3 Ways To Cook The Ultimate Chicken Breast

 have over a dozen meal prep recipes that feature juicy chicken breasts along with tips on how to make them perfect every time, but I wanted to make a video and a blog post that features three ways to cook perfect, juicy chicken beast every single time. These techniques will show how to cook a chicken breast in a pan, baked in the oven, and poached in water.

If you are looking for meal prep recipes that feature boneless skinless chicken breasts, then try my spice crusted chicken breast with wild rice superfood salad or my oven baked bone on Greek style chicken breast with spaghetti squash.

You are going to be a chicken breast boss after learning these game changing techniques. Hint, if you are not allowing chicken breasts to come to room temperature before cooking, you are doing it wrong.

You want to buy chicken breasts that are on the small side, not these huge chicken breasts that look like they have been lifting weights. I only buy organic chicken breasts as the texture and flavor are much better than conventional, and they are not as big.

Big chicken breasts are almost impossible to cook evenly. By the time the inside is cooked through, the outside is overcooked. This can also be true for organic and smaller chicken breasts, which can be a bit lopsided. The answer to this problem is to pound them a bit to make them flat.

How Do I Pound Chicken Breasts?

Lay a piece of plastic wrap down, place the chicken breast on top, and cover with another piece of plastic wrap that overlaps the chicken by at least 3 inches. Use the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin to firmly pound down and to the side. Don’t just pound down or you may tear the chicken breast meat.
The goal is to make the boneless chicken breast more even so it cooks quickly and more evenly. Don’t pound it into a pancake. Just make it so the breast is even all the way across.

How To Cook Chicken Breast in the Pan

Let’s first focus on how to cook a chicken breast in the pan, which is my favorite technique because of the flavorful crust that forms. Chicken breasts must be at room temperature before going in the pan as cold chicken can cook unevenly and tends to be tough. Allow the chicken breast to sit out for 20 minutes. That should do the trick.

One of my favorite pieces of kitchen gear is a cast iron pan. If it’s good enough for grandma, it’s good enough for me. Nothing sears a piece of chicken or meat like cast iron, but you can also do this in a stainless steel or non-stick pan. Preheat the pan for 2 minutes on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, season the chicken breast with a generous pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper on both sides. You can use a spice rub if desired. almost all of my recipes use that, but we will keep it simple here.

Add 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan, wait 30 seconds so the oil can heat up, and then place the boneless chicken breast in the pan and don’t touch it for 4 minutes. You need to leave the chicken breast alone so the crust can form. After 4 minutes, flip the chicken and let it cook another 3-4 minutes depending on how thick it is. Remove the chicken breast from the pan and place on a clean plate and allow to rest for 3 minutes before slicing.

Why Are Chicken Breasts Dry and Tough?

Make sure to rest chicken breasts for 3-5 minutes once they are done cooking. If you slice into the breast right away, the juices inside are boiling and they will leak out of the breast and make it tough. You also have to make sure to allow the chicken breast to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking. This will take the chill off and allow the chicken breast to cook more evenly.