Cast Iron Chicken Breast

If you think chicken breast is boring, you haven't tried Cast Iron Chicken Breast yet! Cooking your chicken in a cast iron skillet results in meat that's perfectly seared, amazingly juicy, and absolutely packed with flavor.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Why cook chicken breasts in a cast iron skillet?
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 👩‍🍳 How to make
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• 🍗 More easy chicken breast recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Do you feel like chicken breast is the most boring food on Earth? I personally want to eat it more often because it's a lean white meat with lots of protein. But I've been trying to figure out how prepare it so it tastes not just good, but great.

And I have the answer! And it's actually super simple. Cook your chicken in a cast iron skillet with just a few simple steps.

🥘 Why cook chicken breasts in a cast iron skillet?

I use my cast iron skillet all the time, but for whatever reason, when it comes to cooking chicken breast, I usually sauté it in my stainless steel or non-stick ceramic pans.

But once you experience cast iron chicken, you will never want to cook your chicken breasts in another pan again!

Why is cast iron so great? First of all, it's known for its ability to distribute heat evenly, which means your chicken will be cooked consistently throughout.

But heat retention is another huge benefit to using cast iron. Because the pans retain heat well, it can stay hot enough to initiate and sustain the Maillard reaction, even when a cold chicken breast is placed in it.

The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives your chicken breast that beautiful caramelized brown crust and the rich flavor. You just can't achieve this in other pans!

🗒 Ingredients

You don't need many ingredients to get the perfect chicken breast! I like to make mu own spice mixture for the chicken, but you can use any spices/dried herbs that you want or a pre-mixed version.

Here's what you'll need (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Spice mixture of your choice: I provide ingredients for my favorite mix below
• Olive oil or avocado oil: whatever oil you use, it should be an oil with a higher smoke point, so don't use extra-virgin olive oil
• Chicken broth or white wine
• Optional: you can add any desired aromatics to the skillet, like garlic cloves, sprigs of thyme or rosemary, bay leaves, lemon wedges, etc.

If you want to make my spice mixture, here's what you need:

• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Dried oregano
• Dried thyme
• Black pepper

👩‍🍳 How to make

The process for cooking the chicken in a cast iron skillet is super simple, but there are a few important steps to follow.

Firstly, if your chicken breast is uneven in thickness, consider pounding the thicker parts so it's as even as possible to ensure more uniform cooking.”

Now, pat your chicken dry with paper towels. This is important because if there's moisture on the chicken, when you add it to the hot pan, it will steam instead of sear. And you won't get that browned crispy crust and great flavor.

Once dry, rub the chicken breasts all over and evenly in whatever spices you are using.

Heat your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it's very hot.

Add 2 tablespoon oil and place chicken in skillet.

Let the chicken breasts sear undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes or until they develop a golden-brown crust.

Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes.

Now that you have that beautiful initial sear on the chicken, you're going to want to lower the heat and finish the cooking slower. And here's where you want liquid in the skillet to provide moisture for a gentle cooking.

Lower the heat on the burner to medium-low and add chicken broth or white wine to the skillet. If you want to add any aromatics, you can add them here, too.

Cover skillet with a lid or aluminum foil and let the chicken cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Cooking time will be dependent on how thick your chicken is.

Covering the skillet traps the steam produced by the heated liquid, which will help the chicken cook gently and evenly. As the moist heat penetrates the chicken, it will help keep it tender and allow it to absorb flavors from the liquid.

Remove chicken from the skillet and let it rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. You can loosely cover it with foil to keep it from getting cold.

This rest time is important as it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the chicken, whereas if you slice it immediately, the juices will run out and your chicken will be dry.

It also allows the fibers of the meat to relax, which means chicken that's more tender.

If you follow all of these easy steps, the result will be cast iron chicken breast that's incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful.

In a way you never imagined chicken breast good be!

When cooked like this, I would happily eat chicken breast for dinner multiple times a week. And add it to my salads and sandwiches for lunch. And maybe even enjoy it as a snack, too.

🎉 Variations on recipe

This is a great recipe for a basic cast iron chicken. But there are so many things you can do to add different flavors to the chicken and to truly make this dish your own.

Here are some ideas:

• Simply coat the chicken breasts in your favorite seasoning mixture, like cajun, Italian, Moroccan, Mexican, curry, Chinese five-spice, etc. With dried herbs and spices you can truly give your chicken any flavor you desire!

• When you add the chicken broth/wine, also add lemon slices and lemon zest. When done cooking, finish with a splash of fresh lemon juice and fresh parsley.

• Before you add the chicken to the skillet, sauté onions and mushrooms until caramelized.

• When chicken is done searing, instead of adding chicken broth or wine, add a mixture of Dijon mustard and cream to the skillet. Let it simmer lightly while the chicken finishes cooking.

• After searing, brush the chicken breasts with BBQ sauce. Continue cooking this way, basting with more BBQ sauce if it's reducing too much or add a splash of. liquid to the skillet.

Let me know how you make your cast iron chicken breast in the comments below!

🍗 More easy chicken breast recipes

I'm on an ongoing quest to make the most delicious chicken dinners and I have lots of tried and true chicken recipes ready to go for you.

Here are some of my favorite recipes that feature chicken breasts:

For another flavor packed recipe, try this Honey Garlic Chicken Breast.

I hope this cast iron chicken breasts, or some version of it, becomes a weekly dinner staple in your house!

📖 Recipe