Published 12/31/2020 • Updated 7/18/2023 We have hundreds of chicken breast recipes here on Fit Foodie Finds and we’re so excited to write this Chicken Breast Recipes Guide to give you a thorough rundown of how to cook with chicken!
Chicken Breast – The Rundown
What is chicken breast? Chicken breast comes from the “breast” or pectoral muscle of the chicken. It’s lean a lean, but meaty cut of meat that’s popular in American cooking. Chicken breast is an extremely versatile cut of meat that can be cooked in many different methods and flavored in many ways.
Quick Facts
High-protein: one 4 oz. chicken breast has more than 20g protein. Fast: with all the different cook methods, you can have your dinner ready in less than 20 minutes. Versatile: chicken breasts can be flavored in so many different ways that it never gets old! Juicy: whether you’re using a chicken dry rub or a chicken marinade, chicken breast can be easily infused with flavor and is extremely juicy if cooked right. Meal-prep: Chicken breast is such a great meat to bach cook and meal prep for the week. Check out our best chicken meal prep recipes. Inexpensive: Chicken breast is cheaper than most seafood and beef. You can find 1 lb. of chicken breast for less than $5.
Is chicken Breast healthy?
Chicken breast is a healthy, lean meat option that is lower in calories, carbs, fat, and sugar while high in protein.
Chicken Breast Nutrition
1 serving of chicken breast is around 4 oz. (1/4 lb.). For reference, a serving of chicken breast should be around the same size as a deck of cards.
110 calories 0g carbs 3g fat 23g protein 0g sugar
How to Flavor Chicken Breast
While chicken breast can be eaten with just salt and pepper or nothing at all, it’s a great piece of meat to take on the flavor of whatever you add to it. Here are the two most popular was to add flavor to chicken breast:
Dry Rubs/Seasonings
Dry rubs typically flavor the outside of your meat, but a marinade is going to flavor the entire cut of chicken. Sometimes, we like to use a combination of both! Here are some of our top-rated chicken dry rubs.
All-Purpose Chicken Seasoning (great for baked chicken!) Chicken Dry Rub (our favorite for grilled chicken) Homemade Ranch Seasoning (ranch chicken, yes please!) Taco Seasoning (make chicken tacos!)
Marinades
A chicken marinade is a combination of herbs, spices, oil, and other flavor add-ins that you use to flavor chicken with. Think of it like a sauce that infuses flavor into your meat. From store-bought marinades, to salad dressings, to homemade chicken marinades, you can use so many different sauces to flavor your chicken breast. Check out our top 6 chicken breast marinade recipes below!
Ways to Cook Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is an extremely versatile meat to cook. You can pretty much cook it any method you want as long as the internal temperature of the thickest part reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
6 Chicken Breast Marinades
You are going to love these 6 Easy Chicken Marinades. They’ll infuse your chicken breast with flavor and they’re so easy to put together! Below we are sharing the 5 most popular methods for cooking chicken breast. Stovetop: Pan-frying chicken breast is an extremely straightforward way of cooking chicken. Typically this method is done on medium heat and takes around 15 minutes. Check out our pan-seared chicken breast recipe. Instant Pot: Instant Pot chicken breast is a fool-proof method to cooking chicken perfectly every time. You can cook it from frozen or from fresh and it will take anywhere from 15-30 minutes for this method. Note that this does include the pressure building time. Check out our Instant Pot chicken recipe and Instant Pot shredded chicken breast recipe. Slow Cooker: If you’re planning to cook chicken breast in the slow cooker, think low and slow. It typically takes 6-8 hours on low or 2-4 hours on high. The benefit of the slow cooker method is that you can cook a lot at once and it’s very hands-off. Check our our slow cooker shredded chicken breast recipe. Oven: baked chicken breast is one of the most popular was to cook chicken. It’s super simple and fast. This method takes around 30 minutes. Check out our 6 baked chicken breast recipes. Grill: last but not least, grilled chicken breast! Grilling chicken might seem intimidating, but it’s actually super easy AND it adds so much flavor. Grilled chicken breast takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. Check out our basic grilled chicken breast recipe.
#1 Chicken Breast Cook Tip – Internal Temp
Our number 1 tip when it comes to cooking chicken breast is understanding the internal temperature!
6 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for more crockpot chicken recipes? Look no further! Check out 6 similar recipes below. And for an added bonus, check out our Crockpot Freezer Meals post where we teach you how to turn all of these slow cooker recipes into freezer meals. We get the question all the time- how do you know when chicken breast is done? Sure, you can cut into it and hope it’s whiter in color and assume it’s done, but the safest way to know is by measuring the internal temperature of the thickets part. According to Food Safety laws, chicken breast should be at least 165ºF to be safely consumed.
