How Long to Cook Chicken Breast on Stove

Cooking chicken breast on the stove is a fast high protein meal you’ll love. We will explain How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breast, fresh or defrosted in a cast iron skillet until each bite is fork tender and moist. A delicious healthy dinner idea.

How long to Cook Thin Chicken Breast on Stove

If the breasts are sliced to 1/4″ inches it cuts down the cook time quite a bit, maybe about half. You can read about How Long to Cook Thin Chicken Breast here but think of half the timing really. This is only possible if your meat is fresh and you want to take the time to cut in half, or buy them this way.

This is a lot faster than How Long to Bake a Whole Chicken at 350 for sure and when you just want a few pieces for dinner, this is the answer. You can really coat the outsides well with seasonings or a bottled dry rub of your choice this way.

How to Pan Sear Chicken Breasts

Now cooked this way it is a lot easier to do it without the ribs in tact. We do have a lot of great Bone In Chicken Breast Recipes but in a skillet it is hard to cook it evenly. In this case the side without the rib meat is going to need more time and will get quite brown in order to reach 165 degrees in the center.

• 1.5-2 lbs chicken breasts boneless, skinless used and best for this
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• Oregano
• Salt and pepper

How do you know when chicken breast is cooked in a pan?

Whether you use cast iron or want to know How Long to Cook Chicken Breast in Oven 350 the answer is the same, the thickest part needs to reach 165 degrees. I prefer an already seasoned pan because it will accentuate the taste and give the outsides a nice sear to lock in all of those great juices.

Now if you wanted to go all out and not counting calories you can simmer in a can of condensed soup with some milk to make very tender. You’d come out with Chicken and Cream of Mushroom Soup that is just to die for!

How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breast on Stove top

Use boneless skinless breasts for this, right out of the bag. These are typically all the same size which is great and flatter than fresh too. Faster than How Long to Cook Cornish Hens for sure since it is just one piece out of the whole thing and without the bone.

1. Preheat skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
2. Place frozen chicken into the skillet
3. Cover pan with a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Flip chicken pieces over
5. Cover the pan again and cook for additional 10 minutes or so
6. Pan fry chicken once defrosted to get outsides a bit browned
7. Timing will depend on thickness, cook until minimum internal temperature using instant read thermometer reaches 165 degrees F.

How to Cook Raw Chicken on Stove

Directions are below, we are always cooking raw poultry, not precooked. Serve as is or inside a sliced biscuit like our Whataburger honey butter chicken biscuit recipe, it is fun to serve this as a sandwich of sorts. Way healthier than fast food restaurants where their patties aren’t solid breast meat, rather it is usually processed.

How to Cook Chicken Pieces in a Pan

In the recipe card and here we explain directions for a Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast or using a grill plate on the stovetop. I do love a seasoned pan but either will work.

If you live in a small area, Chicken Breast in a Toaster Oven works quite well too. I would suggest using defrosted or fresh meat for that method because it is harder to adjust the heat.

• Trim any excess fat from the chicken breast.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Mix together garlic or onion powder, basil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and season chicken breasts on both sides.
• Place the chicken into the hot oil and fry chicken on each side for about 5-7 minutes each until golden browned and cooked through. Timing will depend on how thick chicken breasts are.
  • I suggest medium sized or you can thin in between parchment paper or plastic wrap hitting with a meat mallet on a cutting board so it is the same thickness all the way across, thus cooking evenly.
• Internal temperature should reach 165 degrees. Serve immediately.

This pan fried Herbed Crusted Chicken recipe can use a number of different herbs to coat the outside if you want deeper flavors than just salt and pepper. For leftovers wait until cooled before putting into a freezer bag and into the fridge for up to 3 days. Dice and use the next day(s) over a salad or in a casserole.