Juicy boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a crispy oven-baked breadcrumb coating. This breaded baked chicken is a weeknight go-to favorite.
Table of contents
There’s one thing I always have in my refrigerator: boneless skinless chicken breasts. No matter what I always pick up a few each week at the store even if I don’t have a specific plan for how I might use them and, really, isn’t that the beauty of them?
They are so versatile, so easy to work with, and, if cooked properly, so delicious. Sure, I love me some wings, and thighs, and chicken breasts with the bone in and skin on, but more often than not I turn to my trusty boneless skinless chicken breasts for weeknight dinner inspiration and my new favorite is this easy breaded baked chicken.
How to Make Baked Breaded Chicken
In this installment of My Love Affair with Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts we’re using a few simple ingredients to turn them into crispy breaded baked chicken. And, spoiler alert, you don’t have to dip the chicken in egg or coat it in flour. We’re using a special sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs instead.
Ingredients
- Dijon mustard
- Mayonnaise
- Chopped fresh herbs like parsley and thyme
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic powder
- Plain bread crumbs
- Panko bread crumbs
I like to pound my chicken breasts for two reasons: first, it is the best therapy at the end of the day to take a mallet and beat the insert expletive here out of something and, second, it’s important that the chicken breasts are all the same thickness so they cook evenly.
I like using both dried breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs because they have different textures. The dried breadcrumbs are finer and evenly coat the chicken and the panko ones are bigger with a crispy and light texture that gives the coating a crunchy texture.
Mustard and Mayo Sauce
- First, combine the mustard, mayonnaise and herbs together in a bowl. Brush the chicken breasts with this mixture.
- I know it might seem weird, but this coating helps the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken, helps the breadcrumbs crisp up and turn golden in the oven and gives the chicken so much flavor.
Breadcrumb Coating
- Next, coat each chicken breast in the breadcrumb coating.
- Place the breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet lined with tin foil.
Bake the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes at 400°F or until the internal temperature is 165°F. For extra crispiness, I like to turn the oven to broil in the last few minutes to get the chicken extra crispy.
See how nice and golden they are? This is what makes my heart sing when it’s dinnertime – these breaded baked chicken breasts look so wholesome and give me that let’s-gather-’round-the-table-for-dinner happy fuzzy feeling. I love that feeling.
Substitutions
Chicken: You can use the same amount of chicken tenders for this recipe. You’ll save some time because you don’t need to pound them out. They make the best chicken tenders with some garlic Parmesan fries on the side. Or try chicken cutlets, which are thin-sliced chicken breasts.
Mustard: I love a kick of Dijon, but you can use your favorite mustard like classic yellow, honey mustard, grainy mustard, or any of the gazillion types available these days.
Mayo: Have you seen the different flavored mayos available? Swap the plain mayonnaise for a flavored on to change up the recipe.
Add-Ins: Mix in dried herbs like Italian seasoning, oregano, or parsley to the breadcrumb mixture to amp it up. Add a little cayenne pepper to spice it up or some grated Parmesan cheese would be great, too.
Garnishes: Chopped fresh parsley and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a fancy finish.
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Who doesn’t love crispy-on-the-outside and juicy-on-the-inside chicken? So give this breaded baked chicken a try and enjoy –
Happy cooking!
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Are there ever enough boneless, skinless chicken recipes? Here are a few more easy chicken recipes for you to try!
- Crispy Baked Chicken Sliders
- One-Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-Ups
- Lemon Chicken with Sauteed Greens
📣 Do you love this recipe? I would love to know! Leave a comment below the recipe along with your recipe star rating.
PrintBreaded Baked Chicken
Juicy boneless skinless chicken breasts with a crispy oven-baked breadcrumb coating. This breaded baked chicken is a weeknight go-to favorite.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons fresh herbs (see note)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup panko
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (see note)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a small bowl combine the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and herbs and set aside. In a shallow dish combine the garlic powder, bread crumbs, and panko.
- Place some cling wrap over the chicken breasts and pound them out until they are of even thickness, about one inch thick. Season them well on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Coat the chicken breasts with the mayonnaise mixture and then coat them with the bread crumb mixture.
- Place them on a baking sheet lined with tin foil and drizzle each chicken breast with the olive oil (about a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon over each). Bake the chicken breasts for 20-30 minutes at 400°f or until the internal temperature is 165°F. Optional: in the last few minutes of the bake time turn the oven to broil and finish baking the chicken breasts, This will get you an extra crispy coating.
Notes
Use any combination of herbs that you like. I used fresh thyme, some chives, and parsley because that’s what I had on hand. I used two very large chicken breasts (almost 1 pound each). After I pounded them out I cut them in half making four servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 441
- Sugar: 0.9g
- Sodium: 1599mg
- Fat: 19.5g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4g
- Carbohydrates: 9.9g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 53.3g
- Cholesterol: 171.4mg
Keywords: breaded baked chicken, crispy baked chicken, easy chicken recipe
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Post and photos updated from the archives. First published in January 2016.
Jon says
Wow, is this good!
★★★★★
Catey says
Love this! My husband kept raving about it! I made a white white creme sauce with capers and tomatoes to go with this and put it over spaghetti. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
Oh I love the sauce you added – sounds delicious!
Tanya says
Made this tonight and the entire family loved it!!!!
★★★★★
April Anderson says
Yay! So glad it was a hit 🙂 Thanks for letting me know and for the rating!
Jim Tarrant says
This is similar to a recipe I’ve made any number of times and is so delish. I followed what you prescribed except that I always add either grated parmesan or manchego cheese to the panko. Ups the flavor all that more IMO.
★★★★★
April says
Love the suggestion! I bet the cheese is great
Stephanie walton says
This was sooo good. I wasn’t sure about dijon mayo cooking. Boy was I wrong. SO good. Thank you.
★★★★★
April says
Oh, that’s so great! So glad you liked it 🙂
April says
This is perfect! I have a couple of chicken breasts in the fridge that I was trying to figure out what to do with. Guess I just figured out what’s for dinner. 😉
★★★★★
Nellie says
Breaded Chicken is the perfect go-to dinner!
★★★★★
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Love that you coat the chicken in mustard and mayo! That must give the chicken so much flavor!
April says
It does! So good 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Christin!