Perfectly Baked Chicken ★★★★★
This is our fool proof recipe for an easy meal prep item we can count on all week! A quick simple brine keeps the chicken from drying out while baking and the simple seasoning rub is the flavorful finishing touch. We bake these off on Sunday's and use during the week for chicken salads, lunch time power bowls or in an easy lunch time wrap with some fresh greens.
Ingredients
Chicken Brine
- 4 boneless skinless organic chicken breasts
- 2 cups hot filtered water
- 2 cups cold filtered water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 cloves of crushed/smashed garlic
Chicken Bake
- 4 tsp avocado oil
Seasoning Rub
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dry parsley
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Fresh cracked pepper about 10 turns
Instructions
Brine
- To brine the chicken, grab a large glass mixing bowl and fill with 2 cups of hot (not boiling water).
- Add in 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Whisk the salt and water until all of the salt has dissolved, add in the peppercorns and cloves of crushed garlic.
- Add in 2 cups of ice cold water and stir. Gently lay in the 4 chicken breasts and set aside for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
Bake
- While your chicken is brining, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. After the chicken has been dried off, lay each breasts in a ceramic baking dish.
- Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil over each chicken breasts and rub the spice mix all over each. Flip the chicken and repeat.
- Bake the chicken for 18 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the dish from the oven and let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. *If you're using this recipe for shredded chicken, let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before shredding. We love to place our chicken into a kitchen aid stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low for a good-even shred.
Notes
The chicken brine is also the perfect first step before grilling chicken outside on the grill.