In this pan-roasted chicken breasts recipe, the chicken skin gets super crispy before the chicken is sent to finish cooking in the oven. Plus the GRAVY!
There’s just something about the smell of roasted chicken.
The smell of it wafting throughout the house that makes even the coldest, dampest day all warm and cozy. So ever since the weather dropped a smidgen, I’ve been itching to make pan-roasted chicken breasts and drink wine while I cook (let’s be real).
Of course I still love my favorite childhood recipe but I really wanted something that called for fresh herbs. And served with a pan sauce, because I’m fancy like that.
TO Make This Crispy Skinned Pan- Roasted Chicken You Will Need:
- boneless skin-on chicken breasts
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- extra light olive oil
- shallot
- garlic
- chicken stock
- fresh thyme
- fresh rosemary
- unsalted butter
So as far as the chicken goes, you’ll need to remove ALL of the rib bones. I’m pretty sure there is a more technical term for those “rib bones”, but you know what I mean. 🙂 You’re going to need a cutting board and a thin, sharp boning or fillet knife so you can easily separate the breast meat from the bones.
Carefully and slowly (until you get the hang of it) separate the meat away from the bone making small incisions. The meat will/should pull easily away from majority of the bone.
So now you see how easy it is! Now keep going! Don’t stop until you have completely removed the entire rib section of each the four chicken breasts. But if you’re like me and need a better visual, here’s a great video reference for you to check out too!
Here you have four boneless but with skin-ON chicken breasts. Pat yourself of the back :)… well done!
Season the chicken with a generous amount of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Let those come up to room temperature while you preheat a pan over medium-medium high heat.
Check to make sure the pan is good and hot by adding a few drops of water, and they should instantly evaporate. Now add in about 1 to 2 tablespoon of olive oil. It should glisten and shimmer.
I worked in two batches (of two) and added the chicken breasts skin-side-down into a prepared pan. Let those cook for 6-8 minutes or so. Don’t try to scoot them around the pan or lift up and check on them every 5 seconds or you’ll do one of two things: a) You’ll tear the very skin you are trying to crisp –I’m always guilty of that, even tonight when I made these! Hey it’s real life and it happens. Or b) You’ll never get a good sear on the chicken. Period. So, listen up, because when the chicken is ready to flip, it will let you know because the skin will easily pull away from the pan. It’s as easy as that!
Flip and cook for 4 minutes. Remove them to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.
Once all four chicken breasts had a chance to get all seared and crispy, place them all into the pan and slide into a preheated 350° oven to roast for a quick 15-20 minutes to finish cooking.
See that one on the left, yup I tried to flip to early. Ugh. But it still tasted good!
Remove them to a different plate and cover with foil to rest.
Now get started on the pan sauce.
While the chicken was in the oven I minced up a good sized shallot and a clove of garlic.
Put the pan juices on the stove and heated it up over medium-medium high heat and threw in 1 minced shallot.
I let those cook about 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent.
Then add in 1 clove minced garlic, and that should only take about a minute to cook.
Add in 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Grab a couple springs of thyme and one of rosemary.
And toss them in the simmering broth-y pan sauce and cook for 5-8 minutes.
Remove the wilted herbs and discard.
Lastly take a tablespoon-ish of butter and add it in the pan sauce.
Whisk it in! The butter adds a velvety touch to the sauce. I know, I know… you were totally sold on the velvety touch part weren’t you… or was it at the mention of butter? There is no wrong answer.
The skin blankets the chicken keeping it moist and tender throughout the whole pan-roasting shin-dig. The pan-roasted chicken breasts literally taste like it’s been cooking for hours. And that crispy skin is what it’s all about.
The pan sauce; it’s a light flavorful sauce, not at all overpowering with the herbs.
Because the herbs are simmered and removed and not chopped and added into the sauce. There’s just enough herbaceousness to taste all homemade and scrumptious! Now just spoon a little of it over top of the chicken and serve the rest on the side for those who’d like more.
