Healthiest & tastiest way to cook chicken breast?

24

Replies

  • PamelaGailJacobucci
    PamelaGailJacobucci Posts: 39
    I bake mine with a little bit of honey mustard on it.
  • prosperkat
    prosperkat Posts: 59 Member
    My go-to recipe is lemon thyme chicken -

    In a small pan, squeeze a lemon over the chicken, then put the lemon in the pan and place the chicken breast over the lemon (so it is not sitting directly on the pan). Sprinkle the chicken with thyme and a little salt/pepper if desired. Then slice up an onion and toss into the pan with a few cherry tomatoes. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 deg oven for about a half hour.
  • PAnn1
    PAnn1 Posts: 530 Member
    Boneless, skinless chicken breats trimmed of all visible fat. Marinade in Kraft Zest Italian dressing for an hr. or more in the fridge.
    Grill indirectly (not over heat) on ti foil until almost done (juices run clear). Then throw on grates to crisp up.
  • NiBo1689
    NiBo1689 Posts: 20
    I either use a Foreman grille or bake it.
  • sharonfoustmills
    sharonfoustmills Posts: 519 Member
    there are lots of options for keeping it moist inside:

    you can coat it with an oil or butter
    you can wrap it in foil when you cook it
    you can soak it in liquid before cooking it (fruit juice, water, whatever you want to use)
    put a lid on the skillet if you saute it
    you can boil it in water then broil quickly in oven to lightly brown it

    do something that traps the moisture in the chicken, then let the chicken sit in whatever you cooked it in for about 5 minutes before serving (this is true for any meat, cooking pushes moisture and juices out but the meat will reabsorb some of it if it sits a few minutes before serving- chefs use this trick for steak in restaurants)
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
    I love to experiment with cooking and there are sooooooooo many great chicken recipes out there for the taking, but this one is super simple:

    Chicken breasts (boneless skinless), coat in low cal mayo (or yogurt if you prefer), not too thick just enough to hold a light coating of bread crumbs of your choice. Bake at 350 for about 40 mins (or until done).

    This comes out moist and delicious every single time and you can add a wide variety of sides to change things up.

    edited to add:
    If you have it and like it, you can spray baking dish with a bit off cooking spray. I don't bother with it even if it sticks a little its nothing to clean.
  • tambam69
    tambam69 Posts: 270 Member
    lots of good ideas here
  • wesleysmom11
    wesleysmom11 Posts: 22
    Not as healthy but still works well and tastes awesome: Smash up a bunch of those French's Onions in a bag. Dip the chicken breast in a beaten egg (or just lightly oil with oil of choice - I prefer olive or walnut or avocado) then toss in bag and coat lightly. Then cook at 375 for about 30-50 minutes (depends on your oven, the size of the breast, etc - my oven sucks so any temp/time combo I give will probably be skewed for people with good ovens). Just use a thermometer to test for doneness and if not done, toss back in.


    I LOVE this.. it's so good..it's a staple in my house.. totally worth the entra calories! YUM.. i want some tonight now, thanks :)
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Perhaps not the healthiest addition, but Shake N Bake makes some yummy, juicy chicken. I wash the chicken and dip/soak in milk before coating.
  • AmandaLY17
    AmandaLY17 Posts: 184 Member
    I typically pan fry mine. It takes doing it a number of times and watching how time and temp cooks your food to get it down pat. My fav. ways to enjoy chicken is to dump salsa on top (my kids call it pizza chicken for some reason lol) or with srirancha sauce and lime juice. they (chicken breasts) also lend themselves to being great 'one pot' meals as you can also pan fry your veggies in the same pan. Chicken and broccoli is a great combo.
  • taidasrictar
    taidasrictar Posts: 100 Member
    my rice cooker has a steam function so i like steaming mine after marinating them in a in a sauce overnight

    always comes out moist and something i don't really need to pay as much attention to like for multi tasking reason i can cook them while doing something else
  • mbrou28
    mbrou28 Posts: 132 Member
    BUMP! I'm always in for new chicken breast recipes. :)
  • A_Healthier_Me2013
    A_Healthier_Me2013 Posts: 227 Member
    ^^ bump
  • marie_2454
    marie_2454 Posts: 881 Member
    I've been making little foil packets with some vegetables and a little cheese and haven't had any problem with them getting dry at all. I make a bunch of packets, freeze them, and pop them in the oven later throughout the week. I followed this recipe the first time http://cassiecraves.blogspot.com/2012/02/chicken-broccoli-bacon-ranch-foil.html but didn't really care for the stuffing, so next time I'll leave it out. The ones I just made, I made a base of some rice and brown beans, chicken breast, then some broccoli and a little cheese. Kraft.com has a bunch of easy foil packet ideas too.
  • dayhadley
    dayhadley Posts: 46
    My two homemade FAVES, definitely NOT tasteless (and so easy):

    Brown Sugar BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken: Wash chicken, spray lower half of crock pot w/cooking spray. Put a couple full size breasts in slow cooker on med (or high). Pour in about 1/2 c. chicken broth, 3/4 c. bbq sauce (love Baby Rays), Then pour Brown Sugar (made w/splenda) over top, add splash of vinegar (about a teaspoon). Cook about 1/2 hour, lightly cover w/more brown sugar. Turn chicken over. Repeat w/brown sugar dusting about every half hour until chicken is done (about 2 hours or so). Remove chicken, shred w/fork, dump back into juices. Great plain, or wrapped in Ole High Fiber Tortilla Wrap.

