These juicy oven baked thin sliced chicken breasts are a healthy, high-protein recipe that is perfect for meal prep. Ready in just 15 minutes, use this recipe in salads, wraps, sandwiches, soups, pasta, or any quick dinner during busy weeknights.
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Baked thin chicken breast is one of my go-to healthy recipes for meal prep. I use this thin chicken breast recipe in many healthy dinners, salads, soups, and quick meal recipes.
Lyndsey's Favorite Things About This Chicken Recipe
- Tender, juicy, and flavorful chicken! Simple yet flavorful seasonings and a quick cook time remove any chance of bland, boring, or dry chicken!
- Makes meal prep easy. This quick-baked chicken has a quick prep time and helps me get meal prep done fast - try it in this creamy high-protein pasta salad.
- High-protein recipe. This lean protein has almost 40 grams of protein per serving.
- Versatile. I add this oven-baked chicken to salads, soups, pastas, sandwiches, wraps, and more!
- Quick and easy! It's an easy weeknight dinner main dish that bakes in just 15 minutes.
- Kid-friendly and picky eater approved. A healthy dinner that works for all members of the family; it is skinless and made with no breading (just like our no-breading chicken tenders), making it low-fat, low-carb, and keto-friendly.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
- Chicken. Boneless skinless chicken breasts can be found in the meat department of the grocery store (I recommend Bell & Evans) or by subscribing to a meat delivery service like ButcherBox.
- Seasonings. Salt, black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder are recommended. You can use a variety of spices or your favorite seasoning mix.
How to Make Oven Baked Thin Sliced Chicken Breast
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe with the best results. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
Step 1 - Prepare the Meat
Prepare the meat into thin chicken cutlets according to one of the methods below.
- Butterly the meat. You can cut thin-cut chicken breast by butterflying the whole chicken breast (slicing them in half from the thickest part of the breast to the thin part of the meat).
- Pound the chicken to an even thickness with a mallet. Use a meat mallet to pound the whole chicken breasts to a uniform size, about ¼ inch in height.
- Purchase already-sliced thin chicken breasts. Brands like Perdue or Bell and Evans have already thinly cut chicken breasts. Place the meat on a cutting board and trim the meat of excess fat. Blot the meat dry with paper towels.
Step 2 - Trimming the Meat
If not already pre-sliced, place your palm on the top of the meat to cut it in half in the center from the thickest to the thinnest part of the meat.
Step 3 - Seasoning
Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
Step 4 - How to Cook Thinly Sliced Chicken Breast
Place the seasoned chicken on a rimmed baking pan, baking dish, or baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper.
Bake it for 15-20 minutes or until the outsides are golden brown and the internal temperature reads 165°F using an instant-read thermometer.
Other Cooking Methods
- Air Fryer: Air fry prepared meat at 375°F for 6-8 minutes total, flipping halfway.
- Grilling: Grill prepared thin chicken breast over a grill heated to 400°F for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Stovetop. Seared prepared meat on the stovetop in a pan heated with a tablespoon of oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side.
How to Serve Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts
Here are some of our favorite ways to serve oven baked chicken breast:
- 🥗In an entree salad. Serve chicken slices as a protein for a healthy salad recipe like spinach and quinoa salad, a Panera-style warm grain bowl, or a Mason jar salad.
- 🌯As a chicken salad base. Use as a base in one of our chicken salad recipes, such as pesto chicken wraps, cranberry chicken salad, or Greek yogurt chicken salad.
- 🥣Add to soups. Stir baked chicken breasts into one of our delicious soup recipes like this chicken tortilla soup recipe or bone broth chicken noodle.
- 🥘Serve as a main dish. Potato side dishes like dairy-free mashed potatoes, oven-baked potatoes, and vegetable side dishes like air fried asparagus, garlic green beans, or steamed broccoli make an easy weeknight meal.
- 🍝In pasta recipes, like creamy Cajun pasta recipe or spaghetti aglio e olio.
- 🥙For lunch meal prep. Add to our dense bean salad or add to this grilled chicken Caesar wrap.
- 🌮Use in Mexican recipes. Add to chicken taquitos, our Chipotle copycat burrito bowl, or add to a cheese quesadilla for a simple meal.
Storage
- Refrigeration. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Freezing. Store cooked chicken in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. To avoid freezer burn, place parchment paper slices between pieces and wrap securely.
- Reheating. Splash some bone broth on the chicken pieces and microwave them in a microwave-safe bowl or dish for 1-2 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Blot the meat dry. Use a paper towel to dry raw meat before seasoning to help the seasoning stick.
- Let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. By letting the chicken rest in its own juice, you ensure a delicious texture and avoid dry meat.
- To avoid overcooking, use an instant-read thermometer to register the internal temperature of the cooked chicken at 165°F. This will help to ensure the meat is not overcooked.
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Mediterranean. Add olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and garlic to the seasoning blend.
- Asian-inspired. Combine soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and a bit of honey in a small bowl and coat the cooked chicken in it.
- Spicy, Cajun flavored. Use a spicy Cajun seasoning blend like in our mahi mahi recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Chicken should be baked until the inside registers at 165°F when tested with a meat thermometer.
Cooking time varies according to each oven, as well as the size and thickness of each chicken breast.
As a general reference:
350°F in the oven for 15-20 minutes
375°F for 12-17 minutes
400°F for 10-15 minutes
425°F reduces the cook time to 8-12 minutes
The best way to reheat chicken breast is by heating it the same way it was originally prepared.
However, the microwave is the quickest way to reheat thin chicken breast.
Just add a bit of water or broth to a bowl with the sliced meat and heat in 1-minute increments until the meat is warmed through to 165°F.
Generally, you should thaw chicken breast before cooking, unless you are air frying or using an instant-pot recipe.
I do not recommend making this recipe right from the freezer.
You do not need avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil for this recipe, but you can incorporate it into the seasoning process if desired.
The best thin-sliced chicken breasts are cooked at 400°F.
I've cooked chicken at many different temperatures, and all have gotten great results thanks to an instant-read thermometer.
When using an instant-read meat thermometer (inserted into the thickest part of the meat), you can monitor the temperature of the meat, rather than letting the clock tell you when the meat is done.
Generally, reserve a high temperature like 425°F or 450°F for thicker pieces of meat. Thinner cuts of meat should be cooked at lower temperatures to ensure juicy, tender, and moist meat.
How long to cook a thin chicken breast in the oven at 400°F will depend on the thickness of the meat. Cooking time is greatly impacted by how thick the meat is.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes to Try!
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Baked Thin Sliced Chicken Breast
Equipment
- 1 instant read thermometer
- 1 meat knife
- 1 meat mallet
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. If using standard chicken breast, butterfly or cut the chicken in half from the thickest section to the thinnest section. Alternatively, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken to ¼ inch thickness.1.5 pound chicken breast
- Evenly season each side of chicken breast with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Place seasoned chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reads 165F.
Notes
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Torrey says
Nice, simple, easy recipe for thin-sliced chicken breast. I had a 1-1/2 lb package in the freezer, and no idera what to do with it. This made a quick and tasty weeknight meal. I served with mashed potatoes and a green salad. Would make this again.
Lyndsey Piccolino says
Hi Torrey! Thanks for your review, I'm so glad it worked out!