Sometimes I am just in the mood for a tender and juicy chicken breast that tastes like it was made in a restaurant. Often when cooking a quick dinner at home, it is pretty typical that we will end up with overcooked dry chicken that tastes fine, but doesn’t make your mouth water the way it does when you slice into a perfectly cooked chicken breast.

I have descovered a few simple tricks that are super uncomplicated and help to give you that tender, perfect result every time. Keep reading, and jot these down to try putting them into practice in your kitchen!

The Key Practices

1. Use a generous amount of butter for cooking the chicken breasts.
2. Slice the chicken part way through in a criss-cross pattern to help the chicken to cook evenly throughout.
3. Sear the chicken on the stovetop prior to baking for 2-3 minutes per side.
4. Bake covered at a low temp (350 degrees) for 20 minutes. Timing is key! This is the most important step because you want to catch it right when the chicken is cooked through, but not starting to get dry. You may need slightly less or slightly more time depending on the size of the chicken breasts, how long they were seared, and your oven–so watch it closely.
5. Remove the cover for the last 3-5 minutes to allow the chicken to get that golden brown top.

Here are some photos of the process. You can see the chicken is sliced partway through in a somewhat uniform pattern.

Leveling up this simple dinner with a simple sauce

You will end up with a bunch of juices in the pan from baking it covered. These are delicious when poured over the chicken itself or a side of mashed potatoes. However, to level up this dinner, you can also follow my process for turning this into a creamy sauce. Simply, take cream, flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic powder, and whisk it all together. Ensure you have at least 1 tablespoon of flour for every cup of liquid.

You can set this mixture aside until the chicken is cooked. Then, pour it over the chicken and wisk together with the juices. Place it on a high heat burner and bring the sauce to a simmer. This should take less than a minute. Simmer it for 30 seconds to a minute to thicken the sauce while stirring. Finally, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool before serving.

Recipe Card

If this worked for you and yeilded you a restaurant worthy, juicy chicken breast right from your own oven, leave a comment and share with a friend! I love to hear from readers on their experiences as they follow along with my recipes and try new techniques.