One of the best things to have on hand for quick meals is cooked chicken. I am not a fan of cooking chicken breasts in the crock pot – it always comes out tasting dry and flavorless. I love buying bone-in chicken breasts (usually for $2 a pound or less!) and roasting them in the oven. Once you’ve roasted bone-in chicken breasts, you’ll never go back to the crock pot method again!
These are also delicious eaten as a main course – you can slice the meat from the bones and serve with some of the delicious, crispy skin!
Roasted Chicken Breasts for weekly meal prep
- Bone-in Chicken Breasts (with the skin on)
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Rosemary
- Paprika
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet, 9×13 dish or roasting pan with foil. Place the chicken breasts in the pan, making sure they are not touching. Drizzle olive oil over the skin and rub it in with your hands or a basting brush. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary or Italian seasoning and paprika. Bake at 375 for an hour or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Place on a cutting board or plate to let them cool. Remove the skin and set aside for snacking. 🙂 Cut the meat from the bones and slice into bite sized pieces or shred with your mixer. I prefer to cut it into pieces, but the shredding method is really fast and easy!
I store my cooked chicken in 2 cup portions, sealed in freezer safe bags. These can be thawed overnight in the fridge. One package of three chicken breasts usually gives me 6 cups of cooked chicken.
You could definitely change up the flavors with lemon, Cajun seasoning or any other flavor that your family loves.
Here are a few recipes that are perfect for this basic, flavorful roast chicken:
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Weeknight Chicken Stew
- Deluxe Chicken Salads
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
If you’ve never tried this method, I hope you will! It’s so good. 🙂
Come Home For Comfort 
Whitney, I’m definitely going to try your method! Also, do you have the instant read thermometer you linked? I need one, but it’s hard to find one that’s accurate & lasts. Thanks!
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The one I have is not in stock anymore, so I linked a similar one. It’s not high end and may not last for a super long time, but it works for me.
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I’ll have to give this a try! I’m always looking for news ways to cook chicken.
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I hope you will – it’s so good!
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I have never tried this method before!! I rarely buy bone in chicken and I’m intrigued. My family loves rotisserie chicken so I bet they’d enjoy this more than crockpot chicken. I don’t love it either, but it’s easy. Saving this recipe to try ASAP. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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I think this is even better than rotisserie chicken – and really doesn’t require much more hands-on time either! You’ll be hooked. 🙂
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