This is an incredibly quick and easy cast iron chicken breast recipe that won’t have you slaving away for hours! It uses a few simple seasoning ingredients to create incredibly juicy and tender chicken breasts.
If you love chicken dishes, have a look at our chicken recipes like these Turkish chicken kebabs and stuffed whole chicken recipes too.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- We love this pan-seared chicken breast recipe mostly because of how easy it is to make! You can whip up these chicken breasts in less than 20 minutes so you don’t have to wait hours!
- It uses a few ingredients, it doesn’t cost a fortune to make, and it still gives you incredibly tender and juicy chicken!
- You don’t even need a marinade to help tenderize it! It is literally all about the cooking method and we have perfected ours! We will give you our best tips and tricks for how to cook chicken breasts on the stove.
- And this simple recipe makes these chicken breasts perfect for using in salads, to make sandwiches or wraps, and even use in casseroles or stews.
About the Ingredients
Chicken: We use skinless and boneless chicken breasts in this recipe. Boneless chicken thighs work fine too.
Seasoning: This is an incredibly simple recipe that uses only a few basic seasoning ingredients to create a beautiful blend of flavors. The seasoning ingredients we have chosen include salt, black pepper, paprika, thyme, and garlic (or garlic powder). The butter helps add creaminess, richness, and additional flavor. Because you are making chicken breast on a cast iron pan, it will also add a more smoky flavor.
You can also buy and add some of your favorite spices or even use a ready homemade chicken seasoning or spice mix. This recipe is incredibly versatile and has a lot of room for playing around with different flavors you like.
Lemon zest: It will add a nice refreshing flavor to your cast iron grilled chicken. If you want to experiment more with flavors you can try other types of citrus-like grapefruits, oranges, or mandarins.
Garlic: When using the garlic, we would recommend leaving the skin of the cloves on to prevent the garlic from instantly burning in the hot cast iron skillet. Don’t worry though, as the skins won’t reduce the garlic flavor imparted on the chicken.
How to Make The Recipe
Love easy chicken breast recipes? Check out our Turkish Chicken Breasts Recipe too!
This stove top recipe is very quick and easy to make and virtually fool-proof! Here we will show you exactly how to cook chicken breast in cast iron skillet and have juicy tender meat!
First, prepare the boneless skinless chicken breasts. Pat each chicken breast down with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Next, cut a few slits on each side of each chicken breast. This will help the chicken cook evenly. Alternatively, you can use a meat mallet and flatten the breasts, but we find cutting slits easier.
Then season chicken breast pieces with the seasoning ingredients (salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, and lemon zest). Make sure to properly season both sides.
Second, cook the chicken breasts. Heat the cast iron pan over high heat with a tiny bit of oil. Lower the heat to a medium-low, then add the butter. Place the chicken breasts on the hot skillet and cook for roughly 5 minutes, or until they are golden brown and can be easily removed from the pan.
Flip the chicken breasts over and continue cooking them on the other side for another 5 minutes. Add in the garlic cloves and keep cooking the chicken for another 3-5 minutes, turning continuously.
Third, rest and serve. Once it has been fully cooked, let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving them with freshly chopped parsley.
Tips
- Making the slits in the chicken breasts is an extremely important step and one that we wouldn’t recommend skipping. All meat consists of tough muscle fibers. When these fibers are sliced, it helps essentially tenderize the meat and even helps keep it juicier.
- Make sure to keep an eye on your stove top chicken breast while it cooks to prevent over or undercooking it. The cooking time depends on the size of your chicken breast. Our chicken breasts of 200 grams each take roughly 15 minutes in total. Smaller chicken breasts will take less time while larger pieces will naturally take a bit longer.
- If your cast iron skillet isn’t big enough to cook all of the chicken breasts as one, rather divide the batch into two smaller ones. This way you won’t overload the pan which will leave you with unevenly cooked chicken.
- To ensure that your cast iron chicken breast has been fully cooked, the best way to check is by using a meat thermometer. The internal temperature at the thickest part of your chicken breast should be 165°F (73-74°C).
- Alternatively, you can try checking for any pinkish parts, pink or bloody juice, and even raw-looking parts. These methods are obviously not as accurate as checking the temperature, but as long as your chicken looks perfectly white, it should be fine.
