Juicy Stove Top Chicken Breasts Recipe
Mar 07, 2019, Updated May 09, 2024
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One of my favorite chicken breast recipes & the easiest way to make juicy chicken right on the stove top. These pan-seared chicken breasts are cooked on the stove and bursting with flavor!
Juicy Stove Top Chicken Breasts
My all time favorite stovetop chicken breast recipe is here! Thanks to a simple method, the chicken breasts are never dry, always tender, and super tasty. After this recipe, you’ll see that chicken couldn’t be any easier to prepare for a quick and easy dinner idea.
I have talked about Oven Baked Chicken Breasts and Easy Baked Chicken Breasts, but we have yet to discuss how to cook chicken on the stove. Except for that one time when we covered the stove top method for Juicy Stove Top Chicken Thighs. 😎
I think it’s safe to say that skinless, boneless chicken breasts are the most popular cut of poultry. Am I right? I think? They’re the most searched for ingredient on my website, that’s for sure, and that’s because people always want a new way to cook chicken.
Thus, picture this: juicy, awesomely seasoned chicken breasts, pan seared in vegetable oil, and finished off with a tablespoon of butter. That’s it. That is all we’re doing.
What You’ll Need
Before we begin to discuss how to cook chicken breast in a pan, gather the following pantry ingredients to create this delicious and quick chicken dinner.
- Vegetable oil or canola oil: Used for frying the chicken. You can use any high-smoke point cooking oil, including avocado oil.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: This stove top chicken recipe will not work with bone-in chicken as bone-in meat requires a longer cooking time to cook through properly.
- Cooking spray: Helps coat the chicken breasts evenly with oil for a perfect sear.
- Salt and black pepper: Simple seasonings to enhance the overall flavor.
- Garlic powder: Adds a robust flavor to the chicken. Avoid using fresh garlic as it tends to burn.
- Onion powder: Provides a subtle sweetness and additional flavor.
- Dried basil: Infuses the chicken with freshness.
- Smoked or sweet paprika: Contributes a smoky flavor and a nice color to the chicken.
- Unsalted butter: Adds richness and helps create a flavorful, golden-brown crust on the chicken.
How to Cook Chicken Breasts on the Stove
To achieve perfectly tender and juicy results every time, follow my easy step-by-step method below to make the best pan cooked chicken!
- Start with a simple seasoning on both sides of the chicken breasts. Grease the chicken breasts with cooking spray or oil, then season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and dried basil. This dry mix of herbs and spices adds a wonderful zing and flavor to the chicken breasts.
- In the meantime, heat up vegetable oil or canola oil in a large skillet.
- When oil is hot, add chicken breasts to the pan. Cook two chicken breasts at a time because you don’t want to overcrowd your skillet.
- Cook chicken breasts for 5 to 7 minutes without moving them around.
- Flip the chicken breasts over. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and continue to cook for 7 more minutes to a golden brown, or until a meat thermometer registers the internal temperature of the chicken breast at 165˚F. Cooking time will always depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts.
- Rest. When finished, transfer chicken breasts to a cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Recipe Tips for Success
- Chicken breasts should not be thicker than 1-inch, max. If your chicken breasts are thick, use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to a smaller and even thickness BEFORE cooking.
- Why are we using vegetable oil and not our beloved olive oil, you ask? Because, vegetable-based oils have higher smoke points than olive oil. This includes avocado oil, too. Therefore, when frying, or pan searing, you need an oil that can withstand the heat.
- Cook the chicken breasts over medium-high heat.
- DO NOT stir or move the chicken breasts around while cooking. Let cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily flip them over. If there’s any resistance when trying to flip them, give it another minute before trying again.
- Chicken breasts are cooked through when the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
How to Store Extras
- In the fridge: Store completely cooled chicken breasts in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Cooked chicken breast is ideal for meal prep, allowing you to easily add it to salads, grain bowls, and soups throughout the week.
- To freeze cooked chicken: Wrap completely cooled chicken breasts with plastic wrap and add a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap. Place the wrapped chicken breasts in a freezer bag; seal the bag and place in the freezer. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
- Instant Pot Creamy Brussel Sprouts
- Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots
- Grilled Asparagus
- Radish and Cucumber Salad with Garlic Yogurt Dressing
More Chicken Recipes to Try
- Creamy Garlic Sauce Chicken
- Cheesy Asparagus Stuffed Chicken
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
- 12 Easy Chicken Dinner Ideas Your Family Will Love
ENJOY!
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Juicy Stove Top Chicken Breasts Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or canola oil,, divided
- 4 (1 pound total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- cooking spray
- salt and fresh ground pepper,, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked or sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter,, divided
Instructions
- Heat 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet; use a 10-inch or 12-inch skillet.
- Pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towels.
- Drizzle just a bit of oil over each chicken breast, or spray with cooking oil, and rub it all over.
- In a small mixing bowl combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, and paprika.
- Season both sides of each chicken breast with the prepared seasoning; rub it all around.
- Add 2 chicken breasts to the hot skillet.