Enjoy! And if you give this Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Crispy Skinned Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts + Rosemary Thyme Pan Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skin-on chicken breasts
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° and season the boneless, skin-on chicken breasts (skin side) with a generous amount of kosher salt and black pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-medium-high heat. When the pan is hot (I check by splashing in a couple drops of water, they should instantly evaporate) drizzle in the olive oil, it should instantly start shimmering.
- Working in batches of two, place the seasoned chicken breasts skin-side-down into the oil and sear, don't not touch or move for 6-8 minutes.
- Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper before turning and continue to cook for four more minutes. Remove to a clean plate and repeat with the two remaining chicken breasts.
- Return all the breasts back to the pan and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of your chicken is around 160 degrees.
- Remove the chicken to a clean plate to rest, and start with the pan sauce.
- Place the pan the chicken was in onto the stove top and heat over medium high heat.
- Add in the minced shallot and cook until soft and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in the cup of chicken stock and add the thyme and rosemary sprigs, bring to a simmer for 5-8 minutes.
- Remove the herbs and whisk in the tablespoon of butter. Season according to taste with desired amount of salt and pepper.
- Lastly place chicken back in pan before serving, spoon sauce over top and serve any additional sauce on the side.
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
I love simple recipes like this. Pan sauces are the so tasty!
LOVE rosemary and thyme. I just used them in my pot roast. YUM!
Are you changing this? I swear, every time I see this recipe it just gets better.
I haven’t but I’m glad you like it!!
I havwe no fresh herbs to use but, will dried herbs not work?
Yes!! Nobody leaves the skin on any more… delicious!
Great recipe and great shots.
I am drooling for this sauce! Love the crusty chicken too!
Thanks Cassie! 🙂
That sauce needs to be blanketing my face is all I know.
yumm this looks so simple and delicious. I’ve never de-boned chicken breasts before (unless carving a whole chicken) so ill have to give that a try–I sure do love me some crispy chicken skin!
It’s actually pretty simple, once you get past the first one, and totally worth the crispy skin!
dude, crispy chicken skin is totally one of my favorite things ever. nate hates it (?!?!?!) so i get to keep it all to myself!
LUCKY!! When it’s Thanksgiving I have to share the turkey skin with my kids :/ BUT this way I get it all to myself! 🙂
I think I’ve always bought boneless skinless chicken breasts all this time but you completely changed my mind on that! I definitely need to try this with that amazing pan sauce.
I am all for warm and cozy dishes like this one. Especially if there is “crispy” in the name 🙂 Gorgeous photos, Laurie!
This looks wonderful. And you make a good point…stores sell duck breasts with the skin (and fat) on, so why not chicken breasts!
Herbaceousness haha! Love it!
I agree with you, makes the house smell warm & inviting…wish it weren’t 100 degrees here! Lovely recipe.
I’ve been thinking about making something very similar to this for about a week now. You have given me that little push needed and I think I’ll try it out tonight!
not a broken record AT ALL Laurie. I love the smell of roasted chicken. It reminds me of sunday afternoons when my mom would roast chickens for the week’s dinners. The rosemary thyme sauce SCREAMS this time of year to me – I make t-giving stuffing with loads of both spices. I’m adding this chicken recipe to my list!
I LOVE crispy skin on anything and this chicken just looks SO good. the smell must’ve been amazing throughout your house!!
This meal is restaurant quality, for sure. You make the most delicious recipes by the way!
I ended up making this tonight like I mentioned earlier and came out fantastic! I didn’t have any fresh herbs though, whomp whomp. And added a squeeze a lemon at the end! Man, it was good eatin’!
I adore your easy to make recipes, it is life saving when tired or don’t have much time. The chicken looks juicy and the golden color is so tempting!
Look at that gorgeous golden skin…..why do you live so far away!
That is a gorgeous recipe. And crispy tasty without any really unhealthy.
Erin – ekcantcook.blogspot.com
I was looking for an interesting, but simple, recipe for chicken thighs. So here I am. They are in the final stages. I left the bones in. If you are a true chicken fan, then the bones are an important part for the sack of flavour. And as a bonus they assist with eating it, a built in fork. 🙂 The med med high temp for the pan caused a bit of mayhem. Way too high for my stove. Thankfully I had 6 thighs so it was okay. Once the chaos was contained, the remainder of the thighs looked outstanding. They are almost done and I cannot wait! I am looking forward to the sauce. I wanted something different from my normal gravy.
