Rosemary Chicken Breast Recipe

Chicken and rice, chicken and potatoes, chicken and broccoli, chicken and waffles… Chicken goes with just about everything. This recipe is quick and easy to cook with just a few simple steps and creates a very nice, flavorful, juicy chicken dinner.

Prepping the Chicken

If your chicken is frozen thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you plan to cook it. Maybe you didn’t plan that far ahead, instead you can put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and place it in a bowl or container of cold water for about 1 hour, replacing the water every 30 minutes.

If your chicken is fresh or once it’s thawed out, pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other seasons you like. I choose my seasoning based on what I’m serving my chicken with.

Here are a few examples of different ways to season for different meals.

• Chicken tacos – Taco seasoning, or chili powder and garlic powder with salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a little cumin and cayenne powder or some lime juice.
• Lemon chicken – lemon pepper seasoning, or garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and lemon slices.
• Chicken Alfredo – Italian seasoning or basil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes a little paprika or cayenne.
• Chicken with roasted potatoes – rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper.

You can also marinate your chicken in olive oil and your choice of seasonings in a ziplock bag for 2-24 hours in the refrigerator before you cook it. If you choose this way you don’t need to pay dry just place directly in the skillet to cook. Personally, I prefer to dry rub my chicken.

Cooking the Chicken

The trick to cooking good chicken is to sear it capturing the juice inside the chicken to keep it moist. After I’ve seasoned the meat I turn my cast iron pan on medium high with a little bit of oil. If you don’t have a cast iron pan don’t worry, you don’t need it to get perfect chicken but it does help. Get your pan hot. Place the chicken on the hot pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat. If using a normal skillet keep the heat a little higher. You want the chicken to have a deep golden sear on each side.

Once you’ve cooked the chicken on each side reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5-7 more minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. If cooking on a cast iron you can take off heat completely if the chicken breasts are small and let sit, covered, in the pan for 10 minutes. If they are larger keep them on low for at least 5 minutes before taking them off the heat. With your regular skillet you will want to keep on low longer (7-10 minutes) since it won’t hold on heat like the cast iron. After you’ve cooked it on low take off the heat completely, let it sit covered for another 10 minutes before serving.

Serving the Chicken

When the chicken is ready to serve I always pre-cut the chicken for everyone just to make sure it’s done all the way through before serving. I also have little kids who require me to cut the chicken so it makes sense. When cutting remember to slice against the grain. Not with the grain like I did in the photos, I always do it wrong but usually I’m cutting in cubes for my little ones. Cutting against the grain will keep it tender while cutting with the grain tends to make it tough.

Depending on how I’ve seasoned my chicken definitely depends on what I serve it with. Chicken and rice with broccoli is a favorite here. Chicken tacos with rice and beans. Rosemary Chicken and potatoes is another favorite. I could go on.

Whatever you serve it with I hope you enjoy it. And remember, cooking is a science but also an art. Feel free to experiment with seasonings, temperature and timing to make your perfect meal. Every kitchen and cook is a little different. Embrace your home by cooking your best.