Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast

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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.

sliced chicken breast on cutting board
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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.

tenderized chicken breast on plate

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:

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.

seasoned chicken breast on plate

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.

meat thermometer.

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.

fried chicken breast in pan

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.

chicken breast in pan with potatoes

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!

4.81 from 31 votes

Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast Recipe

Pan seared chicken breast is made by tenderizing your chicken breast, seasoning it, and then pan-searing it in butter over high heat until brown. Lower the heat and cook until 160ºF.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

Chicken Seasoning

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.
    A person slicing a piece of chicken on a plate.
  • 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.
    Seasoned chicken breasts on a plate.
  • 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.
    A frying pan with a piece of chicken in it.
  • 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

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”Vvep9wXF” upload-date=”2021-03-27T00:21:50.000Z” name=”Pan Seared Chicken Breast” description=”Pan Fried Chicken Breast is an easy weeknight meal that takes less than 30 minutes to whip up and only a few ingredients. “]

Nutrition

Calories: 283 kcal, Carbohydrates: 2 g, Protein: 49 g, Fat: 8 g, Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 1 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Lee Funke

Lee is the founder of Fit Foodie Finds and based in Minneapolis, MN. She started this website in 2010 as a way to share her love for real food and wellness. The internet has changed so much since then and so has Fit Foodie Finds. Today we're a female-run recipe website publishing hundreds of tried and true recipes developed and tested by our team.

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Kristine
Kristine
August 30, 2021 9:27 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
Made this for dinner tonight and my family loved it! My daughter has five food allergies including dairy, so I used Miyokos vegan butter and it turned out great! Will definitely add this to my rotation of recipes.

PollyAnna
PollyAnna
May 15, 2021 9:28 am

All the spices youโ€™ve used are frequently in my pantry as theyโ€™re so versatile for multiple dishes, especially chicken ones. Iโ€™m glad you suggested that itโ€™s ok to make up a batch of the spice mix to keep in storage for other meals because Iโ€™ve done this in the past with other spices, but read a few weeks ago, that doing this isnโ€™t advisable + a mix made up should be discarded after 2 weeks. This advice didnโ€™t make much sense to me, given that all spices + commercially mixed seasoning spices all have a much longer shelf date. So thanks for reinforcing my standard practice. I will certainly be making a decent amount of spice mix from this recipe. Iโ€™m only cooking for one most of the time, so itโ€™s more convenient to have enough pre-mixed spices. Iโ€™m planning on doing this very recipe for next Wednesday nights dinner, with roast potato, roast carrot, green beans cooked with garlic + pine nuts + gravy…of course. Actually, can I use the cooked juices of the pan seared chicken to add to a gravy base – any suggestions on how or what to use. Thank you. Iโ€™m glad I stumbled upon your page. Time to do some midnight recipe surfing. Lol. Itโ€™s 12:30am in Australia for me

Last edited 3 years ago by PollyAnna
Alan
Alan
April 19, 2021 6:25 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
So instead I used boneless breast. Nice and easy, delicious!

Alan
Alan
April 19, 2021 6:23 pm

I couldnโ€™t find โ€œcone lessโ€ brest

Loly
Loly
February 7, 2021 1:23 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
Really really good!!

Mike
Mike
February 3, 2021 6:32 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
Thank i like ur recipes

Andrea
Andrea
September 15, 2020 7:24 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
I know itโ€™s old school, but I like to print out recipes in addition to saving on Pinterest, & am having trouble finding the printable version ? Maybe Iโ€™m just not seeing it. Please point me in the right direction? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this one out tonight!

Andrea
Andrea
September 15, 2020 7:30 am
Reply to  Andrea

Just realized by turning my phone horizontally, the print button appears under the yield, but not when holding the phone in the usual vertical way. Thought youโ€™d want to know for your site- fixers! Thanks again for this recipe!

My site
September 15, 2020 2:50 am
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
Do you think there’s a way of thing this recipe without chicken, with some vegetable protein instead? Thanks!

Cole Hanson
Cole Hanson
September 14, 2020 8:07 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
This chicken rulz. Every bite was better than the last.

Britta Clark
Britta Clark
September 14, 2020 8:04 pm
Recipe Rating :
     

5 stars
Love this! It was the best chicken I’ve made on the stove!

Last edited 4 years ago by Linley Hanson