Cook down the broth a little more, then remove the pan from the heat before you whisk in the butter or your sauce will be thin and “break”….. The butter will actually hold the sauce together and be velvety if added post-heat. If the burner is still on, the milk solids will separate out and you’ll lose your lovely texture….
I can’t wait to try this! I couldn’t buy breast with the skin on, so I bought thighs… Hope they turn out ok! They are coming to room temp as we speak. I am going to serve them with garlic roasted potatoes and wilted boccochini. Love the pics in this recipie. Keep up the good work 😀
Yummmm!! Sounds amazing!!
Hi.
Cooked this tonight and oh my…..we all loved it!!!!
Thanks heaps.
Vanessa X
this looks and sounds good, but both america’s test kitchen and rachael ray (and others i assume) have recipes for “crispy skin chicken breasts” that 1) start the chicken in a COLD pan, then turned to med-high, with a weight on top for the first few minutes (12 minutes total) and 2) finish on the stove top after a flip (6 minutes more) … not sure why, but starting the chicken in that cold pan seems to be the key to VERY crispy skin and juicy meat … check out either or both and give ’em a try … ATK finishes them with a vinegar/pepper pan sauce.
I just want to say thanks for this recipe. I had recently bought a couple of All-Clad skillets. I wasn’t impressed with them and was going to return them when I stumbled upon you recipe. I saw the photo of your pans and they looked like mine and I said what the hell, one last try. The skin of the chicken came out absolutely perfect. Your recipe is great and thanks for saving my pans.
I just made this last night. It was delicious!
Thanks for the recipe, made it tonight and it was amazing!
I’m so happy to hear it, Gillian!
Great taste. But, I don’t understand why you deboned before you cooked. That’s where the flavor is! Debone after cooking.
Deboning is totally optional! I find it easier to eat this way, but it’s not mandatory. 🙂
Deboning reduces the cooking time and ensures more even cooking of the meat without drying. The flavors and juices that would have been imparted by the bone (marrow) are more than returned to the recipe in the sauce portion when chicken stock is added. If you feel you need more flavor, increase the stock and reduce accordingly to concentrate. This option is better than risking uneven cooking of the chicken and awkward deboning of hot chicken. Deboning hot chicken will also cause it loose juices onto the cutting board from the force of being prodded and sliced into. Another suggestion would be to add a couple ounces of madeira wine with the stock, reduce, and add a couple ounces of heavy cream and dots of lemon juice after reducing again before the butter is added. This will result in a richer sauce that will not separate. Taste carefully and correct sauce seasoning with salt and pepper before re-adding the chicken at the end.
Why did it take me so long to stumble across this yummy recipe? Made it exactly as directed and served with a simple salad. Delicious!
I’m so glad, Mary! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
This is honestly one of the best chicken recipes we’ve ever made It’s as close to a delicious French restaurant chicken as you can get at home. Definitely make this!
Thank you, Ruth! Wow what an excellent review
Absolutely stunning recipe! I made mine with just one breast and thickened the sauce a smidge with baking powder. It was delicious but I forgot to take a pic. I’ll do it next time because I’m making this again. So easy!
Edit!! My brain malfunctioned. Corn starch not baking powder. Been a long day.
Hi! I love this recipe and made it a bunch of times. I was wondering if you knew how many calories were in this chicken dish?
Hi Toni! Yes, I just updated the recipe card with the nutritional info. Just keep in mind it’s a general guideline.
The chicken skin browned beautiful 6 mins undisturbed, however flipping and continuing at 4 mins and then 15min oven – resulting the flesh being overcook ie. tough. The sauce is lovely though, infused with fresh rosemary+thyme from garden. Looking at recipes, most suggest, turning off heat before flipping for 2min and then sticking the pan and all in the oven for 10-15min. I might try that