- Cook chicken breasts for 5 to 7 minutes without moving them around.
- Flip both chicken breasts over, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet; swirl butter around and continue to cook the chicken for 7 more minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Cooking time will always depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts.
- Remove chicken breasts from skillet; set aside and keep covered.
- Repeat the same method with the remaining 2 chicken breasts.
- When finished, transfer chicken to a cutting board; let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Chicken breasts should not be thicker than 1-inch, max. If your chicken breasts are thick, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken to a smaller and even thickness BEFORE cooking.
- If there’s a chicken seasoning blend that you absolutely adore, go ahead and use that in place of the one I have given here.
- Why are we using vegetable oil and not olive oil? Because, vegetable-based oils have higher smoke points than olive oil. When frying, or pan searing, you need an oil that can withstand the heat.
- Cook the chicken breasts over medium-high heat. DO NOT stir or move the chicken breasts around while cooking. Let cook for 5 minutes or until you can easily flip them over. If there’s any resistance when trying to flip them, give it another minute before trying again.
- Store completely cooled chicken breasts in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
I’ve been cooking chicken a long time. Decided to follow this cooking method and glad I did as it was juicy and tender. I’ve always used a thermometer, as I did with this, but it somehow turned out more tender. You can be versatile with the spices for whatever you want to use the chicken for. I use avocado oil and I think the addition of butter gives it a nice flavor. I think you have to know your stovetop, just like an oven, as temps vary. If it seems to be cooking too fast, lower the temp.
Thanks for this cooking method, I love it!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I truly enjoyed the taste I’ve been looking for some different was to season my chicken breast and this is wonderful I’m going to try it on my baked chicken as well. Thanks
This is a great go-to recipe! I do consistently have more luck when I let my seasoned chicken breasts come to room temperature for about 1/2 hour before cooking. This could explain some of the inconsistent results some people are experiencing.
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this recipe! It’s easy, simple, straightforward. And my kids and I agreed it might be the best chicken I’ve ever made (my 16 yo said it was the best he’d ever had). Thank you!
Just made this today. It was as easy and lots of flavor. Thank you! Im also adding that I have never seen so much bullying in comments before. It’s definitely a male thing. Sad
Chicken came out bland.
7 minutes on medium-high heat is way too long.
Pound the chicken breasts if too tick, that’ll allow it to cook more evenly.
Anyway… nothing special about this recipe.
Thanks for the feedback. Judging by most comments, the recipe is good and only works if you follow it. ONE pound of 4 chicken breasts is only 4 ounces per chicken, which is almost always a pretty small, thin chicken breast that will shrink to 3 ounces after cooking. If you decide to use larger chicken breasts, then yes, you need to pound them down. Secondly, “salt and pepper, to taste” means that it’s up to you to salt it so it’s not bland… you may not have salted them enough.
Great recipe, but can you emphasize not using olive oil in the ingredients part? I missed suggestion of using vegetable oil and so used olive oil by mistake and the chicken blackened in less than five minutes. It’s still good but much darker than I like.
I followed the recipe but the chicken was not as tender as I would like. Any suggestions?
Hi!
Did you use a meat thermometer? That’s really the best way to ensure tender, juicy chicken. As soon as the internal temp of the chicken registers at 165ËšF, remove it from the heat and the baking dish. Set it aside for several minutes, and then cut into it.
So good! Used this recipe for dinner last night with some Brussels sprouts. For some reason this wouldn’t let me do 5 stars but I would have chosen 5 stars if possible! No complaints, chicken had such a nice coloring to it that you couldn’t achieve from baking in the oven.
Simple and delicious, but please don’t recommend that anyone ever use vegetable oil. Search “Eric Berg vegetable oil” for brief, clear explanations and Ray Peat’s articles on oils for explanations of the biochemistry.
First off, this fixed my issues with chicken breasts and is now my go-to recipe. Second, Berg is an antivaxxer, a conspiracy theorist, and scientologist that has been court ordered to stop promoting certian techniques. Vegetable oil is fine in moderation, just like tons of other foods are. If you have certain health issues that don’t permit it then don’t use it, but stop fearmongering in the comments of a recipe.
First off, I don’t know who Eric Berd is, but just because someone doesn’t want this “vaccine” doesn’t make them are an antivaxxer. My body, my choice, right? Second,
over the past 3 years it seems the difference between a conspiracy theory and the truth is about 6-8 months. Just because you or I believe something doesn’t necessarily make it true. I think it was very rude to call someone a fear monger based on your opinion. Be better than that.
(Ignoring the whole Eric Berg issue, since Morgan has already wonderfully pointed out the issues with him.) Ah, Ray Peat, the person who said that omega-3 fatty acids are dangerous to humans, that a tablespoon of sucrose in honey can cure animals and emergency patients with fatal injuries, and that avocados cause cancer. This guy, right? The same guy whose dietary views have been widely embraced among the far-right and white nationalists, even though he contradicted his own diet advice all the time?
What oil did you use? Im eliminating plant seed oils except olive and coconut.