Kristin Maxwell
Last updated on
Stove Top Chicken Breast
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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!
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 Recipe
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 (which uses my favorite but you don’t have to turn on the oven! Which of course frees it up for some Frozen Dinner Rolls, Roasted Vegetables, or even some yummy Snickerdoodle Bars for dessert!
How to Make Stove Top Chicken Breast
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 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!
This cooking process is simple but does require a little patience.
Step One: 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. This gives the chicken time to cook fully without burning. The butter is totally optional, but adds additional flavor and makes a delicious sauce.
Step Two: Cover the skillet. You’ll want to use a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat down to low for 10 minutes, then turn it off. You’ve already for a nice sear on the bottom, but instead of cooking at a high heat and risking overcooking, turning the heat down lets the meat continue to cook with burning.
Step Three: 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 meat to rest and the juices to redistribute so they don’t run all over the cutting board leaving you with a dry, lifeless chicken breast.
Pro Tip: See all that juice in the pan? Don’t throw it out! You can do one of two things: Drizzle it over as is, or, make a gravy by adding the juices to some melted butter and flour in a small pot.
Hot Tip – Pound Your Chicken!
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.
Recipe FAQs
How long does it take to cook chicken on the stove top?
Using this method, it will take about 25 minutes to cook the chicken breasts. But most of that is hands off time.
How do you cook chicken on the stove without drying it out?
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. 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.
Storing and Reheating 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.
More Chicken Recipes
- 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
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Stovetop Chicken Breast Recipe
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!
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 (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.
Notes
Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Note that the cook time can vary depending on your particular stove’s flame and the pan use, as well as the size and thickness of the chicken.
I highly recommend having a meat thermometer on hand and testing the temperature as you remove it from the heat. It does need to rest, but if it’s already hit the 165 mark you may need to simply rest on a cutting board.
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 24gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 740mgPotassium: 434mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 197IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 1mg
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!