Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts : Easy, Delicious & Quick

Name: Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 10 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts; 3-4 Tablespoons all-purpose seasoning, to taste

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Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts are one of my main go-to quick-fix ingredients. They are juicy and tender every time and the prep takes only minutes.

perfect baked chicken breasts sliced and served on a white plate with kale and grape tomatoes

These Baked Chicken Breasts are delicious on their own, paired with a baked potato or baked sweet potato, in a rice bowl and with a green salad. I batch cook them and keep them in fridge (or freezer) to be able to quickly and easily prepare delectable weeknight dinners.

I store Baked Chicken Breasts whole, diced, sliced or shredded, depending on how I plan to use them. Think about the dishes you have planned for this week’s dinners and prep yours accordingly. Your family’s favorite dishes will come together even more quickly when you have the main ingredient already done.

7 Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts, whole on a white serving platter with kale

In This Post:

What Is Batch Cooking?

Wondering what batch cooking is and why anyone would bother?

Batch cooking is preparing larger quantities of an ingredient than what you will eat immediately. Then, the extra is available for quick use in future recipes and meals.

Ground beef, chicken, rice, dry beans, and quinoa are just a few of my favorite ingredients to batch cook. The prep for each only takes minutes and they all keep well in the fridge and/or freezer.

I can make favorite recipes in a fraction of the normal time, because I don’t have to stop and prepare those ingredients first. I can just toss the ingredients together and get a meal on the table. The small investment of time to pre-prep pays huge dividends on busy weeknight!

FAQ’s about Batch Cooking Chicken Breasts

How Do I Batch Cook Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts?

You can double this recipe to prepare enough chicken to keep your freezer stocked, if you want. I find that 10 lbs can easily get me through 5 to 7 meals depending on how many I’m cooking for.

You’ll need two sheet trays to double it and to rotate the pans between racks for even cooking. Or just do as I prefer and bake them in two batches. You’ll still be done in under an hour.

Perfect Baked Chciken Breasts prepped for storage in fridge or freezer. Bags of sliced, chopped and whole chicken breasts in zip-top freezer bags.

How Do I Prep Batch cooked Chicken for the Freezer?

Be sure to completely cool the chicken before prepping it for freezing. Then place the chicken in zip-top freezer bags. You can freeze chicken breasts whole, in slices, in chunks or cubes and in shreds.

I recommend measuring out the amount you would typically use for one recipe into individual freezer bags. Then you need only to thaw what you will be using, immediately.

Clearly label and date each bag, so you can rotate your freezer stock, efficiently. Cooked chicken, sealed properly in bags with as much air removed as possible, will keep up to 6 months in the freezer.

boneless skinless chicken breasts seasoned with all purpose seasoning and placed in slow cooker with butter and chicken stock — Get the EASY Slow Cooker Chicken Breast Recipe, here.

Can I Batch Cook Chicken in the Slow Cooker?

Chicken Breast Slow Cooker Recipes are as easy, delicious, juicy and tender as those cooked in your oven. Chicken cooked in this way is easy to batch cook for the freezer.

The boneless skinless chicken breasts require more time to cook, when using the slow cooker, so you will not have to watch over them as closely to achieve perfection. Cook them on the low setting for around two hours or they reach an internal temperature of 160°. Get the full instructions, here.

Batch Cooking Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts sliced and arranged on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper — **You can see that a couple of the portions on the center of the tray have been sliced horizontally. Having all pieces the same thickness allows them to cook evenly.**

When I batch cook Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts I usually make about 10 pounds. That’s typically 12-15 chicken breasts, depending on their size. You can do more or less depending on your needs.

That means I will need to bake two sheet trays to get them all to fit. I use baking trays with rimmed sides and line them with parchment paper.

If the chicken breasts are super thick, I slice them in half, horizontally, to make two portions. Or, using a rolling pin and a zip-top bag, I pound each piece out to an even 1/2″ thickness. If they get really wide after pounding, I cut them in half down the middle, making two portions. This means that even with only 12-15 chicken breasts, I may end up with up to 20 (or more) generous portions.

pounding chicken with rolling pin for making Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts

Even if the chicken breasts are small, I still pound them to 1/2″ thickness, so they cook quickly and evenly. I don’t want any over- or under-done chicken. Just tender and juicy Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts.

Ingredients and Tools

Only two ingredients are necessary for this flavorful boneless skinless chicken breast recipe.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Homemade All Purpose Seasoning (or commercial seasoning of your choice) You can definitely choose any seasoning that you prefer, however I highly recommend my all-purpose seasoning blend. I created it specifically to add scrumptious flavor to meat. It won’t detract from the overall flavor of the cuisine you prepare. Mexican food still tastes Mexican. Italian flavors still shine through in Italian dishes. And, so on.

Tools are simple, as well: _{[affiliate links]} rimmed baking sheets, chef’s knife, rolling pin, zip-top bags and parchment paper. Parchment paper isn’t really a necessity, but it makes clean-up so easy!

Serving and Storing Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts

Once the meat is rested, it is ready to serve. You should definitely try it with my Green Beans and Potatoes! DELISH!

Cool it completely before refrigerating or freezing it for future meals.

I usually dice, shred and/or slice up at least part of the chicken and store it in zip-top bags in the fridge or freezer. I use it in things like quesadillas, enchiladas, sandwiches, homemade soup and casseroles.

Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts prepped for storage in fridge or freezer. Bags of sliced, chopped and whole chicken breasts in zip-top freezer bags.

Slice baked chicken breasts to add to stir-fries and salads. Leave a few chicken pieces whole, too. Warm them later in delectable main dishes like my Spinach Artichoke Chicken or Chicken Parmesan. Warm a few in a buttery cream sauce and create this luscious Chicken Lazone recipe. The possibilities are endless.

And if you’re enjoying the chicken breasts as the main entree in your meal, you MUST try Anne’s delicious homemade Chick-fil-A sauce on them. Anne posts lots of great recipes on her blog, Upstate Ramblings.

Another great serving option for easy, baked chicken breasts is to brush them with this Sw eet and Sour Sauce from Real Life of Lulu, in the last five minutes of baking. The glaze will get sticky and caramelized making the chicken fabulous served over rice with fresh pineapple chunks and roasted or steamed broccoli.

Start preparing fast and easy meals by batch-cooking Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts. Save time in the kitchen. Quell the urge to grab take-out, saving your health and money. Enjoy delicious and nutritious meals with your family without any struggle. This recipe is a dinner win!!!

Enjoy!

THE RECIPE

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