How To Make Chicken Breast On The Stove And Oven

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Everyone needs this classic juicy chicken recipe in their back pocket. Today you’ll learn how to make chicken breast on the stove in a pan. Then finish it in the oven. This is a very easy chicken dinner recipe for a weeknight. Season it any way you’d like.

Ready to make this fast chicken breast recipe?

What you need to cook chicken on the stove

The ingredients for this recipe are pretty simple. The chicken breasts I used were huge, so I used three of them. Use about one per person. For seasonings, this simple chicken breast recipe uses a little paprika, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime.

You can add a pinch of any seasonings you’d like. And skip or substitute lime juice for another citrus.

At the end, you can add a little cheese, if desired. For this cook, I added a Mexican cheese blend.

How to cook chicken breast on the stove

Step 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken with the spices – paprika, salt, and pepper.

Step 2. Sear chicken on the stove.

Add olive oil to a large oven-safe pan on the stove on medium-high.

Add chicken to the pan so there is room between the pieces of chicken. You don’t want them to be touching. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Step 3. Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes on one side, until chicken browns, then flip to the other side.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the outside of the chicken browns.

What to do if chicken starts to burn

While pan searing chicken breast, the olive oil in the pan will probably begin to dry up.

If this is the case and the chicken is starting to stick or burn a little, carefully and slowly add water to the pan. This will help keep the chicken breast moist and prevent burning.

Then flip the chicken for the final time, and cook for about 2 minutes or until the water evaporates in the pan. If you’re using a digital thermometer with a string, stick it in the chicken at this time.

 Step 4. Turn heat off of the stove and transfer the chicken to the oven.

Cook for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, or until chicken is fully cooked inside according to the thermometer.

The chicken is done cooking when it reaches the internal temperature of 165.

See how to put together a simple dinner with chicken breast and avocado salad.

It will add on a few minutes to the cook time, but at the end you can add a sprinkle of shredded cheese to the top of the chicken, then stick them back in the oven to cook for 1-2 minutes until the cheese melts.

Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes, then serve.

On my nights to cool, usually I make chicken breast on the stove in a pan then turn it into sandwiches the first night. And BBQ chicken pizza the next night. 

Top oven-baked chicken breasts with a simple 10 minute or less side dish. Try these red wine caramelized red onions and sauteed mushrooms with thyme and red wine.

Why I love this method to cook chicken

This method of cooking chicken on the stove is one I picked up after starting to date my husband – a chef at the time. He came over and cooked us a beautiful chicken dinner and it looked just like it would from a restaurant.

The secret is getting a beautiful brown sear to the outside of the chicken before putting it in the oven.

You see, the outside of the chicken cooks in the pan on the stove.

And the inside cooks in the oven.

This technique for cooking chicken breasts perfectly means the outside is never burnt, and the inside is always thoroughly cooked.

On nights I have time to plan ahead, usually, I’ll make a sous vide chicken.

Have you tried any new sous vide recipes lately? You can sous vide may different chicken dishes. See my guide on sous vide recipes with chicken to find something tasty.

It’s amazing that you can make a chicken breast dinner in under 30 minutes. That makes this recipe perfect for any weeknight. So we never get board, I’ll use different flavors to make various versions – like this balsamic marinaded chicken recipe. 

For more simple recipes, learn how to make pizza taste amazing from frozen premade pizza crust. And try an easy side dish, like this Mexican tortellini pasta salad.

Want to save time? Learn how to grocery shop once a month.

Have you tried an online butcher yet?

Stock Up on your favorite meats at Crowd Cow and Snake River Farms. They’ll ship craft butcher cuts right to your door. Which is awesome and convenient. As I write this, I’m expecting a delivery of ribeye, ground beef for burger patties, and tri-tip. Just love melt-in-your-mouth sous vide burgers. Can’t wait. 

We season almost every dish with fresh herbs from our kitchen herb garden.

The paprika and lime juice seasoning on this chicken was perfect for turning leftovers into chicken tacos.

At the end, a sprinkle of cilantro tied the dish together.

My own issues cooking chicken breast

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has been really, really bad at cooking chicken breast in the past.

I swore: chicken breast at restaurants is always better than cooking chicken at home.

Have you seen Whole Foods prepped meals case? Delish.

When I was working an office job, I would go to Whole Foods a couple of times a week (it was only like an hour away) and I would get pre-cooked chicken meals. They were so delicious. Each box came with one chicken breast and two sides. Usually, I went for green beans and mashed potatoes.

Anyways, I can’t believe it took me so long to figure out how to cook chicken breasts like Whole Foods.

Personally, I used to chop up chicken really small, stir fry style, and cook it that way, because that was the only way I knew how to completely cook chicken breast thoroughly. To cut it up really small so the outside of chicken didn’t burn while the inside was still raw.

Luckily, through marriage to a cook (chef hubs) – and picking up some super-secret restaurant tricks to making chicken at home, there’s no chicken dish I’m afraid to make.  

See how to turn this chicken recipe into delicious Italian style Caprese chicken sandwiches

Last tips for cooking chicken breast on the stove

• Fresh lime – I haven’t found any comparable lime juice options that you can buy from the grocery store that taste as good as fresh-squeezed lime juice.
• Citrus – use a squeeze of any citrus you’d like – other than lime, lemon and orange are great choices.
• Don’t forget – the whole point of this simple chicken breast recipe is that the outside of the chicken cooks on the stove, in the pan, and then the inside cooks in the oven.
• The chicken is done cooking when it reaches the internal temperature of 165.
• Use cooked chicken in dishes like this frozen vegetable stir fry

Now, are you ready to cook a tasty chicken dinner?

Let me know in the comments or find me on Instagram @sipbitego.

If you have any other cooking chicken breast problems or issues, let me know your pain points below. And if you’re into learning to cook restaurant style meals at home, you should see this guide to cooking chicken breast with the sous vide machine. This trick for making chicken sous vide from frozen is amazing!

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