How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven (2024)

4.52 from 85 votes

🐓Ingredinents

Chicken—boneless skinless chicken breasts
Butter
Seasoning—paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper
Optional brine—water and salt

Cooked right, your chicken breasts will be juicy, tender, and favorable—a new family favorite. Cooked wrong, and we are taking dry, rubbery, and tasteless—I call that a hockey puck.

It is time to get back to some basics with healthy, boneless skinless chicken breasts; you love them but hate to cook them. That ends now with these fast and easy, detailed step-by-step photo instructions that are adaptable to your taste.

The Three Secrets to Get It Right Every Time!

Follow these rules for safe, moist, and tender chicken breasts.

1. Even out the thickness of the meat.
2. Use an instant-read thermometer to cook to exactly 165°.
3. Rest after cooking for at least 5 minutes.

How to Cook Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven—Step-by-Step

1. Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.

2. Trim 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts of trimmable fat.

3. If thick—place the chicken in a ziplock bag and flatten the breasts to about ¾ inches thick with a meat mallet or heavy pan.

4. Optional brine: mix 2 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of table salt. 15 minutes will give some results—2-hour maximum. Be sure to rinse off the brine before proceeding.

5. Mix seasoning of ½ teaspoon each of kosher salt, garlic powder, and paprika, plus ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Leave out the salt if using a brine. You may use any seasoning you want.

6. Prep a small baking dish with a spray of PAM. Use a rack if you have one.

7. Pat dry the chicken. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave and brush both sides of the chicken.

8. Apply your seasoning to your taste.

9. Bake in the preheated oven. It will take about 23-26 minutes and is done when the internal temperature is 165° in the thickest part of the breasts. Check the chicken temperature 4-5 minutes early to avoid overcooking.

10. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For more details, keep reading. See theRecipe Cardbelow for complete instructions and to print.

⏰How long to bake chicken breasts in a convection oven

A 10-12 oz chicken breast will take about 23 to 26 minutes at 400° convection (425°conventional).

A convection oven will cook quicker, help seal the outside, and keep the meat moist. But a conventional oven may be used with minimal difference. Other ovens, like a toaster oven or air fryer, will also work.

An instant-read or other meat thermometer must be used for safety and best results. There are too many variables to cook by time or color. Cooking too long will dry out the chicken. Too short will be dangerous.

🧂Seasoning tips

• Start with a brush of melted butter or olive oil.
• The choices of spices are wide open. I suggest a good sprinkle of paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The salt should be eliminated if the breasts are brined.
• Two other options I like, both with salt in them, are my All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2 or just a good sprinkle of a seasoning salt like Lowry and a bit of pepper.
• Thyme, oregano, or onion powder can be added if you wish.
• Add some spiciness by switching out paprika for chili powder, or add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Try Italian seasoning, BBQ rub, Chipotle Seasoning, or Black Magic Seasoning.
• Some people like to add sugar to their seasoning to get more caramelization and browning.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Recipes

Try Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast, which adds some nice sear flavor with a cast iron skillet for a fast, easy dinner.

For a fancy dinner, serve Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts, Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, or Parmesan Mayonnaise Chicken Breast. Or take it to the grill with How to Grill Chicken Breasts.

Can I use chicken thighs or other chicken?

This recipe is specifically for boneless skinless chicken breasts, but boneless skinless chicken thighs may be used if cooked to 180°-185° for tenderness.

But this is not how to cook bone-in, skin-on, or breaded chicken. For other roasted chicken recipes, try baked chicken drumsticks, roasted split chicken breasts, whole chicken, and chicken tenders.

How to adjust the thickness of chicken breasts

We need to adjust the thickness so all the breasts you are cooking are about the same. Try to get them to about ¾ inch thick. Don't measure, don't obsess, just thin the thickest part.

Use a 1-gallon zip-lock bag to prevent splatter, but plastic wrap will do. Do not just pound the chicken without protecting yourself and the area from spattering (a significant health hazard). You should assume that any chicken is contaminated with salmonella.

Use a meat mallet, but you can use the bottom of a pan if you don’t have one.

How to brine chicken breasts

Brining will improve the moisture and texture of any chicken. So if you have time, it is always a good idea. Brining is more important if you are dealing with previously frozen chicken, which can lose some moisture.

The ratio for a brine is 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of table salt. Some people will add some brown sugar equal to the salt. Remember that all salts are not identical, and 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

As little as 15 minutes makes a big difference. But you can brine for up to 2 hours if you want. This is a "heavy brine" in the amount of salt and matches the Cooks Illustrated suggestions. You may see longer brine times suggested, but please limit it to 2 hours maximum.

Storage of cooked chicken breasts

Leftovers may be stored by sealing in an airtight container and refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 4 months.

I frequently buy a large package of chicken breast, cook the extras, and shred and freeze it for later use, like chili or a casserole.

What type of pan to use?

Should I bake chicken breasts covered with foil?

No, bake open to the high temperature of the oven.

Can I use the convection roast setting?

Chicken Food Safety

Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.

We do NOT wash raw chicken routinely due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.

You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety—see the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.

Most recipes contain estimated times for cooking (including this recipe). They are provided for planning purposes. You can not cook safely by time—you must use a thermometer.

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How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven

The best way to bake chicken breasts is with your convection oven, but you can bake them in any type of oven. Your dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes and will be healthy, moist, and tender every time. Quick and easy with just a few easy secrets any home cook can master.

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Servings #/Adjust if desired 2 breasts

Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

Your Own Private Notes

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving : 1 breastCalories : 183 kcal (9%)Carbohydrates : 0 gProtein : 24 g (48%)Fat : 8 g (12%)Saturated Fat : 4 g (20%)Cholesterol : 87 mg (29%)Sodium : 763 mg (32%)Potassium : 418 mg (12%)Fiber : 0 gSugar : 0 gVitamin A : 455 IU (9%)Vitamin C : 1.3 mg (2%)Calcium : 6 mg (1%)Iron : 0.5 mg (3%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

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