Cheesy Baked Chicken Breast (Printable Version)

Tender chicken breasts topped with melted cheese and crispy breadcrumbs, baked to golden perfection.

# Components:

→ Chicken

01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approximately 5.3 oz each)

→ Seasonings

02 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
03 - 1 teaspoon onion powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon paprika
05 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
06 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

→ Topping

07 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 3.5 oz)
08 - 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about 1.75 oz)
09 - 1/2 cup panko or regular breadcrumbs (about 1.6 oz)
10 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
11 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

→ For greasing

12 - 1 tablespoon olive oil or nonstick spray

# Preparation steps:

01 - Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil or nonstick spray.
02 - Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels and place evenly in the prepared dish.
03 - Combine garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle seasoning evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts.
04 - Mix mozzarella and cheddar cheeses together, then spread uniformly over the seasoned chicken breasts.
05 - In a separate bowl, combine melted butter with breadcrumbs; sprinkle this mixture evenly over the cheese layer.
06 - Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and the topping is golden and bubbly.
07 - Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving; garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you spent an hour in the kitchen when you actually spent about thirty minutes.
  • The cheese gets crispy on top while the chicken stays impossibly tender underneath, which is harder to mess up than you'd think.
  • It works for weeknight dinners, meal prep, or when you're feeding people and want them to think you're a better cook than you actually are.
02 -
  • Don't skip the resting period, even though it feels like torture when everything smells this good, because those five minutes let the chicken relax and the cheese set into a proper crust.
  • The internal temperature is your friend, so invest in a meat thermometer if you haven't already, because it's the difference between undercooked chicken that's a food safety risk and perfectly cooked chicken that's tender instead of tough.
03 -
  • Room-temperature chicken cooks more evenly than cold chicken straight from the fridge, so take it out about 15 minutes before you start cooking if you have the time.
  • The breadcrumbs need to be coated completely in butter or they'll stay pale and taste dry, so really work them together until they look like they've been made into something intentional.
Return