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This Stove Top Chicken Breast recipe 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!
Make it a complete meal with your favorite veggies, a Butter Lettuce Salad, and some Roasted Baby Potatoes.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Stove Top Chicken Breast Recipe
Pan-seared chicken breasts are a staple in our household because they are quick and easy to cook and they can take on a variety of flavors.
This stove top chicken recipe is:
- Flavorful – I use my favorite Chicken Seasoning, which is a simple blend of spices – garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper – that really gives this stovetop chicken its incredible flavor. The best part is you probably already have them in your pantry, and it works for all kinds of chicken recipes, like my popular Baked Chicken Breasts.
- Simple – Pantry staple seasonings, butter, and olive oil. That’s it, just a few simple ingredients that are commonly found in most kitchens.
- Fast – It really does take under 30 minutes from start to finish!
- No heating the oven – Cook your main course right on the stove top and free up your oven for some Frozen Dinner Rolls, Roasted Vegetables, or even some yummy Snickerdoodle Bars for dessert!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded lightly to even thickness.
- Olive Oil – To sear the breasts.
- Butter – To lock in the juices and add a flavorful sauce.
- Chicken Seasoning – Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, black pepper.
How To Make Cook Chicken Breasts On The Stove Top
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
This cooking process is simple but does require a little patience.
Step One: Tenderize the chicken. Gently pound pieces with a meat tenderizer until they are evenly sized throughout.
Step Two: Season the chicken. Combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper, and sprinkle it all over both sides of the chicken.
Step Three: Sear and let it sit. Melt some olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and arrange the chicken breasts in your pan or skillet. Whatever you do, don’t touch them for 4 minutes. You want to give them some time to get a beautiful golden crust.
Step Four: Flip and sit some more. Flip over each piece and cook for about 2 minutes, then turn the heat to low and add a pat of butter. Let the butter melt, then spoon some over the chicken.
Step Five: Cover and cook gently. Now that your chicken has a nice sear on each side, you’re basically going to let it steam the rest of the way through. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low for 10 minutes so the meat can continue to cook without the risk of scorching.
Step Six: Let it rest. Turn off the burner and move the skillet off the heat. Keep it covered and let the chicken rest for about 5-10 minutes.
Step Seven: Serve with pan juices. You should have some beautiful juices left behind in the pan, so use those to spoon over the chicken. To make more sauce, add some more butter, fresh garlic, and a little chicken stock and simmer that for a few minutes. Make sure to scrape up all the brown bits from the chicken – that’s where the flavor is!
Recipe FAQs
Using this method, it will take about 25 minutes to cook the chicken breasts. But most of that is hands-off time. The result is a beautifully seared, super tender and juicy piece of meat that you just can’t get with high-heat searing.
I always add butter to the pan to keep the chicken nice and juicy. But it’s also really important that you don’t overcook it, so be sure to keep an eye on the temperature.
Use a meat thermometer to keep track of the internal temperature – it should be between 155-160℉ when you turn off the heat, and it should rise to 165℉ while it rests.
Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Let the meat cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the meat cool completely, then store in a freezer bag or other type of freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Chicken can easily overcook when reheated, so I recommend reheating on the stove top if you can. You can also reheat in the microwave, but set it to 50% power.
- Using Leftovers – Toss in salads or soups, shred for sandwiches and wraps, or use for meal prepping.
Pro Tips
- This recipe will work with a variety of different types of skillets, but I highly recommend using a cast iron skillet for the best sear.
- Don’t skip the butter! Adding a pat of butter to the skillet really does help to lock in the juices.
- Chicken should be 1 1/2-inch thick, max. Do pound that chicken if it’s really thick on one side. The meat will cook more evenly.
- Resist the urge to push the chicken around, press down on it or flip it before the recipe says to. I promise your patience will pay off with a beautifully golden sear.
Serving Suggestions
- Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Arugula Salad
- Easy Oven Roasted Vegetables
More Chicken Recipes
- One Pan Lemon Chicken Picatta
- Baked Caprese Chicken
- Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
- Chicken Stroganoff
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Grilled Chicken Marinade
- 19 Recipes for Boneless Chicken Thighs
Stovetop Chicken Breast Recipe
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 on a plate 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 (uncovered) 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. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve immediately with parsley garnish, if desired.
The chicken turned out perfectly. Very tasty. Easy directions to follow. My family loved it!
Will definitely make again😊
Nice! Thank you for your feedback Melissa.
I cooked these tonight and although they came out ok, no where in the instructions did it mention the temperature to cook to. I know chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees but after following the instructions, the temp, at the end, was 178 degrees. When I turned off the heat to sit covered for another 10 minutes, the temp increased 15 degrees which took it way over the proper temp.
They were flavorful and tender but not as juicy as I would have expected. I know now that for my stove and pan I will have to remove from the heat at around 150 degrees to let it raise in temp to the proper 165 degrees.
PS. After cooking for the 4 minutes, flipping, then another 2 minutes, after that, the temp was about 123 degrees. Are you saying that at that temp, once I remove from the heat, the temp will raise another 42 degrees? Thanks
Hi Mark, I did leave out the temp but I have added it now. I also added a note that cook times can vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken, the heat of your stove and even the pan you use. In your PS you asked about taking it off the heat after the 6 minutes, but after that saute you cover and cook on LOW heat for another 10 minutes. At that point, the chicken should be close to the 160 mark and needs to rest for a bit. Again, depending on your own kitchen, it’s possible the time could vary.
This recipe is incredibly delicious! I’ve never had chicken breasts turn out so tender. I did check out other recipes on other sites, but they had so many ingredients that I lost interest! Thank you Kristin, for this and so many other tasty dishes.
You are so welcome Sue! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
I love this recipe. I love this site. Yellow Bliss is like having a really old copy of your mom’s favorite cookbook that she updated with all the new methods of cooking and modern recipes. I’m a 61 year old granny that still loves cooking and gathering around the table.im amazed that such a young lady has such a library . Thank you for all your hard work. I appreciate you and I love Yellow Bliss!
You are so welcome Christy! Thank you for the kind words. ( You Made My Day! 🙂
Easy, quick and delicious way to prepare chicken. No more dry chicken! I make this all the time. If I need a dish to take to friends, I do this chicken with a vegetable. Thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome Dan! Thanks for stopping by.
K.
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!