Why do I have to let my chicken breast rest?
By letting your chicken rest after cooking, you allow it to reach its highest internal temperature, which is typically 5ºF more than when you took it off its heat source. It also helps make your chicken breast super juicy and NOT tough.
Kitchen Tools for Cooking Easy Chicken Breast Recipes
When cooking with chicken breast in the kitchen, it’s best to have the right tools to make your cooking a breeze. Here are our top 8 tools and appliances to make cooking with chicken a breeze.
All Of Your Questions Answered
What is the best way to keep chicken breast moist? The best way to keep chicken breast moist is to make sure not to overcook it. No matter what cooking method you are using, use a meat thermometer to make sure you do not overcook your chicken breast. 165ºF is the optimal temperature for chicken breast. How do you make chicken breast taste good? The easiest way to make chicken breast taste good is to either season your meat with spices such as an all-purpose chicken seasoning or marinate it in something like a lemon chicken marinade. How do I bake chicken breast without drying it out? The best way to bake chicken breast without drying it out is at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes. What are the benefits of eating chicken breast? The benefits of eating chicken breast are that it’s high in protein and lower in carbs and fat. What is the healthiest way to eat chicken breast? If you’re looking to keep your chicken breast as healthy as possible, we suggest cooking it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot where you do not need to add additional oil to cook it.
Top 5 Easy Chicken Breast Recipes
For our top 5 healthy chicken breast recipes, we’ve turned to our comments and ratings to see which chicken breast recipes on Fit Foodie Finds truly are the BEST.
Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
Your favorite takeout can now be made completely in the Instant Pot with clean ingredients! This Instant Pot Cashew Chicken Stir Fry is perfect for weeknight dinners or meal prep — and it’s ready to serve in 45 minutes or less.
Southwestern Chicken Casserole
This Southwestern Chicken Casserole calls for simple, healthy ingredients and gives the classic chicken casserole a run for its money!
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
This Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup is a delicious fan favorite. This chicken soup is made in the slow cooker with chicken breast, egg noodles, hearty vegetables, and chicken broth.
Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken
Our Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken is perfect for any weeknight meal, is kid-friendly, and made with only 5 ingredients! So? Make your grocery list, head to the store, and cook up this amazing slow cooker honey garlic chicken.
Chicken Pad Thai
Craving chicken pad Thai? This chicken pad Thai recipe is ready in under 30 minutes and is better than take out!
Bonus Chicken Breast Recipe – Italian Baked Chicken
We thought we’d share a super simple baked chicken recipe for you to try out. Growing up, my mom would marinate chicken breast in Italian Dressing and then bake it for the family. This Baked Italian Chicken is made with a homemade Italian chicken marinade that’s made with olive oil, lemon juice, Italian spices, and fresh parsley and basil. The end result is super juicy and delicious chicken because it’s baked at the perfect oven temperature for chicken, 375ºF.
70+ Chicken Breast Recipes
BAKED CHICKEN BREAST RECIPES
Cook time: 20-30 minutes Not only can you bake whole chicken breasts in the oven, but you can also dice up chicken breast for a casserole or cook tenders in a cast iron pan. Here are our favorite baked chicken breast recipes!
CROCKPOT CHICKEN BREAST RECIPES
Cook time: 2-8 hours
6 Baked Chicken Breast Recipes
You are going to love these 6 oven baked chicken breast recipes. Check out how to bake chicken breast perfectly every time and get 6 delicious flavor variations! Slow cooker chicken breast is an easy set it and forget it kind of cooking method. Because you cook your chicken low and slow, it comes out super tender and juicy. Make Asian-inspired chicken, Mexican, American, and more with our favorite crockpot chicken breast recipes.
Stovetop Chicken Breast Recipes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes
6 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for more crockpot chicken recipes? Look no further! Check out 6 similar recipes below. And for an added bonus, check out our Crockpot Freezer Meals post where we teach you how to turn all of these slow cooker recipes into freezer meals. Whether you’re cooking your chicken breast in a cast iron pan, in a Dutch oven, or a normal frying pan, the stovetop is one of the most popular and quick cooking methods for whipping up chicken breast.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes
Cook time: 8 minutes + pressure building time Instant Pot Chicken is truly a dream come true. Get super tender chicken in minutes by pressure cooking your chicken. BONUS- you can cook it from frozen or fresh! Here are or top Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe.
Grilled Chicken Breast Recipes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes Grilled chicken breast is a summertime favorite because you get that char flavor and gorgeous grill marks. Don’t be intimidated by the barbecue, it’s a lot easier than it seems!
Other Chicken Breast Recipes
Cook time: varies Our chicken breast recipes don’t stop here! Check our two of our most popular recipes using the Air Fryer and Sous vide!