    2nd awesome recipe: Preheat oven 350. Rinse chicken (full size breast the best so it bakes longer). Grab baking dish - put about a tablespoon or so of olive oil on bottom, layer with minced garlic and Basil Blend (found in produce section). Lay chicken upon this deliciousness. Layer top of chicken with Basil Blend and more minced garlic. Cook for about 1/2 hour, til no longer pink in the middle, but still juicy.

    ENJOY!
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
    bump.... thanks for the ideas!
  • Nishi2013
    Nishi2013 Posts: 210 Member
    I eat chicken breast all the time, I make things like stir fry, lemongrass chicken, masala chicken etc. Ethnic foods usually have more flavor from spices etc, not from cream and things like that so things aren't as high cal.

    This. I also marinate with Greek yogurt and spices and bake.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    Marinate the chicken breast (find a recipe on line or buy a pre-made marinade at the store), then brown it on both sides in a skillet on medium high heat with just a little canola (about a tablespoon). Once both sides are brown, roast in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven, put in on a plate and cover it with foil and let it rest 10 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to settle in the meat instead of running out all over your plate when you cut into it.
  • JMJohnson1005
    JMJohnson1005 Posts: 209 Member
    skinnytaste.com has a lot of healthy and great recipes

    One of my faves is the chicken black bean taco....we typically eat on it for 2 or 3 days it makes so much.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    I don't know why this works, but it does: submerge chicken in ice water for about an hour, then cook as you like it. It comes out juicy every time, no matter how I cook it.
  • sugarchic64
    sugarchic64 Posts: 52
    the best salsa!!!!
  • clairebarker77398
    clairebarker77398 Posts: 2
    Coriander (cilantro) and lemon chicken. 199 calories.
    This is so fresh and tasty and only takes 5 mins to prepare (marinate for 1 hour) and 15 mins to cook.

    1 skinless boneless chicken breast cut into chunks and scored lightly.

    For the marinade:

    - Half a lemon
    - A crushed garlic clove
    - Handful of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
    - 1 tsp of olive oil
    - Salt and freshly ground pepper

    Grate a little of the lemon zest in to a bowl then add all the remaining marinade ingredients (incl juice from lemon) and season.
    Add the chicken to the bowl and rub in the marinade.
    Cover and leave for an hour in the fridge.
    Heat a pan and throw everything in. The marinade will sizzle away. Turn and press down the chicken pieces until cooked and brown.

    Done!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    I want some chicken I can cut up and add to salads and wraps.

    Leg quarters (dark meat) is more flavorful and moist for salads, etc. I wait until large packages of them are on sale, cook them all at once, and pack the meat in meal-sized portions in the freezer. The skin, bones, etc., I also save in the freezer for making broth. According to the USDA, 100g of breast meat (roasted) has 165 calories and a 100g of thigh meat (roasted) has 177 calories. So with the difference being that little and the dark meat tasting better and usually being cheaper, dark meat it is!

    At one point, I figured out how much meat I got out of 10 lbs. of leg quarters to do some price comparisons. Updated with the current prices from a local supermarket (Piggly Wiggly), here goes:

    -10 lbs. leg quarters @ $.99/lb. = $9.90
    -10 lbs. leg quarters, roasted yields 3 pounds of meat and a bag of skin, bones, tendons, etc. useful for making stock.
    -Call the skin and bones "free."
    -3 pounds of cooked dark meat @ $9.90 = $3.30/lb.

    -4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts @ $4.99/lb. = $19.96
    -4 lbs. boneless, skinless breast roasted yields 3 pounds of meat
    -3 pounds of cooked breast meat @ $19.96 = $6.65/lb.

    -Canned chicken: low price (sale) $.28/oz; high price $.49/ounce
    -Canned chicken per pound: low(sale) $4.48/lb.; high $7.84/lb.

    I haven't done the math on bone-in-skin-on breasts.
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
    i mix up whatever spices i feel like and some unsweetened lite greek yoghurt then brush it on the chicken breast and oven bake until done.

    sometimes i just eat it like that, other times i chop it up and throw it in some salad
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
    I have always found white meat dry and bland myself. I buy chicken thighs. They're always nice and juicy, even baked with some spices only.
  • HefferSprint
    HefferSprint Posts: 124 Member
    Cut the chicken breasts thinwise, or pound them so they are the same thickness throughout.

    Get your grill as hot as you can get it. One it's really hot, throw the chicken breasts on and turn the heat down to medium.

    Set the timer for 7 minutes. Don't touch the meat. Flip and cook the other side for 7 more minutes.

    I used to marinate my chicken in Italian dressing first, but now I spray it with a little olive oil and use some spices.
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,000 Member
    Roast it in champagne...cause it's good that way. And serve it with the rest of the champagne. :happy:
  • melb_alex
    melb_alex Posts: 1,154 Member
    herbs and low fat cooking sauce (If it fits your macros)

    I actually use Nando's one you buy in coles (or whatever supermarket you guys have) and never put on weight because I am very portion controlled.
  • eburns45
    eburns45 Posts: 10
    i just pour bbq suace on mine if its dry
  • Birder150
    Birder150 Posts: 677 Member
    I dump a jar of salsa on mine, cover with foil & bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

    I've done this too. VERY tasty.

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