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Cast Iron Chicken Breast Recipe

Cooked chicken breasts in a cast iron pan, one of them is sliced, garnished with parsley, accompanied by unpeeled garlic cloves.

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5 from 3 reviews

Skinless and boneless chicken breasts are cooked in the simplest way.

Ingredients

  • 3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (about 200g each) 

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 1 tsp salt

  • ½ tsp black pepper

  • ½ tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp thyme

  • 1 tbsp butter 

  • 4 cloves garlic, with skin

  • Chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Cut thin slits on both sides of chicken breasts. 

  2. Season both sides with salt, black pepper, paprika, thyme and lemon zest. 

  3. Heat a cast iron skillet with a little oil on high heat. Bring the heat to medium low. 

  4. Melt butter in the skillet and place the chicken breasts. Cook for 6 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. 

  5. After this time, flip them over and cook the other sides until golden brown for 6 minutes. 

  6. Add in the garlic cloves. Keep cooking for 10-12 minutes more (about 20 minutes in total), turning them over several times. 

  7. Let the cooked chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes. 

  8. Slice and garnish them with chopped parsley to serve.

Notes

  1. Don’t skip making slits on the chicken breasts. It really helps a lot for stove top chicken breast.
  2. 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 15-18 minutes. 

  3. 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. 

  4. 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 165F inside. 

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