This rosemary chicken is seared chicken breasts coated in a garlic and herb sauce, then baked to golden brown perfection. An easy dinner option that’s sure to get rave reviews and is perfect for a busy weeknight.
When I need a quick dinner, I turn to baked chicken dishes such as Greek chicken with potatoes, cornflake chicken, or these savory rosemary chicken breasts.
Baked chicken is easy to make, versatile and can be paired with so many different side dishes. This rosemary chicken features a simple yet totally delicious sauce that will have everyone asking for seconds.
How do you make rosemary chicken?
This recipe starts with chicken breasts, which are seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and seared in a little olive oil until brown. The chicken goes into a baking dish along with melted butter, garlic, fresh minced rosemary and chicken broth. The chicken bakes in the oven until tender and juicy, then the sauce is spooned over the top and you’re ready to eat!
Tips for the perfect chicken
- I highly recommend browning your chicken before you place it in the pan to bake. I think it’s worth the extra time! That being said, if you’re in a big hurry you can skip this step and simply place the uncooked chicken in the pan with the sauce.
- Be sure to choose chicken breasts that are approximately the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- Different sized chicken breasts cook in different amounts of time. This recipe assumes that your chicken breasts are about 4-5 ounces each. If your chicken breasts are significantly larger or smaller, you may need to adjust the cook time according.
- You can check to see if your chicken is done by cutting into a breast; there should be no pink inside and the juices should run clear. Alternatively, you can use a thermometer. The thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will register at least 165 degrees F.
Fresh to dried rosemary ratio
I highly recommend using fresh rosemary for this recipe, as I feel the flavor is superior to the dried version. That being said, if you need to substitute dried rosemary in a pinch, the ratio is 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary for every tablespoon of fresh rosemary.
Rosemary chicken variations
While I love this recipe as-is, you can add other ingredients to the dish to customize it to your tastes.
- Protein: Instead of chicken breasts, try chicken thighs or even chicken drumsticks. You can even substitute in pork chops!
- Vegetables: You can add 1-2 cups of vegetables to the baking dish such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus or green beans.
- Cheese: Top your finished chicken with a sprinkling of feta or parmesan cheese.
- Flavorings: Try adding other flavors to the sauce such as sliced kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes or even pine nuts.
MORE CHICKEN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Chicken Meatballs
- Huli Huli Chicken
- Fried Chicken Wings
- Mediterranean Chicken (One Pot)
- Braised Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes
Rosemary Chicken Video
Rosemary Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves minced
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- lemon slices and rosemary sprigs for serving optional
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the chicken breasts generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Transfer the chicken to a baking dish coated with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, butter, garlic, chicken broth and lemon juice. Pour the butter mixture over the chicken.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Bake time may vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. The chicken is done when it reads at least 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
- Spoon the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish over the chicken, then sprinkle with parsley and serve. Garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs if desired.
Looking forward to making this one! Do you think ghee instead of butter would work well? Thanks!
Yes that should be fine!
So so so good!
I made this with chicken thighs instead.
I did all the steps, and used all the same ingredients in the recipe. I just cooked it at 425 for 25 minutes instead.
Yummy tip: make baked potatoes and pour some of the extra sauce over the potatoes for an extra splash of goodness.
Yummy! Can I make the sauce thicker by adding some flour?
That should work, or else corn starch!
Excellent and very moist, adding this to our regular scheduled chicken recipes
I made this tonight. I have an aversion to dirtying more dishes than necessary, so I baked it in the cast iron skillet I seared the chicken in after using a little white wine to deglaze. Added fresh broccoli florets to the pan and served over long grain and wild rice. Hubby usually complains about eating chicken, but he liked this one. SCORE!
Made this for the first time tonight – it was a hit with everyone in the family- thank you!! Putting this recipe on our weekly rotation!
Can I use chicken tenders and dried rosemary instead?
Yes but you’ll need to reduce the cook time and use 1/3 of the amount of dried rosemary compared to fresh.
I made this last night with herb roasted potatoes, salad, and rosemary bread and it was wonderful!
I just tried with Turkey cutlets and it was wonderful. Can’t wait to try it with chicken.
Have you ever tried this with a whole chicken, or even a quartered chicken? That’s what i have on hand and hoping to use your recipe this week.
I think a quartered chicken would work fine, just increase the cooking time!
I made this tonight for my husband (I’m a vegetarian so I’m taking his approval rating as gold.) He loved it. I increased the rosemary by a little bit, because the chicken breasts were bone-in and on the larger side. I also substituted fresh lemon balm for the parsley because I had it on hand and thought it might add to the lemon flavor. He really loved it, and I loved it because it was fast and easy to make.
Great recipe. Easy to follow and very delicious.
Made this tonight with chick thighs and added tomatoes and feta, used the leftover sauce as gravy for the mashed potatoes. Delicious! Definitely impressed!
Hi my husband does nit like lemon at all can I just eliminate the lemon.
Yes that’s fine!
I’m wondering if you can make it ahead and then bake and serve a day later?
You could prepare the sauce the day before but I wouldn’t recommend storing partially cooked chicken for a day because of food safety concerns!
Delicious recipe. But yes – you can store partially cooked chicken and finish cooking it the next day. If you can store raw chicken and cook it the following day, you should be able to do the same with partially cooked chicken that is cooked all the way through the following day.
Do you know how many carbs are in this recipe? I have not made this yet but it sounds delicious!
It’s less than 1 gram of carbs!
Amazing! I served it with basmati rice and broccoli, in the same pan so they would absorb the sauce. So good!
Made this for dinner last night and it was so easy,pretty and delicious! Great meal for company. Just curious if anyone has browned the chicken and assembled the dish but refrigerated before cooking?
Delicious and easy! Will keep this recipe in my rotation!
What is the delicious pasta and tomato side dish you have pictured with the chicken?
It’s this recipe: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/angel-hair-pasta/
I recently planted an herb garden and found this recipe while looking for ways to use my rosemary. I made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent. Thank you for the flavorful, easy recipe. I added this to my list of recipes to keep.