Garlic Butter Baked Chicken (Print Version)
Juicy chicken breasts baked in garlic butter sauce—simple, flavorful, and ready in just 35 minutes.
# What You Need:
→ Poultry
01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
→ Garlic Butter Sauce
02 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
03 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, plus extra for garnish
05 - 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
06 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
07 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
→ Optional Garnish
08 - Lemon wedges
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken breasts snugly in a single layer.
02 - Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, minced garlic, chopped parsley, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper until well combined.
04 - Brush the garlic butter mixture generously over each chicken breast, ensuring even coverage on all sides.
05 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. The internal temperature should reach 165°F when checked with a meat thermometer.
06 - Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges if desired.
# Handy Tips:
01 -
- The garlic butter does all the heavy lifting, so you barely need a spice cabinet to make this work.
- It reheats beautifully the next day sliced over salad or tucked into a wrap.
- Cleanup is one dish, one bowl, and one brush, which is honestly half the victory on a weeknight.
02 -
- Covering the dish with foil for the first 15 minutes traps steam and keeps the chicken incredibly moist, then you uncover it to let the top brown.
- Resting is not optional because cutting too early means all those juices end up on the plate instead of inside the meat where they belong.
- A meat thermometer is the single tool that takes this from good to perfect every single time without guesswork.
03 -
- Pound the chicken to even thickness before baking because uneven breasts mean one end dries out while the other is still pink inside.
- Baste the chicken with the pan juices halfway through cooking for deeper flavor and a more caramelized finish.