Easy Baked Chicken Breast Recipe - Only 3 Ingredients!

Chicken is probably what we eat at our house the most often for supper. It can be made every day of the week, and still taste completely different every time. Over the many years I've been cooking, I've collected and tried many baked chicken recipes.

Despite having literally thousands of them, I always seem to go back to a few tried and true baked chicken recipes. Below is one of my favorite chicken recipes for the oven, and also the easiest. This is one of those invaluable recipes that you can put together at any time because usually you already have everything you need to make it.

The beauty of this baked chicken breast recipe is in its simplicity. Sometimes the easiest recipes are really the best. This is a great recipe if you're really tired or short on time.

It only requires 3 ingredients, although sometimes I add different herbs and seasonings, just because. It's ridiculously simple to make, with virtually no preparation. And once it's in the oven, all that is left to do is wait.

The final result never fails to disappoint- delicious, moist, home baked chicken with crispy skin. Shred any leftovers and use it in salads, fajitas, in chicken salad, whatever you want.

Ingredients for Baked Chicken Breast (Serves 4)

• 4 split chicken breasts (not boneless or skinless)
• 1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter (don't use margarine, if you want the best taste) + extra to coat the baking pan
  
• Seasoned salt, to taste (I use about 1 teaspoon)

Rinse the chicken breasts well under cold water and lightly pat dry.

Coat a baking pan with olive oil or butter, (not the melted butter), and add the chicken breasts.

Use a basting brush to brush on the olive oil or melted butter. Coat the chicken well. If you don't have a basting brush, you can try carefully pouring the olive oil or butter over the chicken. When I'm really lazy or in a hurry, I just cut a pat of butter for each chicken breast and place a pat on top of each one.

Season the chicken breasts with the seasoning salt and any other seasonings you prefer. But you will be surprised at how good it is with just the butter and salt.

Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven til done. Watch it carefully after the 45 minute mark, so that it doesn't get dried out and overcooked. It will be done when juices are clear if poked with a fork.

For health reasons, it's best to use olive oil instead of butter. And it's really good! But butter does taste better, in my opinion, for this particular baked chicken breast recipe. Some recommended additional seasonings if you like to experiment are: rosemary, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, thyme, sage, or paprika in any combination.

You can use skinless, boneless chicken breasts if you like. Cut the cooking time down to about 30-45 minutes. Also, they probably won't be as moist. And they won't have that delicious, crispy skin!

Some recommended side dishes that go well with this baked chicken breast recipe are mashed potatoes, potato salad, rice pilaf, macaroni salad, and green salads. This is perfect for a comfort food meal.