Baked Split Chicken Breast
Super juicy, and wonderfully flavorful, this baked chicken breast recipe uses split chicken breasts along with garlic and rosemary makes for an elegantly simple supper any night of the week. With only 5-ingredients, this recipe couldn’t be easier!
This post was originally published with the title “5-Ingredient Garlic Rosemary Roasted Chicken Breasts”, we’ve changed the name and updated it to improve the post but it’s the same great recipe!
About this Baked Split Chicken Breast Recipe
I owe this simple roasted chicken recipe to my kitchen idol, Ina Garten – her food was, and continues to be, simple, classic, and utterly comforting!
She has dozens of variations on the classic roasted chicken, and after years of watching her show and reading her books I decided to finally give it a go in my own kitchen.
For some reason I thought the process would be difficult, but let me tell you… I was so wrong!
Turns out, it’s surprisingly easy and crazy delicious (my only regret is that I didn’t try it sooner).
The best part is that you really don’t need that many ingredients or anything fancy to make it happen.
I only used 5-ingredients to make this rosemary-garlic chicken breast recipe (and I have a hunch you may already have many of them in your pantry & kitchen right now).
This meal is a real crowd pleaser! For a special occasion just make a double batch and add in a simple green salad. Just like that, you’ll have a nourishing, comforting meal everyone will go crazy for.
Process & Tips
Roasted chicken is one of my go-to recipes for Sunday night dinner, when entertaining friends and family, or as part of my weekly meal prep routine.
This easy healthy one pan dinner is seriously as simple as seasoning your chicken pieces with olive oil & herbs, adding them to a sheet pan (or baking dish), and letting them roast in a hot oven.
Before you know it, you’ll have a delicious roasted chicken dinner ready to dig into!
For weekly meal prep, I’ll often roast two pans and serve one for dinner and store the other for meals throughout the week.
Tip: Since the oven is already on I usually chop some potatoes or sweet potatoes and roast them on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper right alongside the chicken.
How to Make this with Bone-In Chicken Thighs
The good news is this recipe will also work with bone-in chicken thighs!
Depending on the thickness of the chicken you may need to reduce the cooking time, though.
Remember when it comes to chicken, you’re aiming for an internal temperature of 165 degrees (so start checking at around the 30 minute mark).
Ways to Serve this Baked Split Chicken Breast
You could serve this rosemary roasted chicken breast with a side of roasted veggies, in a rice or quinoa bowl, or with freshly cooked pasta – the options are truly endless!
One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is just with some brown rice and a simple side salad made with any fresh greens tossed in a healthy dressing (if it were me, I’d pair it with either the easy balsamic vinaigrette or the creamy balsamic dressing!).
This recipe is super versatile and pairs well with almost any vegetable, salad, grain or side dish – but here’s a few more of our favorite recipe pairings to get you inspired!
Roasted Green Bean & Brussels Sprout Salad
Ingredients & Modifications
Chicken breasts: I used whole, bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts but you could also use bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs if you prefer. Both work great in this recipe. If you want to use frozen chicken, be sure to fully thaw it first before baking with it.
Garlic: Since we’re using so few ingredients, I used fresh garlic cloves for this recipe. But you could use granulated garlic powder in its place if you prefer.
Fresh rosemary: I love the flavor of fresh rosemary with roasted chicken, it’s classic but feels very elevated! But dried rosemary will also work great in its place. You can even substitute dried or fresh thyme too.
Olive oil: I like the subtle, lightly buttery flavor from the olive oil but you can also use any other neutral oil you like – such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil.
Kosher salt: Look for kosher salt with the regular iodized salt at the grocery store (it has a subtler flavor). Use less iodized salt if that’s what you have on hand.
Tips for Storing & Freezing Leftovers
This baked split chicken breast recipe can be made ahead of time!
Perfect for meal prep on busy weeks (or anytime you need to feed a crowd quickly & easily).
Cooked chicken will keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, in a sealed container.
This recipe also freezes well, store in a sealed freezer friendly container for up to 2-3 months.
Baked Split Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on, split from 2 whole chicken breasts (about 3.5 pounds)
- 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a sheet pan or baking dish and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, making sure to rub some of the mixture under the skin.
- Roast for 40-60 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part. Times will vary depending on how thick the breasts are, so start checking around 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately, or allow to cool, shred or dice the meat if you want, and store in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
everyone of these recipes are fantastic and too easy not to make..
thank you again Ina
Phoebe, yay, so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Try this have never been disappointed by the Contessa, will let you know how it went.
I hope you enjoy!
With skinless boneless chicken breasts, could I seal the roasting pan & chicken with aluminum foil & roast at 350 for 20 min , then uncover and continue roasting for another 20 minutes and still have moist, lightly browned chicken breasts?
Elle, boneless, skinless breasts are a bit tricky to roast without drying them out. I think the idea of roasting covered and then finishing uncovered is a good one. You may have to tinker with the times to achieve the desired results depending on the thickness of the breasts and the temperature of the oven. If you give it a try let us know!
I use this recipe with skinless boneless chicken breast it works beautifully
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks so much for leaving a review!