How to Season Chicken

Want to serve great-tasting chicken? It all starts with seasoning! 

In this post, I’ll be covering the ins and outs of how to season chicken so the skin and edges get crispy and bronzed while the meat cooks into juicy, flavorful perfection. 

Chicken is the most popular protein to make easy and delicious family meals. It’s high in protein, relatively low in fat, and you can cook it in any number of ways: baked, pan-seared, roasted, slow-cooked, etc. 

For optimal flavor, seasoning your chicken properly when pan-searing chicken, grilling, or roasting is really important. Seasoning also varies; can be salt-and-pepper only or with your favorite spice mix. 

Keep reading for the basic steps to season any cut of chicken, plus additional tips for deliciously cooked chicken every time!

Seasoning Chicken

No matter the cut, bone-in, skin-on, or not, chicken should be seasoned before cooking, and there is an order to get those flavorful results we crave.

Before salting and cooking, you want to pat dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel. The salt, herbs, and spice granules will stay better in place on a slightly damp surface (after pat drying) than on a wet (slimy) one. 

Another important note: be generous with the salt! Salt helps retain the chicken’s natural juices inside the meat and helps create a crispy seared outer texture we love.  

When it comes to the amount of salt to use, 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of chicken meat does the trick. For an entire chicken, you’ll want 1 rounded tablespoon of salt. The moral of the story: salt is king! 

Kosher salt is usually suggested, but traditional kitchen salt works too!

Most of my website visitors make chicken a few times a week. If you’re tired of the same-old-same-old recipes and you enjoy chicken, check out the Chicken. It’s What’s for Dinner eBook. 

Inside, you’ll find over 70 chicken recipes, everything from pasta to sheet pan dinners, one-skillet meals, slow cooker recipes, and soups! Plus, there’s also a guide on properly cooking any chicken cut, whether it’s in the oven, grill, stove-top, or poached chicken. 

Best Seasonings for Chicken

While salt is the FIRST ingredient for delicious, well-seasoned chicken, let’s not stop there! You can use a variety of seasonings and spices to enhance the meat’s flavor.

Below are a few of my favorite seasoning blends for chicken and other meats.

• Poultry Seasoning: use 1 tablespoon per pound of chicken.
• Taco Seasoning: use 1 to 2 tablespoons per pound of chicken. 
• Italian Seasoning: use 1 to 2 teaspoons per pound of chicken. 
• Creole Seasoning: use 1 to 2 teaspoons per pound of chicken. 
• Blackened Seasoning: use 1.5 teaspoons per pound of chicken.
• Roasted Vegetable Seasoning: (great on veggies and poultry!): use 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon per pound of chicken. 

*Even if the blend includes salt, you’ll need additional to season the chicken; just reduce it to ½ teaspoon per pound. 

How to Season Chicken Breasts

It’s important to make sure chicken breasts are well seasoned with a dry rub or simple marinade before cooking them on the stove-top or in the oven. Let’s be honest, while chicken breasts are one of our favorite options, it’s not as flavorful as dark meat. 

To season chicken breasts with a dry rub: 

1. Pat dry the chicken breasts with a paper towel. 
2. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and your choice of spices and herbs. 

If you are cooking chicken breasts in a pan and on the stove-top, I shave cooking time by starting out with butterflied chicken breasts. It’s a simple trick to help the meat cook in half the time, evenly, and provides juicy meat every time!

How to Season Chicken Thighs

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are seasoned similarly to chicken breasts, on both sides and salted generously. For delicious and juicy thighs: 

1. Pat dry the chicken thighs with a paper towel. 
2. Season both sides with salt, pepper, and your choice of spices and herbs. 

Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken

These cuts of chicken should be seasoned on both sides, over the skin, and whenever possible, under the skin. Seasoning well is key for crispier, golden chicken skin. 

1. Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. 
2. Season both sides with salt and your choice of spices and herbs. 
3. Using your hands, separate the skin from the meat and rub the seasonings and salt into the meat. 

How to Season a Whole Chicken

Before you grab the herbs and spices, generously season the bird all over with salt making sure to get underneath the skin as well. You can complete this step up to 24 hours before cooking and let the bird sit wrapped lightly with plastic wrap in the fridge overnight.

Allowing the salt to sit on the chicken in the refrigerator, will lock the moisture in the meat and yields tender and juicier meat.

How to Season Baked Chicken

Before baking, the chicken is seasoned by patting it dry with a paper towel and then generously distributing the chosen seasoning on both sides. If baking bone-in, skin-on cuts, make sure to salt and season in between the meat and skin as well as the underside.

Tips for Success Seasoning Chicken

Do You Season Chicken Before Cooking?
For crispy skin and flavorful meat, season chicken on both sides before cooking.

Temper the meat
Bring the meat to room temperature before cooking for better results by placing it on the counter for 20 minutes. 

The chicken comes out of the fridge at 40F, so you’ll start closer to room temperature, 60F to 68F, which means the chicken will cook faster without drying out. 

And if you are concerned about safety, tempering is a safe technique for juicy chicken. According to the USDA, uncooked chicken and other foods can sit out at room temperature for up 2 hours.

Can You Season Chicken Overnight 
Yes! Chicken meat can be seasoned with salt and dry rub or spices then refrigerated overnight. This will trap moisture in the chicken meat and save you some prep time the next day. 

What About Marinades 
Marinades are a quick way to add a ton of flavor to chicken, but it’s not the same as a dry rub or “seasoning chicken”. For information and tips on how to marinate chicken, plus a quick and delicious spicy chicken marinade, check out this post.