Baked Lemon Thyme Chicken Breasts

cooked chicken breasts in a pan with a few lemon slices and thyme on top

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 45

These baked chicken breasts with lemon thyme are juicy and have a light sauce that's delish.

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon fresh leaves
1 teaspoon salt
2 lemons, 1 zested and juiced
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 3
½ cup chicken broth or water

Instructions

Prep:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking dish* with a little olive oil or spray.
In a medium bowl, add the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, thyme (fresh or dried), salt, the zest and juice from 1 lemon. Save the other lemon for later. Mix well to combine the seasonings and the olive oil.
Pat dry the chicken breasts with a couple of paper towels. Add them into the bowl with the olive oil and seasonings and toss to coat them on both sides.
Place the seasoned chicken breasts in the prepared dish and pour any olive oil and seasonings left in the bowl on top of the chicken breasts. Pour the chicken broth or water into the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake:

Bake the chicken breasts in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165F. After 30 minutes, I recommend opening the oven and basting the chicken breasts with the juices in the dish a couple of times to ensure they stay juicy.
Remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Serve:

Slice the second lemon into wedges and squeeze a lemon wedge or two over the sliced chicken breasts.

Notes

*You can bake chicken in the oven in a cast iron skillet or in a baking dish; both provide equally delicious results. While a cast iron skillet can be greased with oil or butter, a baking dish can also be greased with spray

Nutrition