Kristin Maxwell
Last updated on
Stove Top Chicken Breast (BEST Chicken Recipes)
This Stove Top Chicken Breast is so incredibly tender and juicy and takes only 25 minutes from start to finish. It’s one of the best chicken recipes there is when you want a fresh, home cooked meal on a busy weeknight!
Chicken breasts are a staple in most households because they are quick and easy to cook and they can take on a variety of flavors. Our household is no different! The flavors of this chicken are similar to my Baked Chicken Breasts recipe, but you don’t have to turn on the oven, which frees it up for fresh baked bread, veggies, or even dessert!
How to Make Stove Top Chicken Breasts
I use my favorite seasoning blend of spices that really give this stovetop chicken it’s incredible flavor. The best part is you probably already have them in your pantry, and it works for all kinds of chicken recipes!
One of the keys to cooking boneless chicken breasts is to get them to a more even thickness. If you look at the breast you can see that it’s really thick at one end, and of course that takes longer to cook. The other end is very thin which cooks much faster. The problem with this is that you end up with one end that’s dry and the opposite end that could even be a little underdone, which is why a lot of chicken recipes get a bad rap. So to rectify that, pound that chicken! Use a mallet or even a small skillet to pound out the thicker end of the chicken and make it more uniform.
This cooking process is simple but does require a little patience. After you put the chicken in a hot pan (listen to that sizzle!), whatever you do, don’t touch it! Let it sit for 4 minutes to get a nice sear, then flip it over. After about 2 minutes, turn the heat to low, add a pat of butter (totally optional, but adds additional flavor) and cover the skillet. This gives the chicken time to cook fully without burning.
Finally after about 10 minutes remove the skillet from the heat and let it sit, still covered (again, don’t touch it!) for another 10 minutes. This time allows the juices to redistribute (“rest”) so they don’t run all over the cutting board leaving you with a dry, lifeless chicken breast.
This is one of the best chicken recipes ever!!
There you have it – perfectly tender and juicy chicken breasts on the stovetop in just about 25 minutes!
Here’s a little tip for you – See all that juice in the pan? Don’t throw it out! You can do one of two things:
- Drizzle it over as is.
- Make a gravy by adding the juices to some melted butter and flour in a small pot.
Either way you are making one of the best chicken recipes ever, even better!
Want more of the best chicken recipes?
- Â One Pan Lemon Chicken Picatta
- Baked Caprese Chicken
- Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken, Bacon and Blue Mac & Cheese
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Grilled Chicken Marinade
- Honey Lemon Chicken and Green Beans Stir Fry
If you’ve made this recipe, please come back and leave us a star rating or a comment below. Or, tag us on social media @yellowblissroad or #yellowblissroad for a chance to be featured.
The BEST Stovetop Chicken Breast
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder. Place the chicken in a baking dish and sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken and rub it in with your hands.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet (with a tight fitting lid) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and leave it alone to sear and cook for 4 minutes on the first side. Flip the chicken and add the butter to the skillet, swirling it around the pan as it melts. Cook for 2 minutes, then cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat down to low for 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from heat and rest, covered, for another 5-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately with parsley garnish, if desired.
good soup
Can you use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts?
I have made thighs on the stovetop, but they tend to be messier because of the higher fat content, and also take a little longer to cook through depending on the thickness.
Thanks Kristin, this is a really good EASY recipe! With the full amounts of seasoning, mine came out pretty salty — I think I will try it agin halving the amounts. Has anybody made suggestions for how to back off the saltiness a bit? For your readers, if I’ve done my math correctly, sodium is only about 570mg per chicken breast, which is not bad given a 2,300mg / day USRDA. Only other comment is that I didn’t need the whole 10 minutes on low covered. After the 4 + 2 I checked and my chicken was already at 135. I typically shoot for 150 to get carryover up to ~160-165. Only took about 4 of the 10 minutes on low to get there!
Hi Rick, saltiness is definitely a personal taste, so you can cut down if you prefer. Chicken breasts can range in size and thickness quite a bit so the time it takes to get to 165 can vary, so I definitely recommend using a meat thermometer, which it sounds like you did. Sounds like you really enjoyed the recipe though, thanks for your review!
Delicious! Do you have nutrition facts for this chicken?
We are working on adding nutritional content, but even then it would be for informational purposes only. In the meantime there are several online calculators you can use, like myfitnesspal.com.
Just love it, easy, tasty,
Nice! Thank you for stopping by Nas.
this is the best chicken breast recipe ever!!! My go to!!!!
That’s awesome Valerie! Thanks for stopping by.
My family loved it!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Adela.
This recipe sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try this tonight!!
Thank you Abbey! Thanks for stopping by
It was a hit!
Nice! Thank you Lori for stopping by.
Delicious
Thank you Gracie! Thanks for stopping by.
It was a hit!
I didn’t have all the ingredients but I had taco seasoning which had a few of them and then some. I slipped on the olive oil but continued to follow the recipe and it was delicious and juicy. THANK YOU
You’re so welcome Brenda! thank you so much for stopping by!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I cooked the chicken in a pan (not funny paying attention to the skillet part by accident) so I left it on low for 25min instead of 10 since to make sure it cooked fully & it was still delicious and juice!!
You’re so welcome Brenda! thank you so much for stopping by!