Chicken breasts are extremely versatile and there are thousands of chicken recipes in the world. One of the best things about chicken breast, though, is that you don’t need a set recipe to whip up an amazing meal. Learn our four favorite methods of cooking chicken and you will never be stumped at dinner time again.
Five Methods For How To Cook Chicken
- How to Bake Chicken
- How to Sauté Chicken
- How to Air Fry Chicken
- How to Poach Chicken
- How to Make Instant Pot Chicken
Watch How To Cook Chicken Breasts:
How To Bake Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: 450°F
- How long: 20-25 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Internal temperature is 165°F
Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.
Sprinkle spices generously over chicken breasts. You can use your favorite mix of herbs and spices or a store bought chicken seasoning. Add salt if it is not included in the seasoning. You can also marinate the chicken.
Use your hands to completely coat the chicken breasts with spices.
Bake chicken at 450°F for about 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken breasts), or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer.
Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil. Allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Baked chicken breasts are extremely versatile and can be seasoned many different ways. Use your favorite spice blends and flavors to make these quick and juicy chicken breasts any night of the week.
How To Sauté Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: Medium high stovetop heat/400°F oven
- How long: 15 minutes total
- How to know it’s done: Internal temperature is 165°F
Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin or heavy skillet, pound the chicken breasts, focusing on the thicker ends, until chicken is even in thickness throughout.
Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mixture, adding salt if needed. Rub chicken breasts until evenly coated in spices.
Heat oil in an oven proof skillet, such as cast iron, over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken breasts and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, or until edges are starting to look cooked and chicken has a good sear.
Flip the chicken breasts and transfer skillet to a 400°F oven.
Bake chicken for about 8-10 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Loosely tent with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sautéed chicken is golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside. Experiment with different seasoning blends and pair with your favorite side dishes for an easy, but incredible weeknight dinner!
How To Air Fry Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: 415 degrees F
- How long: 10-13 minutes (depending on thickness)
- How to know it’s done: Crispy outside and internal temp of 165 degrees F
Thinly slice your chicken breasts.
Toss the chicken with spices and place them in a single layer in the air fryer.
Air fry at 415 degrees for 10 minutes (few minutes longer if your chicken is thicker).
Let it cool a bit, slice, and serve on salads, in bowls, or right on its own!
You can get our recipe for Air Fryer Chicken and other ways to use it here!
How To Poach Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: Medium low stovetop heat
- How long: 12-18 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Juices run clear
Place chicken breasts into a large sauce pan and cover with cold water by several inches.
Add a few simple aromatics such as carrots, peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves.
Cover the saucepan and bring the pot to a low boil over medium heat. Once water is boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow chicken to cook gently for about 10-12 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife.
Remove chicken and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Cooking liquid can be reserved and added to soups as a simple stock.
Poached chicken can be sliced, cubed or shredded. It’s the perfect blank slate to add to soups, casseroles, chicken salad, or seasoned for enchiladas or tacos. Make a batch of poached chicken to shred and use throughout the week for lunches and dinners.
How To Make Chicken In An Instant Pot
- Setting: Sauté & High Manual Pressure
- How long: 8 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Chicken is tender and cooked through
Cut chicken breasts in half to create smaller, evenly sized pieces. Season chicken generously with preferred spice mix, and stir to evenly coat.
Add oil to the Instant Pot and turn on sauté setting. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts in a single layer.
Brown chicken for about 3-4 minutes, flip and cook on the second side for an additional 3 minutes.
Add liquid to the Instant Pot to almost cover the chicken. This can be chicken stock, coconut milk, salsa, or even water. A simple jarred salsa is easy and provides lots of great flavor to the chicken. Here we used a roasted tomatillo salsa.
Place on the Instant Pot lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. When Instant Pot is done cooking, quick release the pressure. Carefully remove chicken. Chicken can be served immediately with some of the reserved cooking liquid or used for meal prep throughout the week.
How To Shred Chicken
Poached chicken and chicken cooked in the Instant Pot is great for shredded chicken. To shred chicken, use two forks to pull the cooked chicken into shreds. Shredded chicken can be added to casseroles, soups, or used in the filling for enchiladas or tacos.
How To Cook Chicken Thighs
These methods for cooking chicken breasts can also be used for cooking boneless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs have a higher fat content and therefore, can be extremely flavorful. Be sure to cook chicken thighs to an internal temperature of 165°F.
How To Know If Your Chicken Is Done
The best way to know if chicken is cooked is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken and ensure that chicken is 165°F. If cooking bone-in chicken, be sure to avoid touching the bone with the meat thermometer when checking the temperature.
We’d recommend this instant read meat thermometer (affiliate link).
Our Favorite Chicken Recipes
Super Yummy Chicken Salad
Marry Me Chicken
Ridiculous Good Air Fryer Chicken
Instant Pot Coconut Tandoori Chicken
Sheet Pan Garlic Ginger Chicken
Garlic Basil Chicken with Tomato Butter Sauce
5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes
Skillet Chicken with Bacon with White Wine Sauce
Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Super Simple Jerk Chicken
Easy recipe! thank you
Thanks
Article intéressant
super article
belle recette me pour le partage
so delicious
Merci pour la recette
thank you very much
merci pour la recette
Very nice article. Entire process has been discussed so nicely making it understandable for a layman like me…..Thanks. for the post
facile à préparer merci
ça l’air bon. Merci pour la recette
Wow! Love your recipes. Easy to prepare, my family loved the outcome. Thanks.
delicious 🙂
super article
So, I don’t even know where to begin….
This chicken was the best chicken I have ever made. I am so grateful that I now know how to cook amazing chicken breast on the stove in a very short period of time. I did the pan fry method, and the results were just spectacular. Thank you so much for sharing your tips! I look forward to trying many of your other recipes…
I have referred to this so many times. I am a longtime cook but still learning. Thank you so much!!
Happy to help, Patty! 🙂
nice article, thank you <3
Très bon article, merci pour le partage
nice article thank you very much
Firstly I thank you how you helped by showing how we can prepare our lovely dinner ( chicken)
but can you teach me more? that I could help my community?
Thank you for this post. It is so handy! I baked chicken this way and it was great. I would never have thought to cook it at such a high temperature but it worked beautifully.
Thank you verry much for share, i like it 🙂
nice article thank you very much
So yummy :p Thank you so much Emily for those delicious recipes based on chicken ^^ I’ll try one or many of them as soon as possible.
Great and seems to be very good
This recipe chicken looks Yummy..
Great and seems to be very good
ça l’air succulent !
Great and seems to be very good
so cool
I have meal prepped chicken every Sunday and in a variety of ways for the past few years…the oven temperature and time you listed is the magic combination! Super succulent even a few days later. I will definitely try your other methods as well. Thank you!
This recipe chicken looks Yummy..
Yummy , j’adore