Crunchy and golden on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, these crispy baked chicken breasts are way better than the fried version. And, of course, healthier!
I like my chicken super crispy, and usually that requires deep frying. But with panko (a Japanese-style breadcrumbs), you get crispy chicken even if you bake it.
The recipe is very easy. Start by breading the chicken breasts with flour, egg, and panko, place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and bake for 20-25 minutes. When they are done, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve!
The baking time depends on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Mine took about 22 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, I flipped them over and baked for another 12 minutes.
You can make several batches ahead of time and stick them in the freezer. They’re perfect for nights when you are out of groceries, or when you are just too tired to cook. Pull them out, bake them from frozen, and have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!
To freeze them, place the breaded chicken on a plate and freeze for at least 2 hours. Remove them from the plate, place in a large ziplock bag and store in the freezer.
These crispy baked chicken breasts are a quick and easy weeknight meal everyone will love! Enjoy!
Give this quick but delicious recipe a try, and let me know what you think! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to take a picture and share it on my Facebook page or tag it #aseasyasapplepie on Instagram! I love seeing what you come up with!
Crispy Baked Chicken Breasts
Crunchy and golden on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, these crispy baked chicken breasts are way better than the fried version. And, of course, healthier!
Panko is usually found in the Asian section of supermarkets.
Ingredients
- 500 grams (1 lb) boneless, skinless chicken breast cut lengthwise
- 90 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 80 grams (1 cup) Panko Japanese-style bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- zest of 1 lemon grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves finely chopped
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C (425 F degrees).
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a shallow plate, combine the flour, paprika, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
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Beat the egg in another shallow plate.
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Place the Panko breadcrumbs in a third shallow plate.
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Working one at a time, dredge the chicken breasts in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in panko, pressing to coat.
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Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet and spray with olive oil on both sides.
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Bake for 10 minutes, turn each piece over and continue baking for an additional 12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and slightly golden. Baking times vary depending on thickness of the chicken.
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Garnished the crispy baked chicken breasts with a slice of lemon and chopped parsley, if desired.
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Enjoy!
Notes
© as easy as Apple Pie. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
MORE DELICIOUS CHICKEN RECIPES:
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- crunchy baked parmesan chicken tenders
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- sheet pan chicken fajita rice bowls
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- cashew chicken lettuce wraps
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- one pan baked chicken and potatoes
This looks absolutely incredible!
Thank you Shauna!
Yum! These look so crispy and delicious! Can’t wait to give this a try!
These look so tasty and easy to make!
Hi Elena! This is an amazing recipe. I made this today and everyone in my family loved it! Will share it in my blog soon and link it back. I really can’t thank you enough for sharing this!
These were absolutely wonderful!. The crispiness, the freshness of the lemon, and it wasn’t deep fried. I would suggest maybe some parmesan cheese with the panko. Everyone loved it. Thanks so much for this recipe (:
Thank you for your feedback, Jennifer! It’s a great idea to add parmesan cheese. 🙂
made this tonight and my family loved it. excellent healthy alternative and does not feel like you are sacrificing a thing. will definitely make this again and again. thanks for the recipe!
I am glad you they liked it! This is one of my favorite recipes for chicken breasts 🙂
Fabulous! Thank you. The kiddos gobbled it up, with some honey mustard sauce. Yum. Will be a go-to 🙂
Thank you for your feedback Regan! I love honey mustard sauce 🙂
These were awesome!!!! Im from Alabama l, so this was very new for me . Im use to everything being fried lol. Now that I’ve found this recipe, I think I’ll be sticking with this.
I am glad you liked this recipe, Janae! 🙂
When you freeze these do you freeze after baking or when raw? Can’t wait to try these, they look great!
Hi Isabel! You could freeze them either way, cooked or uncooked. I personally prefer to freeze them raw. 🙂
I just made them and we have leftovers. I will try freezing them already baked but wish I would have froze them raw. Thanks.
Megan, try to increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and leave it in the oven a little bit longer. Also, make sure that the oven rack is not too low.
Another solution would be to toast the panko breadcrumbs: heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat, add the breadcrumbs and sauté for 2/3 minutes, until golden brown.
I hope it helps, let me know how it goes! 🙂
My husband and I loved this recipe. It turned out a little crunchier than I would have expected but hubby loved the crunch
I am glad that you liked this recipe, Jessy! 🙂
What can I use instead of eggs??
Ariel, you can use milk instead of eggs
This looks delicious! I make a variation of this but you have a few ingredients that I don’t use, like lemon and paprika. I will give this a try. I’m so glad you didn’t say to pound the chicken flat. I feel that it has been through enough already!
I hope you will like it! 🙂
These look delish. I live alone and wonder if I made one chicken breast at a time would I change the cooking time? I’m a cooking noob.
The cooking time will be the same. I hope you will like this recipe, let me know if you have any more questions! 🙂
Great dinner!
I’m glad you liked it, Jason. Thanks for reporting back!
These are delicious! Thank you for sharing. I am am first time mom and struggle to get dinner cooked at a decent time. I now want to make bigger batches to freeze. If I pull them out on freezer, do you cook them the same? On parchment paper at 425F for 20-25minutes? I’ve never baked anything straight from the freezer, so I worry, would it maybe get soggy? Thanks in advance!
Hi Kathy! I am so glad you liked this recipe.
Yes, when you pull them out of the freezer, you cook them the same 🙂
Made this tonight and YUMMMY! I can’t cook – yet these were quick and easy. Thank you, thank you!!
Thanks for trying the recipe, Kelsey. I’m glad it came out great for you! 🙂
Ok, I’m a poor, semi retired physician who is trying to “healthy up” my cooking for my wife and I.
This fits perfectly. The idea of baking, rather than frying is appealing.
Taste is great. I added a beurre blanc for flavour. Not the healthiest but growth is incremental!
Enjoy
Doug
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Doug! 🙂 Your version with beurre blanc sounds incredible.
The recipe says to cut the chicken breasts crosswise in half, yet they appear to be whole in the picture. Is it necessary to cut them in half , or can they be left whole?
Sorry, I meant lengthwise.
When you say a 1/2 tbsp of olive oil do you sprinkle that over the chicken or do you use olive oil spray and spray the chicken like the directions say. Thank you.
Hi Sonia! If you don’t have an olive oil spray, you can drizzle it on top…that’s why I wrote the amount. Maybe I should specify it. 🙂
Made this the other night for dinner, turned out really good. Super easy directions!! I didn’t have parchment paper, but it still turned out great. Will do this again!
Thank you for your feedback, Melissa! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