Baked chicken breasts that are juicy and tender are a healthy staple recipe in any house. Flavored with an orange herb marinade that leaves it anything but bland. This chicken breast recipe is perfect for quick dinners, meal prep lunches, salads, and a ton of other ways.
Like most lean cuts of meat, chicken breasts are easy to dry out and don't have a ton of flavor to start with. This healthy baked chicken breast recipe will make sure you have loads of smokey, citrus flavor and is super tender and juicy.
I love to serve this recipe with vegetable steamed rice, garlic butter roasted Brussels sprouts, or sautéed carrots with bacon.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Orange. Fresh orange juice and zest adds a bright and slightly sweet flavor to the marinade. If you have lemons on hand they will work just as well.
- Red pepper flakes. If you like a little bit more heat, substitute the flakes for ½ a teaspoon of cayenne. The red pepper flakes give more of a subtle hint of spice, the cayenne will be hotter.
- Chicken breasts. About 1 pound of chicken breasts will be all you need, mine were about 6 ounces each. If you have chicken thighs, though those will work well with this marinade also.
Instructions
STEP 1: Make the marinade. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, orange zest, dried basil, dried thyme, and orange juice.
STEP 2: Marinate the chicken. Trim any excess fat or bone pieces off the chicken breasts and place them in a gallon-sized plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts. Next, remove all of the air from the bag. Gently rub the marinade all over the chicken in the bag to make sure all of them are evenly coated in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 2 hours
STEP 3: Cook the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. While the oven preheats, pull the chicken out of the bag (shake off any excess marinade into the bag) and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Throw away the remaining marinade. Once the oven is preheated, bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until the center reaches 150-155˚F in the center of the thickest part of the chicken breast.
STEP 4: Let the chicken rest. Loosely tent the pan with foil and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm or allow to come to room temp before refrigerating in an airtight container.
Top tip
To cook more evenly, having chicken pieces that are similar in size is key. There are a few ways to do that:
- While you're shopping, make sure that you're buying a pack that has similar-sized pieces.
- Buy in bulk and pick out the ones that are closest in size and freeze what's left.
- Trim down the breasts to the same size and use the remaining pieces to chop up for another recipe like chicken fried rice.
Sometimes none of these is an option and that's fine. That just means you might have to babysit the smaller pieces and pull them a bit early.
Storage
This recipe is perfect for healthy meal prep lunches. It stores well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Leftovers are perfect for salads or chopped up in your morning eggs. If you're left with WAY too many leftovers, cooked chicken breast freezes really well. Simply store them in a freezer-safe container or plastic bag for up to 3 months.
Healthy Baked Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- MAKE THE MARINADE: In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, orange zest, dried basil, dired thyme, and orange juice.
- MARINADE THE CHICKEN: Trim any excess fat or bone pieces off the chicken breasts and place in a gallon-sized plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts, then remove the all of the air from the bag. Gently toss the bag to make sure all of the chicken breasts are evenly coated in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 2 hours.
- COOK THE CHICKEN: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. While the oven preheats, pull the chicken out of the bag (shake off any excess marinade into the bag) and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Throw away the remaining marinade. Once the oven is preheated, bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until the center reaches 150-155˚F in the center of the thickest part of the chicken brest.
- LET THE CHICKEN REST: Loosely tent the pan with foil and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm or allow to come to room temp before refrigerating in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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