Oven-baked Chicken Breast

Did You Know?

Chicken pieces (about 4 ounces) with skin contain about 188 calories, out of which 49% calories come from fat. While the same amount of chicken without skin contains 118 calories, out of which only 11% calories come from fat. So if you wish to eat a low-fat meal, you know you have to do away with the skin.Oven-baked chicken breast pieces can be the best bet for a healthy and delicious dish. Though simple to prepare, you can pour in your innovative side to render flavor and a personal touch to these dishes. Come on, experiment with us!

Classic Healthy Oven-baked Chicken Breasts


Cooking Time: Pre-heating + 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Chicken breast pieces, 4 to 6
Low-fat butter (melted), 3 tsp.
Olive oil, 3 tsp.
Garlic powder, 2 tsp.
Salt and pepper, according to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Wash and pat dry the breast pieces and set aside. Rub some olive oil and butter on the pieces and coat it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place them in a baking pan which has been greased with olive oil and cover it with a foil. Cook for twenty minutes to get tender and moist baked chicken breasts.
Crispy Oven-baked Chicken Breast


Cooking Time: Pre-heating + 60 minutes

Ingredients:
Small skinless chicken breast pieces, 4
Egg whites (beaten lightly), 3
Whole wheat bread crumbs, 1 cups
Whole wheat flour, cup
Skimmed milk, cup
Soy sauce, 1 tbsp.
Garlic powder, 1 tbsp.
Lemon juice, 2 tsp.
Onion powder, 2 tsp.

Method
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, combine the flour with the egg whites, soy sauce, lemon juice, onion powder, and garlic powder. Pour in some skimmed milk and mix well. Now wash the chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Coat each piece with the moist mixture and roll in the crumbs. Place it on a nonstick pan and cover it with a foil. Bake at 375 F for 35 minutes. Additionally, you may remove the foil and bake at 425 F for another 15 to 20 minutes to get a crispy and crunchy coating over the baked chicken breast.
Oven-baked Parmesan Chicken Breasts


Cooking Time: Pre-heating + 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, 5
Eggs (slightly beaten), 2
Marinara sauce, 1 jar
Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs, 1 cup
Parmesan (or mozzarella) cheese, 1 cup

Method
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat the washed and dried chicken breasts in the beaten eggs; now coat it with a layer of bread crumbs. Arrange the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish and bake them uncovered for 15 minutes. Now pour the sauce over the chicken and top it up with Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes.
Mushroom Gravy with Baked Chicken Breasts


Cooking Time: Pre-heating + 60 minutes

Ingredients:
Chicken breast pieces, 7
Bell peppers (sliced), 2
Large onions (sliced), 2
Sliced mushrooms, 1 small jar
Chicken mushroom soup, 1 can

Method
Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove the skin of the chicken breast pieces to remove the extra fat. Wash them and pat dry. Place them in a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. Add bell peppers, chopped onions, and soup to the baked chicken. Sprinkle a few drops of water on it. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, and it is ready to be served.
Baked Stuffed Chicken Breast


Cooking Time: Pre-heating + 60 minutes

Ingredients

Boneless chicken breast halves, 8
Breadcrumbs (unseasoned), 2 cups
Chicken stock, cup
Onion (finely chopped), cup
Parmesan cheese (grated), cup
Fresh parsley (finely chopped), cup
Unsalted butter (melted), 3 tbsp.
Garlic (ground), 1 tsp.
Dried rosemary (crumbled), tsp.
Dried sage (crumbled), tsp.
Salt, tsp.
Black pepper (ground), tsp.
Olive oil, only enough to brush the breast pieces

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Remove the skin, wash, and pat dry the chicken pieces. Season them with salt and ground black pepper. Heat the butter in a pan, add the chopped onion to it, and cook until it becomes soft. Then add the ground garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Now remove the mixture in a bowl and add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, rosemary, sage, salt, breadcrumbs, and pepper to it. Add only enough chicken stock to this to make the stuffing moist enough to be made into balls. Adjust the seasoning if required. Now grease a baking pan with oil. Take one chicken breast half at a time and slit it, fill it with cup of the stuffing, and overlap the edges of the piece. Brush both sides of the pieces with olive oil, season them with salt and pepper, and bake them until the pieces turn brown and feel firm when pressed, for about 30 minutes.

Tips To Bake Chicken Breasts
Buying boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces can be an expensive affair. You can buy whole chicken and cut it into pieces at home itself. This way, you can enjoy the chicken breasts for starters and the rest of the pieces for the other courses of your meal.

To keep the pieces moist and tender, you can keep the skin and bake the pieces. However, remove the skin before eating if you do want to consume the fat. The chicken pieces won't absorb the fat from the skin while baking, but it will help keep the pieces moist and juicy. However, removing the skin after baking will leave you with plain chicken to eat.

Use evenly thick breast pieces so that all of them get cooked to the equal extent.

Brine the chicken breast pieces before baking. This will help keep them moist throughout the cooking process. Brining involves soaking the breast pieces in a salt-water solution for about half an hour before cooking.

Marinating the chicken breasts with yogurt, vinegar, broth, juices, spices, etc. will help keep them moist.

You can cover the container with a foil while baking to retain the moisture. Alternately, you can cover each breast piece with a foil, having sprinkled it with butter.

Keep a pan filled with water on the lower rack in the oven and cover the container having breast pieces with a foil. When the pieces are baked completely, keep the container and the water-filled pan in the oven until the temperature returns to normal.


You can serve these delectable oven-baked chicken breasts with steamed rice, mashed potatoes, or Spanish rice. They even taste amazing with pasta.