Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

Oh yes! Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast can be delicious and juicy and prepared in under 30 minutes. This here is my go-to recipe for when Iā€™m short on time, energy, and maybe brain cells.

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

Iā€™m sometimes so busy that by the end of the day my brain just doesnā€™t want to function. Thatā€™s when I reach for these staple kitchen ingredients and whip up some chicken super fast. All you need is chicken, salt, pepper, oil, white wine, butter, and flour. And a pan. And a stove and an oven. And a plate and some silverware and a glass. And maybe a couple of other ingredients if you wanna get fancy. And a napkin, you monster!

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil, White Wine, Butter, Flour. Optional: Lemon Zest and Thyme.

Set your pan over medium-high heat with enough oil to just lightly coat the bottom. Liberally season your chicken with salt and pepper then place them smooth side down in the hot oil. Your cooking time is going to depend on the thickness of your breasts. Breasts come in all shapes and sizes so adjust accordingly. After about 2 minutes, take a little peek to see if the bottom has browned. Mine took about 3 minutes. Flip your breasts and let them cook on the other side for about the same amount of time. Place the pan in a 350 degree oven until they reach an internal temp of 157 – 10-20 minutes. If you donā€™t already have one, get yourself an instant-read thermometer to temp your breasts and all other sorts of meats and foods and liquids.

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Generously season chicken with kosher salt and pepper.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Sear smooth side down in a hot pan.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Cook for 3-5 minutes then flip to cook the other side for about the same amount of time.

Pro move – leave your serving dish on top of the stove while the ovenā€™s on to keep it warm.

Use an oven mitt to remove the pan from the oven and place it on top of the stove. Leave the mitt on the oven-hot handle at all times. Transfer the chicken breasts to a dish to cool, uncovered. Heat the pan over medium heat and add a cup of white wine. If you have any woody herbs to use you can add them now. Use a wooden spoon to scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pan.

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Roast in 350Ā° oven for 10-20 minutes or until internal temp reaches 157Ā°.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Start a pan sauce with the left over bits on the bottom of the pan.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Add one cup white wine and heat to reduce by half.

Allow the wine to reduce almost by half then turn off the heat. Whisk in a tablespoon or two of butter. I like to add some lemon zest here if I have any lemons. I always have lemons. To thicken the gravy, whisk in a half teaspoon of flour at a time for about a minute. Youā€™re better off with thin gravy than thick so take your time with the flour.

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Off heat, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons butter.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Gradually whisk in 1/2 teaspoon at a time to reach desired thickness. I used 1 teaspoon.

Serve the chicken with the most amazing, simple pan sauce youā€™ve ever made! And maybe some baby broccoli and rice. Quick recipes are below.

So, let me be real with you for a sec. I seriously make some version of this chicken every week. It might be just like these photos or maybe just chicken with salt and pepper. It’s perfect to throw on top of a salad for lunch. If I don’t have white wine I’ll use chicken stock, diluted lemon juice, or even beer. No herbs? No problem. Improvise!

This dish is legit better than most restaurant food I’ve had. Yep – YOU can make restaurant quality food at home! Send me a message or leave a comment below if you have any questions. Then send me pictures of your amazing Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast! I love pictures. šŸ™‚

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Serve Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast with Baby Broccoli and Rice with Shallots and Red Bell Pepper.
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Looks fancy but it’s far from it!
Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
You could be eating this every night this week in under 30 minutes.

Side Dishes

Baby Broccoli and Garlic in Olive Oil
Blanch baby broccoli in salted water for 60 seconds then drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add 6 crushed garlic cloves and swish around in the oil for a minute to get fragrant. Toss the broccoli in the oil then allow two sit for 2 minutes. Flip and let sit again. The broccoli should start to form a char on the edges. Serve the broccoli with the oil and garlic.

Rice with Shallots and Bell Pepper
For one cup of jasmine or basmati rice, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Add rice tot eh water and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff the rice with a fork. Then cover the pot with a towel and place the lid back on. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet (reuse the one for the broccoli). Fry shallots and finely diced red pepper until tender. Remove the pan from the heat and add the fully cooked and tender rice. Use a fork to stir the rice in with the vegetables and to break up the rice.

Weeknight Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

0.0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Anthony Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

2

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

25

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

Oh yes! Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast can be delicious and juicy and prepared in under 30 minutes. This here is my go-to recipe for when Iā€™m short on time, energy, and maybe brain cells.

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Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken Breast boneless, skinless

  • 2 tsp Kosher Salt

  • 2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

  • 1 cup White Wine

  • 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme

  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter

  • 1 tsp Lemon Zest

  • 1/2 tsp Flour

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350Ā°F.
  • Place a skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Place chicken smooth side down in the hot oil. Cook chicken up to 5 minutes per side depending on thickness. Flip when bottom is brown and a crust has formed.
  • Place the pan in a 350 degree oven. From this point on, be sure to use a potholder to grab the hot pan. Check internal temp of chicken with an instant read thermometer. Chicken can be removed from oven and placed on a clean plate when it reaches 157Ā°F – 10-20 minutes.
  • Using the pot holder to hold the pan, place it on the stovetop over medium high heat. Add white wine to the pan and whisk to get the bits off the bottom. Add fresh thyme and lemon zest. Simmer until wine has reduced by almost half.
  • Turn off heat. Whisk in butter. Whisk in a portion of the flour at a time to reach your desired thickenss for the gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. For a smoother gravy, strain using a fine mesh strainer.
  • Serve chicken with gravy and extra sprigs of thyme.

Notes

  • In place of white wine, you can also use chicken or vegetable stock, water, or a lager beer (pilsner/kolsch).Ā 
  • Removing the ‘chicken tender’ from the breast will reduce the thickness ensuring more even doneness and speed up the cooking time.Ā 

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2 Comments

  1. Made this tonight. Gravy was excellent, but my chicken came out dry. I’m going to try brining it next.

    PS there should be an approximate time on the baking.

    • Hi Larry. Cooking time depends on the thickness of your chicken. It could be 5 – 15 minutes. Chicken’s tricky so using an instant read thermometer is recommended for best results. They can be found for under $10 on Amazon but I like the one’s from LavaTools. Thanks for the feedback!

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