Baked chicken breasts

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil , or avocado oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or oregano, parsley or other herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat your oven to 425F/220C. In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper until combined.
2. Lightly coat the chicken breasts in olive oil, and then generously rub the spice mix on both sides of the chicken.
3. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on size (see chart above). Let the chicken rest for a few minutes to allow the juices to redistribute within the meat, then serve.

Tips

1. Bring chicken to room temperature: When you cook cold, straight from the fridge chicken it’s more likely to cook unevenly, with an overcooked outside and undercooked inside. So let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking.
2. Grab similarly sized chicken breasts:If you bake a 5-ounce chicken breast alongside an 8-ounce chicken breast, your smaller chicken breast will likely turn rubbery by the time your bigger one is done.
3. Pound them to an even thickness: Because chicken breasts naturally have one end that’s thicker than the other, you can gently pound the thicker part of your chicken breast for a more even thickness, which translates to more even cooking.
4. Use the thermometer. Chicken needs to come out at 70 degrees Celsius