I’m still here! We’re back from a little spring break getaway to sunny AZ and during our trip I accidentally discovered this delicious new recipe I’m sharing today. We spent Easter Sunday in an Airbnb in Scottsdale and while I usually don’t cook on vacation, I made an exception for Easter. I was planning to keep it simple and ordered a ham for grocery pickup when we arrived the night before. But when I went to pick up my order they had run out of ham and gave me a massive pack of chicken breast instead. My in-laws came to the rescue and found a ham at another store but I still had all this chicken breast and didn’t want to throw it away. So I found a simple recipe that promised moist, tender baked chicken and I found *almost* everything I needed to make it in the rental kitchen cupboards. So I went for it. And guess what? It was some of THE BEST chicken breast we’ve ever had!

What makes this chicken special is the brine. Don’t skip it. It’s simple (unlike brining a whole turkey- I tried that for Thanksgiving last year and it was a mess!) and quick and makes the meat so much more tender, juicy, and flavorful. I’ve made this recipe twice now (the second time in my own kitchen so I could take some pics) and learned that it works fine with a short 30 min or longer 2 hr brine. Also, the spice rub is adaptable. My Airbnb didn’t have any dried herbs besides parsley. So I used some extra parsley and it was still great. The second time I used smoked paprika instead of sweet and all of the different herbs and that was delicious too.

The Best Oven Baked Chicken Breast

INGREDIENTS

4 (about 2 lbs.) boneless skinless chicken breasts (I like to slice mine in half for a bit smaller pieces)
4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup sea salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Spice Rub:
1/4 tsp. salt (optional- chicken will have absorbed some of the salt from the salted water)
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika (sweet or smoked)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
pinch cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine lukewarm water and salt; stir to dissolve and add chicken breasts. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. You can also also cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. In the meantime, prepare the spice rub: In a small bowl stir to combine salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried rosemary, and dried parsley, and cayenne.
3. Preheat oven to 425 F.
4. Pour out the salt water and rinse each chicken breast under cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
5. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and rub the olive oil all over each chicken breast. Sprinkle spice rub evenly over the chicken breasts on all sides. You don’t have to use the entire seasoning blend; use as much as you like.
6. Transfer to the oven and cook for 22 to 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165F. Thinner breasts will need less time, thicker breasts might need a little more time in the oven. Start checking for doneness at the 20 minute mark.
7. For a browned, crispy top, set your oven to broil on high for the final 4 minutes and broil the chicken until golden on top. (I skipped this step.)
8. Remove from oven and let chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Serves 4-6.

(Adapted from Diethood)