Serving Suggestions
Because this recipe is so incredibly simple yet flavorful, it is extremely easy to pair with accompaniments and we have a couple delicious ones in mind!
For simple sides that you can also customize to your liking, why not try making one of our delicious grain-based recipes like this simple cooked bulgur, some healthy wheat berries, or some buckwheat groats.
You can also make our famous rice pilaf or bulgur pilaf recipes. Both of these are incredibly delicious and easy to make.
If you want to go with potatoes as a side, try our roasted lemon garlic potatoes.
And, for a more refreshing and low-calorie accompaniment, try some of our delicious salads. A personal favorite of ours and one that goes with virtually any dish is onion salad with sumac.
We also love to serve it with our eggplant salad, shepherd salad, or Greek yogurt coleslaw too.
Here’s a fun tip! You can cut the chicken breast up or even shred them and incorporate them into any of the above-mentioned recipes to make a delicious lunch or healthy dinner.
About Using Cast Iron Pans
Searching cast iron on the Internet, we learnt that it is the healthiest cookware material. You have to look after cast iron cookware, which makes it special and different from other pans. And it needs a process at the beginning before starting to use it called seasoning.
With the guidance of the salesman’s advice, before the first use, we washed it just with water (no detergent), dried, brushed all around it with olive oil (including its holder), and cooked it in oven at 400F/200C for 1 ½ hours. Then it was ready to use!
We love making cast iron grilled chicken using this skillet. As heat distributes equally on cast iron, this is a perfect way of grilling. And the cleaning part is not difficult. Just wash it under water, use salt instead of detergent to remove any remnants, dry, and oil it again before placing it on shelf.
This method is like a natural seasoning and you will see how tasty your beef or chicken is each time you use it. So the more you use your cast iron skillet, the more scrumptious results you have.
If you are new to using cast iron cooking vessels, make sure to read how to care for cast iron.
FAQs
This is something a ton of people struggle with. Make sure your skillet is hot enough before adding the butter. The butter acts as a lubricant but not if it burns first!
Another thing you shouldn’t do is turn the chicken breasts too early. Rather turn down the heat a bit if you feel like your chicken is about to burn.
Yes, you definitely can. We wouldn't recommend using olive oil as it doesn't have a very high smoking point. Rather use sunflower oil or vegetable oil.
Also, definitely use some oil when you are heating your skillet and before adding your butter. The oil helps create a smooth even surface that makes cooking a lot easier.
You can have a look at our tips section for exact instructions on the doneness of your cast iron chicken breast. A meat thermometer is best and most accurate, but you can also check the flesh for tell-tale signs.
Pounding chicken breasts (or any type of meat) is a way to help tenderize it and make it juicier. As we have mentioned earlier, by slicing slits into the breast you are doing the same thing – help soften the tough muscles and create more tender chicken.
More Chicken Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Cast Iron Chicken Breast Recipe
Skinless and boneless chicken breasts are cooked in the simplest way.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
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3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (about 200g each)
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1 teaspoon lemon zest
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1 teaspoon salt
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½ teaspoon black pepper
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½ teaspoon paprika
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1 teaspoon thyme
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1 tablespoon butter
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4 cloves garlic, with skin
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Chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Dry the chicken breasts with a paper towel.
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Cut 3-4 slits on both sides of chicken breasts.
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Season both sides with salt, black pepper, paprika, thyme and lemon zest.
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Heat a cast iron skillet with a little oil on high heat. Bring the heat to medium low.
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Melt butter in the skillet and place the chicken breasts. Cook for 5 minutes, until golden brown or chicken easily releases from the pan. Don’t flip them over during this time. If you think it will burn, reduce the heat just a bit.
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After this time, flip them over and cook the other sides until golden brown for 5 minutes.
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Add in the garlic cloves. Keep cooking for another 3-5 minutes (about 15 minutes in total), turning them over several times.
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Let the cooked chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes.
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Slice and garnish them with chopped parsley to serve.
Notes
- Don’t skip making slits on the chicken breasts. It really helps a lot for stove top chicken breast.
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The cooking duration might change depending on the size and weight of chicken breasts. If they are less than 200g, the total cooking duration will be around 10 minutes.
