Juicy Cast Iron Chicken Breast With Garlic Butter is an easy, fool-proof way to prepare tender, mouthwatering chicken. It features succulent seasoned chicken breast with an herbed crust, topped with a decadent roasted garlic butter. Make for weeknight dinners, meal prepping, and more!
We added this delicious skillet chicken breast to our weekly dinner rotation and you should too! The flavors are superb and it requires minimal effort. If you want to make this dinner even faster, make the garlic butter the day before then use it on this chicken and throughout the week with other meals.
This chicken is great as a dinner main course and can also be used for other dishes, like chicken salad sandwiches, bowls, wraps, hearty salads, and more. Once you make chicken breast using our method, you'll never want to make it any other way! The exterior is crispy and the meat is juicy and delectable.
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About Cast Iron Skillet Chicken
- Taste - The herbed roasted garlic butter and lemon juice combines with the seasoned chicken breast to create a robustly flavored dish.
- Texture - The chicken is has an herb crust on the outside with a tender center.
- Effort - This skillet chicken recipe has a couple simple steps. First, you need to make the garlic butter. Then cook the chicken and add the butter.
- Time - It takes about 45 minutes to make the garlic butter then less than 20 minutes to make the chicken.
Ingredients
Garlic Butter
- Garlic bulb - Garlic provides an herbaceous and pungent taste.
- Olive oil - Olive oil is a delicious fat to cook the garlic in.
- Salted butter - Salted butter is the richly flavored base of the garlic butter.
- Black pepper - Black pepper adds a little spice.
- Fresh herbs of choice - Italian flat leaf parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, chives are all great choices for extra flavor.
- Lemon zest - Lemon zest adds a nice kick.
Chicken
- Chicken breasts - Boneless skinless chicken breast is a lean and healthy cut. While chicken breasts are not known for being the juiciest part of the chicken, our cast iron cooking method ensures that the chicken is moist and succulent.
- Italian seasoning - Italian seasoning is a delicious blend of herbs that packs a ton of flavor.
- Garlic powder - Garlic powder provides the classic aromatic.
- Paprika - Paprika adds a little spice.
- Oil - Use an oil with a higher smoke point like avocado, sunflower, grapeseed oil.
- Lemon juice - Lemon juice brightens the dish.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Chicken thighs - Use chicken thighs if you want a juicier and slightly more flavorful chicken.
- Seasoning - We love the combination of garlic powder, Italian seasoning or lemon pepper seasoning, and paprika, but you can use whatever seasoning you have at home!
Variations
- Garlic cloves - Add garlic cloves for extra aromatic flavor.
- Pesto - Try this chicken with our basil pesto, spinach pesto, roasted red pepper pesto or kale walnut pesto. They are all easy and pair deliciously with the chicken.
- Miso Garlic Butter - Add miso to the garlic butter for a delectable umami flavored compound butter.
- Fried Sage - Add fried sage for an earthy and herbaceous garnish.
- Chicken salad - This recipe is a great way to prepare chicken for chicken salad.
Instructions
Garlic Butter
- Prepare oven - Heat oven to 400°F. Tear off a square of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap a whole bulb of garlic.
- Prepare garlic - Remove the paper on the outside of the garlic bulb to reveal the individually-wrapped cloves. Slice off about a quarter inch off the top of the garlic bulb so the raw cloves are exposed. (Photo 1, 2, and 3)
- Roast - Then place the garlic cut side up on the aluminum foil and drizzle the cloves with olive oil. Wrap the garlic tightly in the aluminum foil. (Photo 4)
- Roast - Place the aluminum foil-wrapped garlic on a baking sheet and place it on the middle rack in the oven. Then roast for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove roasted garlic - Allow the garlic to cool then use a small fork, chopsticks, or your hands to remove the cloves. To use your hands, pinch the bottom of the bulb with your fingers and squeeze in an upward motion to push out the garlic. (Photo 5 and 6)
- Mix ingredients - Add the butter and roasted garlic to a bowl. Then use a fork to mash the ingredients together until smooth. Alternatively, use a mixer with a paddle or a food processor until smooth. Fold in freshly cracked pepper, finely chopped herbs, and lemon zest, if desired. (Photo 7 and 8)
- Set aside - Set the butter aside. This is step is optional, but you can transfer butter to a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Form the butter into a log, wrap tightly, and twist the ends.
Chicken
- Heat oven - Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Pound chicken - Tenderize chicken with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or fist to an even ½ to ¾ inch thickness and use a paper towel to dry the chicken breasts. (Photo 9 and 10)
- Season chicken - Rub the chicken breasts with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, kosher salt, and pepper on both sides, or season to taste. (Photo 11 and 12)
- Sear chicken - Heat about a tablespoon of avocado oil or high-heat cooking oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the cast iron skillet is hot and the oil shimmers, add the chicken. Sear chicken on one side until golden, about 5 minutes. (Photo 13 and 14)
- Turn and bake - Then turn the chicken over and immediately transfer the skillet to the oven and cook on the middle rack for 10-13 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 155°F (68°C). (Photo 15)
- Rest - Add a pat of the room temperature garlic butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to the top of each chicken breast and let rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing and serving. This will allow the meat to retain its juices. (Photo 16)
Pro tip - Drizzle any leftover juice from the skillet onto the chicken when you serve it for extra flavor!
