There’s nothing more frustrating that coming home from work and facing a fridge with few ingredients, especially when you’re tired from a long day and all you want to do is plop down in front of the TV and relax. Pan roasted chicken breasts are a quick and simple main dish to throw together in a hurry to get you out of the kitchen and on your way to the “relaxing” part. This is a family favorite meal around our house!
Weeknight Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts
- Servings: 1 Chicken Breast
- Yield: 6 Servings
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cooking Time: 35 min
Ingredients
- 6 skin-on split chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cloves fresh minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (typically juice of 1 lemon)
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper
Preparation
- Adjust oven rack to middle position; preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- In small bowl, mix ½ teaspoon salt with garlic, thyme, lemon zest, and softened butter until combined.
- Sprinkle underside of chicken breasts liberally with salt and pepper.
- Loosen the skin by inserting two fingers between the skin and the chicken breast meat, creating a small pocket.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of softened butter under the skin, directly on the meat in the center of each split breast.
- Spread butter evenly over breast meat by pressing gently with your fingers.
- Rub skin of each split breast with about 1 teaspoon oil and sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon salt and pepper each.
- Place chicken breasts skin-side up in a large iron skillet, or heavy bottomed pan. (Make sure not to over-crowd the skillet - chicken can be lightly touching, but not crammed together)
- Place pan in the center of the middle rack and roast until thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 30 to 35 minutes.
- When chicken has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees, remove from oven and tent with foil (making sure not to seal around the sides so as not to steam). Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then drizzle with fresh lemon juice. Serve immediately.
Recipe Tags
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