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Juicy, pan seared chicken breasts are easy to prepare and cook in 10 minutes! With flavorful seasonings and simple steps, this will be your go-to chicken recipe to add on pasta, salads, sandwiches and more.
Why This Recipe Works
- Juicy, Tender Chicken, Every Time: this pan-seared chicken recipe yields moist chicken with a delicious seasoned crust that’s great, every time!
- Great for Meal Prep: Make multiple batches in advance and add to your meal prep containers, easy peasy.
- Easy Chicken Dinner: Takes just 10 minutes to prepare like salmon bites. Goes great with chicken fettuccine Alfredo.
The other day, Erik and I were discussing how hard it is to find perfectly cooked chicken. Like, why does it always have to be overcooked, rubbery, and dry?? So we decided to create our own perfectly cooked, juicy, and deliciously flavorful pan seared chicken breast.
This mouthwatering recipe is gonna be your go-to for dinner, meal prepping, parties, and more. It’s well-seasoned (and easy to customize to your liking), prepared in less than 5 minutes, and cooked in 10 minutes.
Pan Seared Chicken Breast Ingredients
This easy chicken dinner is quick to make, just like this chicken dijon recipe and these lemon pepper wings!
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt
- Italian seasoning
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Olive oil
- Unsalted butter
How to Pan Sear Chicken Breast
Pan searing chicken breasts that are juicy and flavorful can be very easy! Follow my step-by-step instructions below for delicious results.
Start by preparing the chicken. Trim excess fat off chicken breasts and cut in half length-wise. Pat dry. Recommended but optional: pound the chicken with a meat mallet until uniformly thin.
Next, stir together salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the chicken.
Now, heat a large sauté pan with oil to medium heat. Cook undisturbed chicken for about 5 minutes–this will allow the chicken to cook with a nice, pan-seared crust on one side.
Flip the chicken and swirl the pan to coat it in oil. Add butter and swirl again to distribute the butter. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the internal temperature of pan seared chicken breasts are 165°F on a meat thermometer. Enjoy!
Q&A
How long to pan sear chicken breast? It takes about 8-11 minutes to pan sear chicken breasts.
How do I know when the chicken is done? The best way to know when chicken is done is by checking the temperature. When the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reads 165°F a meat thermometer, it’s done.
How do I get cook juicy pan seared chicken breasts? Avoid overcooking the chicken by immediately removing it from the pan once done. Also make sure to pound the chicken evenly so there are no overly-thick areas that require more cooking than others.
Pan Seared Chicken Breasts Seasoning Alternatives
Since a good chicken breast recipe is gold and you’ll want to use it over and over again, all you need to do to mix it up is to change the seasonings! Try these other seasonings for chicken breasts:
Tools You Need
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Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
What to Serve with Chicken Breasts
These seasoned chicken breasts go really well with pastas like tomato basil pasta or fettuccine Alfredo. If you’re in the mood for salad, serve chicken with ramen noodle salad or Italian pasta salad. You can also serve this chicken in sandwiches, wraps and more.
Pan Seared Chicken Breast
Ingredients
Pan Seared Chicken Breasts
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon homemade Italian seasoning, *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
- ¼ teaspoon paprika, *
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Prepare chicken. Trim away any excess fat. Slice each chicken breast in half, length-wise to create uniformly thin cutlets for even cooking. Recommended but optional: pound the chicken with a meat mallet until uniformly thin. Pat dry. Stir together seasonings until well mixed: salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle seasoning over both sides of the chicken cutlets.
- Cook chicken. Heat oil in a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add chicken in a single layer without crowding. Cook, undisturbed for about 4-6 minutes, until browned.
- Using tongs, flip the chicken and swirl the pan to coat it in oil so the chicken doesn’t stick. Add butter, allowing it to melt. Swirl the pan and adjust the chicken to coat in butter. Cover with a lid and cook for about 4-7 more minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Periodically press the chicken down with a heatproof spatula to sear all over and ensure even cooking.
- Optionally, transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool enough to slice, about 2-4 minutes. Slice into 1/2 -inch strips or serve whole. Serve with chicken fettuccine Alfredo or garlic butter pasta.
- ★ Last Step: If you made this recipe, leave a comment and review. It truly helps our small business keep running and it helps readers like you!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this and added it to a salad for lunch. So yummy! Going to try it over the pasta you mentioned next.
Woohoo! I know, it’s so good over salad. 😋 If you’re thinking about pastas, I highly recommend starting with my garlic butter pasta. Happy cooking, Lisa!