What to Serve with Cast Iron Chicken Breast
This skillet chicken is a rich and flavorful main course. We love it with rice or miso mashed potatoes and a tasty veggie like Roasted Honeynut Squash, 10 -Minute Sautéed Broccolini or Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan. It is also delicious with appetizers like our Prosciutto and Pear Salad or Zesty Italian Pasta Salad.
Recipe FAQs
First, be sure to dry the chicken before adding it to the skillet. Removing excess moisture helps prevent the chicken from sticking. Also, using a high heat cooking oil will help prevent the chicken from sticking.
Be sure to tenderize the meat beforehand so the meat is an even thickness and will cook evenly without drying out.
The most important thing is to not overcook the chicken breast because overcooking the breast will dry it out. It also helps to add a delicious fat like our garlic butter to make the chicken extra juicy.
Cast iron pans heat evenly throughout the pan and retain heat well which results in perfectly cooked chicken breast. Also, every time you cook in your cast iron pan, you make them a little better by adding more seasoning.
Begin by wiping the interior of the the skillet with a paper towels to remove any excess food or oil. You can then use a small amount of dish soap and a nonmetal scrubber to get any leftover food. Just be sure to only use a small amount of soap because too much can can strip the seasoning off your pan.
Cast irons are great for searing different kinds of meat and fish. We love it for burgers and desserts like our chocolate chip skillet cookie.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover cast iron chicken breast for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. In order to reheat the chicken, let it temper for 10 minutes, then reheat it in a covered pan over low heat.
Cooking Tips
- Make the garlic butter the day before to streamline this recipe.
- If your breasts are different thicknesses, tenderize them to make them the same thickness. This will ensure they cook evenly all the way through.
- Be sure to let the chicken rest after it is done cooking. This will help the juices redistribute and keep the chicken juicy.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Cast Iron Chicken Breast With Garlic Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
Garlic Butter
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup high-quality salted butter room temperature
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs of choice chopped (Italian flat leaf parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, chives)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts about 1.5 lbs
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil avocado, sunflower, grapeseed oil
- lemon juice optional
Instructions
Garlic Butter
- Prepare oven - Heat oven to 400°F. Tear off a square of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap a whole bulb of garlic.
- Prepare garlic - Remove the paper on the outside of the garlic bulb to reveal the individually-wrapped cloves. Slice off about a quarter inch off the top off the garlic bulb so the raw cloves are exposed. Place the garlic cut side up on the aluminum foil and drizzle the cloves with olive oil. Wrap the garlic tightly in the aluminum foil.1 garlic bulb, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Roast - Place the aluminum foil-wrapped garlic on a baking sheet and place it on the middle rack in the oven. Roast for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove roasted garlic - Allow the garlic to cool then use a small fork, chopsticks, or your hands to remove the cloves. To use your hands, pinch the bottom of the bulb with your fingers and squeeze in an upward motion to push out the garlic.
- Mix ingredients - Add the butter and roasted garlic to a bowl. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together until smooth. Alternatively, use a mixer with a paddle or a food processor until smooth. Fold in freshly cracked pepper, finely chopped herbs, and lemon zest, if desired.½ cup high-quality salted butter, freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon fresh herbs of choice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Roll butter - Set the butter aside. This is step is optional, but you can transfer butter to a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Form the butter into a log, wrap tightly, and twist the ends for future use.
Chicken
- Heat oven - Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Pound chicken - Tenderize chicken with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or fist to an even ½ to ¾ inch thickness.2 chicken breasts
- Season chicken - Use a paper towel to dry the chicken breasts on both sides. Rub the chicken breasts with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, kosher salt, and pepper on both sides, or season to taste.2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Sear chicken - Heat about a tablespoon of avocado oil or high-heat cooking oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the cast iron skillet is hot and the oil shimmers, add the chicken. Sear chicken on one side until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over and immediately transfer the skillet to the oven and cook on the middle rack for 10-13 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 155°F (68°C).1 tablespoon cooking oil
- Rest - Add a pat of the room temperature garlic butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to the top of each chicken breast. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.lemon juice
Video
Notes
Top tips
- The Herbed Garlic Butter makes a half cup, you can save the rest for later or use for multiple breasts.
- Make the butter the day before to streamline this recipe.
- If your breasts are different thicknesses, tenderize them to make them the same thickness. This will ensure they cook evenly all the way through.
- Be sure to let the chicken rest after cooking. This keeps the chicken juicy.
- Drizzle any leftover juices from the skillet onto the chicken when you serve it for extra flavor!
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