Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast
Published 8/30/2023 • Updated 12/6/2024
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Pan seared chicken breast is ready in less than 30 minutes and only requires chicken breast, butter, and chicken seasoning.
Sear your chicken breast in a little butter over high heat for just a few minutes before flipping it and turning the heat down slightly to finish cooking.
Pan fried chicken breast is hands-down one of my favorite chicken breast recipes! I love that you can get super juicy chicken on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes.
I grew up eating lots of chicken breast (hi, Mom!) because it’s high in protein and pretty straightforward to cook. My mom often pan-seared our chicken breast and today I’m sharing her method, but making it our own with an epic seasoning and a few fat options for frying.
The Secret to the Perfect Chicken Sear
Sear your chicken breast over high heat for just a few minutes before turning it down to medium heat to finish cooking. This will give you a gorgeous golden-brown outside, with a super juicy inside.
How to Flavor Your Chicken Breast
this chicken breast recipe recipe uses our famous chicken seasoning featuring garlic powder, chili powder, ground mustard, and salt.
However, this is where you can really make your chicken breast your own. Here are some ideas for seasoning swaps:
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Everything bagel seasoning
- Ranch seasoning
chicken to seasoning ratio
For 1.5 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breast, you’ll need about 1.5 tablespoons of chicken seasoning.
What is better for pan seared chicken – butter or oil?
We prefer the taste and flavor of butter and it also helps it become golden brown. However, we’ve also made this chicken with both olive oil and avocado oil. Between the two oils, we recommend avocado oil because of its smoke point.
Should I tenderize my chicken breast before pan frying?
We highly recommend using a meat tenderizer to pound your chicken to equal thickness throughout before pan frying. The reason we recommend this is to make sure it cooks evenly. Chicken breasts can vary in size; part of your chicken could be 2.5 inches thick and other parts could be 1 inch thick.
Place chicken breast on a cutting board and cover them with parchment paper. Then, use a meat tenderizer to pound chicken breast until it is even throughout.
PS: The more you pound it, the faster it will cook. We pounded our chicken breast until it was about 1 to 1.5-inches thick.
Try it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by using a meat thermometer when cooking any cut of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works every time.
Storing Leftover Chicken
Store cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
To reheat: place chicken breast on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 60-90 seconds.
Can you freeze cooked chicken?
Let chicken breast cool completely. Then, transfer cooked chicken breast into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag and remove as much air as possible. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months.
To cook from frozen: let your chicken breast thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, place chicken breast on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 60-90 seconds.
What to Serve with Chicken Breast
The great thing about this style of chicken breast is that it’s so versatile. Here are some serving ideas to really one up your meal!
- Add it to soup: use two forks to shred the chicken breast and then add it to soup. Try our Minestrone, Black Bean Soup, Simple Green Chili, Chicken Quinoa Soup.
- Tacos: Taco night is my favorite night of the week! Make a walking taco or follow our recipe for salsa chicken tacos and use your stovetop chicken as the shredded chicken!
- Serve it next to veggies: Keep things super basic and serve this pan seared chicken next to your favorite vegetables. We suggest our roasted red potatoes, crispy sweet potato fries, or roasted asparagus.
- Salad, Salad, Salads: Whether you want to make chicken salad, quinoa salad, or Mexican street corn salad, you can either shred or dice your chicken and add it to any salad!
- Slice it and add it to a bowl: Got leftovers? Add your pan fried chicken to any rice bowl! Try it in our: Mediterranean Buddha bowls, harvest grain bowls, taco bowls.
Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
Pan-Seared Chicken
- 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, 3-4 chicken breasts
- 2-3 tablespoons butter, ~1 tablespoon/breast
Instructions
- First, begin by preparing the chicken seasoning. Place all ingredients into a small bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Next, prepare the chicken breast by using a meat tenderizer to pound the chicken until the thickness is around 1.5 inches thick throughout.
- Then, generously season the chicken breast on both sides with the chicken seasoning.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan over medium/high heat. Once the butter has melted, transfer the chicken breast to the pan. Sear for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the chicken breast, and optionally add another 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the pan and cover. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for around 6 minutes or until the chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF/165ºF.
- Remove the chicken from the heat and let rest for around 5 minutes. The chicken will continue cooking around 5ºF as it sits.
Tips & Notes
- Option to sub around 1.5 tablespoons of our all-purpose chicken seasoning. You can also use any kind of spices you’d like.
- Olive oil or avocado oil works instead of butter.
- Because chicken breast is so lean, we recommend a nonstick pan, but a cast iron pan will also work.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Really really good!!
This turned out AMAZING! Added a little pesto on top and it was just right! Searing with the butter made it so so juicy and perfect! Will be saving!
Ooo BEAUTIFUL! And topped with pesto sounds so delish 😀