The Optimal Oven Temperature For The Best Baked Chicken Possible

Cooking chicken can be a daunting task for some, as it needs to be cooked to just the right internal temperature, unlike beef for example. As someone who cooks chicken weekly in the oven, I know just the right temperature to cook it at, which hopefully makes it a bit easier for others to cook! To save you all from a long-winded answer: it's 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Your standard chicken breast that is available at your local grocer is around 3 ounces, but this works for drums and thighs. Over the years I have cooked multiple chicken meals in the oven and have found 400 to work the best for perfectly cooked chicken that is still moist. And we all know that dry chicken is not as good, which can happen when cooked at a higher temperature.

To try this out on your own, I recommend a small eight-inch square baking dish and putting one or two pieces of chicken in there with seasonings of your choice. A super simple and quick idea would be to put the chicken in a bag with Italian salad dressing and let it marinate for at least an hour. Once your oven is preheated, put the chicken in the non-stick spray-covered dish and cook it at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to double-check that it is cooked to 165 degrees internally for safety. Times can vary depending on the size of the chicken.

Now that you know the perfect temperature for your chicken, you can expand on what you add to it or what to pair it with! The greatest thing about being able to bake chicken is that it opens you up to multiple one-pan meals or putting a cast iron skillet into the oven.

In my home, one-pan or one-skillet meals are a favorite, due to their versatility and ease. Some first-timer recipes I would recommend are one-pan options that include chicken, potatoes, and a roasted vegetable. I like to cut up Yukon Gold potatoes and pair them with the same seasonings as my chicken and bake for the same time and temperature. Once 10 or 15 minutes have passed, pull the pan out and add cut-up broccoli or zucchini to finish it out until you reach your desired texture. Other ideas can be just the chicken by itself flavored how you like and paired with a fresh Mediterranean buckwheat grain Salad, a batch of creamy mac and cheese (made easier with a blender), or a side of silky mashed potatoes (the way Anthony Bourdain made them).