresh basil and melted mozzarella totally enhanced the dish. Plating it over a bed of trumpet pasta in garlic and olive oil only added to the experience. My husband loved it and suggest that next time, I add artichoke hearts! This is a wonderful recipe that can handle lots of embellishments. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the amazing review, Dennis! We really appreciate you taking the to share your process here!
I’ve made this a few times. it’s excellent. Wondering if it would benefit from a few hours of marinating? (I know it won’t hurt…just curious what you think?).
TY!
Sure! You can do that if you’d like!
So happy I found this page! This chicken recipe is healthy and delicious! And so easy! I served it with you spaghetti aglio olio recipe which was just as easy and so delicious! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! Thank you!
I added Capers, Mushrooms and Black Olives. As others have said, it needed to cook a bit longer than the time stated. All in all the flavor tones were amazing and the family liked it a lot.
Love your site, Suzy! This complemented your pasta “aglio e olio” recipe very nicely. Might I suggest quoting temperatures in both °F and °C? We Brits long ago dropped Fahrenheit and joined almost all other countries in using the Celsius scale. You can be assured that your brilliant recipes find an appreciative audience way beyond the seaboards of North America.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Keith! And thanks for the feedback. It is something we hope to be able to implement in the future!
Hi do i have to put onions on the bottom ??
Hi, Michelle! Not at all! They just add an extra boost of flavor.
Superb. I pre roasted some butternut squash, mushrooms and peppers that needed using up for approx 15 ins then added chicken and juices. Wonderful flavour. Definitely a keeper.
Thank you Susie
Very good, but it took way longer (over twice as long) to cook the chicken all the way through, even though I pounded it out and cut each breast in half. I did use a glass dish, it would probably cook faster in a metal pan.
Delicious and easy! I added diced potato and red pepper strips to make it a complete meal in one dish. So incredibly tasty.
I have to thank you Suzy – your website and cookbook (which I’m a proud owner of) have ignited a passion in me for healthy home cooking. I make one of your recipes at least 4-5 times per week and not one of them has been disappointing. Thank you so much!
Really great but definitely took longer than what it says in the recipes
I made this last night for dinner. So easy and delicious! Thank you!
Excellent week-night dinner. My husband and I both enjoyed it. The chicken was very tender. I will make this again!
I would also like to add that my personal experiences so far align with the ideas you expressed. Additionally, I appreciate the way you present information clearly and concisely, making it easily understandable for readers from various backgrounds.