Perfect Pan Seared Chicken Breast

This quick and easy recipe for the perfect pan-seared chicken is the ultimate weeknight dinner! After many tests and trials, I decided to serve this with a quick pan sauce. The drippings leftover in the pan are so tasty, I just couldn’t leave them behind!

You’ll need just 5 simple ingredients for both the chicken and the pan sauce. And if you’d rather skip the pan sauce all you’ll need is 2 ingredients—chicken and grapeseed oil. I have no doubt this will become your new favorite chicken recipe!

Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Pan Sauce

I’ve been working to master pan-seared chicken breast for a while now. I’ve tried all sorts of things and have filled the house with smoke on multiple occasions. Cooking boneless, skinless chicken breast on the stove top, and the stove top alone is not an easy feat. Most often the chicken is gorgeously browned on the outside and raw on the inside, all while the drippings in the pan are burning and smoke is billowing out of the skillet. I’d say that’s not ideal.

The KEY to cooking chicken in a skillet, and doing it well, lies in how you prep it for cooking. I’m going to take you through the process, breaking it down step-by-step to ensure you can achieve the same results at home. I can’t wait for you to make this!

What you’ll need:

• Grapeseed oil: not as healthy as olive oil but healthier than canola or vegetable oil. Grapeseed oil is a great option for pan searing because it has a higher smoke point than olive oil (aka it can be heated to a higher temperature without smoking). 
• Kosher salt and black pepper: I will keep saying this until the day I die. You need kosher salt in your kitchen. Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper are all we’re using for seasoning here. Once you master this recipe feel free to mix it up, just avoid garlic powder or onion powder as those tender to burn at high temperatures. 
• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: this recipe is written for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I do not recommend trying a different cut (such as chicken thighs) or bone-in breasts for this recipe. The process will be completely different for those.
• Unsalted butter: butter is used to a make a suuuper simple and quick pan sauce. The sauce is totally optional, so if all you need is some quick skillet chicken breast, skip it!
• Low-sodium chicken broth: just like the butter, broth is used to make a pan sauce. Skip the broth if you’re skipping the sauce! If you are making the sauce, be sure to use low-sodium broth, the residual salt from the seasoned chicken breast will nicely season the pan sauce. 
• Cornstarch: another pan sauce ingredient—cornstarch is important for creating a nice thick and silky sauce. If you’d rather make a roux with some flour and the butter, go right ahead! 

Tips for Making the Best Seared Chicken

There are a few things you need to do to ensure perfect pan-seared chicken. First and foremost, you need to make sure all of the chicken pieces are even in thickness. This guarantees each piece will cook at the same rate and will all be cooked through at the same time (or about the same time). The whole process is very similar to that used for Chicken Paillard.

Uniformity is important here, and so is actual thickness. Each piece should be about ¼-inch thick. Too much thicker and the chicken won’t cook through quick enough, which risks burning the pan drippings and filling the house with smoke.

Seasoning well is essential. In order for your chicken to be flavorful you need to season the chicken pieces, on both sides, with a fairly generous amount of kosher salt and black pepper. 

Watch your heat. Make sure you preheat the skillet before adding oil. This ensures the cooking surface is evenly, and adequately, heated. Maintain a medium heat throughout cooking and avoid rushing the process by bumping up the heat. Increasing the heat will cause the outside of the chicken to brown too quickly and potentially burn before the interior is cooked through. 

The Process: How to Make Pan Seared Chicken

Step 1: Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise to create two halves, one that’s thicker and one that’s thinner. Cut the thicker pieces in half horizontally to create two thin pieces.

Step 2: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Preheat a 12-inch skillet over medium for a few minutes. Add oil to the preheated skillet and swirl to coat. 

Step 3: Add the chicken pieces to the skillet in an even layer and cook, without moving, until golden brown. Flip the chicken pieces and continue to cook until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Step 4: Add the butter to the skillet. Whisk together the broth and cornstarch then very carefully add to skillet, it will splatter so stand back! Increase heat and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken.

Variations:

• In addition to salt and pepper, season chicken pieces with dried rosemary and thyme. Add a dash of each to the pan sauce as well.
• Add minced garlic to the butter to create a delicious garlic butter sauce.
• Add spinach to the pan sauce for a side dish that resembles creamed spinach.
• Deglaze the skillet with white wine to create a white wine butter sauce.

How to Serve Pan Seared Chicken Breast 

• Over celery root mashed potatoes.
• With Green Beans and Potatoes or Roasted Green Beans.
• Over a kale salad. 
• With a simple broccoli side dish or Brussels sprouts side dish.
• With my favorite roasted green beans.

If you give this pan seared chicken breast recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @zestfulkitchen on Instagram. I love hearing about and seeing your ZK creations!

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