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If your skillet is not large enough to cook 3 pieces of chicken breast, cook them in two batches. If you put them altogether in a small skillet, the chicken breasts won’t cook well.
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Chicken is cooked when it is no longer pink inside but if you can’t be sure if the chicken is cooked and want to see it precisely, use a meat thermometer. It should reach 165 F inside.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 126
- Sugar: 0.4 g
- Sodium: 1201.1 mg
- Fat: 7.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.8 g
- Protein: 11.1 g
- Cholesterol: 46.3 mg
Sophie says
I so love the look of your blog!! COOl!
I also love this tasty marinade!! I love marinating & grilling my meat,...mmmmmmm: a really cool & great dish!
jenn (Bread + Butter) says
cast iron skillets are probably the best thing to have around the kitchen. I love mine!! I do plan to get a larger one, too.
OysterCulture says
Hey, woow you remembered that article - that was sometime ago, but I think about it and shudder whenever I see folks cranking the heat.
I love cast iron, because you can use high head you can get a texture and taste to the meats you just can't achieve with the non-sticks. Case in point your perfect looking chicken fillets. These little guys look amazing. I am breaking out my skillet right away.
sophia says
I just bought a friend of mine a cast iron pan! Now I wish I had bought myself one, too! It sounds like a perfect tool for cooking fabulous meats and veggies.
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
Wow that looks delicious and great spices too.
Roti n Rice says
This chicken sounds very flavorful. I love cooking with cast iron pots and pans. Seasoned cast iron pans have an almost non-stick quality to it.
Diana says
I have the same cast iron grill pan and I love it. Nice looking chicken.
Faith says
Cast iron cooks things so nicely with its even heat. I love the pretty grill marks on the chicken -- looks delicious!
Tracey@Tangled Noodle says
These fillets look perfectly done! While I still use a non-stick pan, I keep it at a lower temperature and watch out for signs of any breakdown in the coating. However, the vast majority of my cooking is done in stainless steel and cast iron - I have have three in different sizes as well as several that are porcelain-coated. I love how they conduct and retain heat, so excellent for searing meat or cooking slow stews.
I wish I could buy all the different kinds out there! 😎
The Mom Chef says
Funny how the more steps forward we take technology-wise, the more we realize that the "old" ways are better and better for us. Great article and beautiful dish.
Gera @ Sweets Foods Blog says
I've cast iron but I use more Teflon.. oppss
The chicken fillet looks outstanding and the marinade is fundamental to taste superb!
Cheers,
Gera
pegasuslegend says
awesome recipe!
Zerrin says
The Manly Housewife- I’m planning to make some other dishes on cast iron, too. Maybe I will buy some other cast iron cookware as well.
RavieNomNoms- Thank you! Hope you love it when you try.
Reeni- I will absolutely use it more often.
Jean- My other cookware is stainless steel, too. I just have one teflon now as I threw the others away. And I hardly use it, sometimes to make rice pilaf.
Baking Serendipity- I haven’t cooked any vegetables on it yet, but I sure will. On a different skillet maybe. I don’t want to spoil the flavor/seasoning of this one. I will use this just for meat and chicken.
Kim- You should buy one! You will not regret. It definitely makes a difference.
Carol- You’re right, you need to have muscle on your arms to lift cast iron cookware 🙂 But this is another aspect that makes cast iron special.
MaryMoh- I gave up using non stick pan for eggs too. I use a copper pan for it.
Fight The Fat foodie- I know I must expand my cast iron cookware. And I will of course check your shrimp taco right now. Thank you for sharing it.
Dokuzuncubulut- Sizin marine sosunuzla bu dökme tava birleşince ortaya harika bir lezzet çıktı. Teşekkürler!
Monet- You will not regret, I promise.
Cristina- No I didn’t. I just place them on skillet and cook each side for about 5 min. I think it’s because of equal heat distribution. I had the same feeling as you when I read the article, but you know reality may be cruel.
Gitte- Thank you!
Belinda- I agree it takes some time, but then you are addicted to cast iron.
Torviewtoronto- Thank you!
torviewtoronto says
lovely information to start using the cast iron more often
Bonnie says
Wow -- that article on Teflon is truly frightening. I've been looking at cast iron anyway but they're so darn heavy! But the food always somehow tastes better.