I'm a big fan of baked chicken, cooking it at least twice a week it seems. I like chicken breasts and thighs and find these to be quite versatile, serving it plain, on a salad, or on top of rice in a rice bowl style meal. Cooking it at such frequency means I know exactly how long to cook it for to get perfect results.
My local grocery store offers free dry rubs for any meat you purchase, so I like to get various seasonings applied in store; the added benefit of this is if the rub is salted, the chicken will remain extra moist. When I get plain chicken breasts, sometimes I like to pre-season with salt and pepper and other times I wait until right before cooking, it just depends on how organized I am the night before.
Baked chicken on it's own is not very pretty to look at in, so no photo this time.
Perfectly Baked Chicken
Ingredients
- Chicken breast(s) or thigh(s)
- Salt and pepper
- Dry seasonings, optional
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, place the chicken in a glass baking dish, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Generously season the chicken to your liking, optionally adding dry seasonings as you like (curry powder, dried herbs, etc).
- For chicken breasts: bake chicken for 30-35 minutes, checking at the 30 minute mark. The chicken should be moderately firm to the touch and cooked through on the inside with clear juices when cut.
- For chicken thighs: bake chicken for 45-50 minutes. The chicken will be slightly firm to the touch and cooked through with clear juices when cut.
Play around with the cooking times if you're not getting the exact results you desire. Once you find the sweet spot for cooking times, I think you'll find this method easy enough for no fuss weeknight dinner!
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