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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Crispy Baked Split Chicken Breasts

    Mar 20, 2020 | Last Updated Apr 15, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.04 from 420 votes

    Learn the secret to tasty, moist, and crispy baked split chicken breasts. A great bone-in chicken recipe for an easy and economical family dinner the whole family will love.

    pile of crispy chicken breast

    Table of Contents
    • 🐓Split Chicken Breasts
    • 👨‍🍳The Secret
    • ⏰🌡️Time and Temperature
    • ✔️Tips
    • 📖Crispy Chicken Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

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    Introduction

    Many believe that bone-in and skin-on chicken has superior flavor and is extra moist and juicy. Who am I to disagree?

    The trouble that most people have with bone-in chicken breasts is their huge size. They are hard to cook to a safe temperature, and the serving size is just too big. We can easily fix both those issues by just learning to prep them right with a few minutes of trimming.

    Let's get it right the first time and every time with these easy step by step photo instructions. It is much easier than you think.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

    This is so good that it has become our everyday roasted chicken recipe. It can't get much better than that.

    🐓Split Chicken Breasts

    Split chicken breasts are also known as skin-on bone-in chicken breasts. Most feel they have more taste and moisture than the more popular skinless version.

    They are called split chicken breasts because, during processing, the entire breast is removed with some ribs. It is then "split" down the middle of the breast bone to produce two pieces.

    But they have become progressively bigger over the last few decades. They are now too big for a reasonable serving size for most people.

    They are also hard for most home cooks to get to a safe internal temperature without overcooking the outside. So most will skip them as an option or settle for poor results. We can fix that.

    👨‍🍳The Secret

    The “secret” to the success of this recipe is how to prepare a split chicken breast before cooking. You get a better serving size, more even cooking, and more surface area for the great spices.

    Step one is cutting off the attached rib section. There is no meat, it takes seasoning, and tends to overcook.

    cutting ribs off a split chicken breast

    Step two is to cut the breasts into two or three pieces. Trying to cook the whole thing at once will almost always burn it on the outside before reaching a safe 165° internal temperature.

    cutting chicken breasts into chunks

    ⏰🌡️Time and Temperature

    The best oven temperature is 400° convection or 425° for about 35 minutes. The time will vary by the size and thickness of the chicken pieces.

    The reason for a bit higher temperature is two. First, we are aiming for crispy skin. And second, we cut those large breasts into pieces so the center will cook faster.

    You can lower the recommendations by 25°, and the cooking time will increase by about 5 minutes.

    The specific safe endpoint of cooking is a final internal temperature of 165° and not any less. Like most meat, never cook by time, always cook by temperature.

    ✔️Tips

    Spicing

    Like all recipes, season to your taste. Feel free to change it up.

    I added some cayenne for the touch of spiciness. The recommended ½ teaspoon is about a 5/10 spice level for me. Cut it down or just skip it if you want.

    The garlic is a little heavy for some.  But like all spicing, adjust to your taste.

    Do I need a rack?

    No, but it is better with a rack. If you don't have one, use a good coat of oil on the tray to prevent sticking.

    What's with the baking powder?

    I used some baking powder to increase the crispness. A trick from Cooks Illustrated, although I have modified the technique.

    The baking powder will pull water out of things like chicken skin. I find it works fairly quickly.

    Some recipes will call for hours or overnight with the baking powder on the chicken, but looking at the science, I don't feel that is needed. Works for me.

    I do suggest using aluminum-free baking powder. I just never buy baking powder with aluminum, which many can taste.

    Or skip the whole baking powder thing. You will still have good results. Not quite as crispy.

    Food safety

    We no longer recommend rinsing chicken due to contamination of the surrounding area. Just a good pat dry with a paper towel is good. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for details.

    Also, the final internal temperature of the chicken in the thickest part needs to reach 165°.

    📖Crispy Chicken Recipes

    Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs

    Oven Baked Chicken Legs – The Art of Drummies

    Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings

    Crispy Garlic Grilled Split Chicken Breast

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    101's Best Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Easy Dinner Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    spices for crispy chicken breasts

    Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven.

    cutting ribs off a split chicken breast

    Pat dry chicken, then trim the chicken of any trim-able fat and remove the rib area and discard.

    cutting chicken breasts into chunks

    Cut the chicken into chunks—the normal size ones in half and the super humungous ones into thirds.

    chicken pieces on rack ready for oven

    Prepare a baking pan with aluminum foil, a baking rack, and spray with PAM. Combine spices and then sprinkle and rub on all surfaces. Place on a rack with larger pieces in the corners. And thinner edges to the center.

    browned pieces of chicken out of the oven

    Bake until internal temp of 165°. About 35 minutes depending on your oven and thickness of the chicken.

    piece of chicken on white plate
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    📖Recipe

    Oven Baked Crispy Garlic Split Chicken Breasts from 101 Cooking for Two

    Crispy Baked Split Chicken Breasts

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Learn the secret to tasty, moist, and crispy baked split chicken breasts. A great bone-in chicken recipe for an easy and economical family dinner the whole family will love.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.04 from 420 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 6 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 3 split chicken breast - scale to what you need, AKA bone-in skin-on chicken breast
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon celery salt - optional if you have it
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
    • 1 teaspoon Dual-action baking powder - Alunimum-free

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven.
    • Pat dry chicken breasts. Trim the chicken of any trim-able fat and remove the rib area and discard.
    • Cut the chicken into chunks. The normal size ones in half and the huge ones into thirds.
    • Prepare a baking pan with aluminum foil, a baking rack and spray with PAM.
    • Combine spices and then sprinkle and rub on all surfaces. You may not need all the spices, just to your taste.
    • Place on rack (if you have one) with larger pieces in the corners. And thinner edges to center of the tray.
    • Bake until internal temp of 165°. About 35 minutes depending on your oven and thickness of the chicken.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Scale to the amount you want. I was cooking for leftovers and the packages usually have 3 breasts at our store.
    2. Properly cutting up and trimmed chicken breasts are important for this recipe to work. Better serving sizes, more even cooking, easier to get properly cooked and more surface area for seasoning. Good in every way.
    3. The celery salt adds some taste but skip if you don't have it.
    4. The cayenne pepper is also optional/to taste. The ½ teaspoon is a 5/10 heat level — more than some want. Don't use if feeding kids.
    5. I like cooking chicken on racks, but it is not that important here.
    6. Keep the thicker parts of the chicken towards the outside of the baking tray.
    7. Be sure to check for a final internal temperature of 165°. Do not guess or cook by time alone.
    8. Great leftover in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and can be frozen for 3-4 months.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Calories : 159 kcal (8%) | Carbohydrates : 1 g | Protein : 19 g (38%) | Fat : 8 g (12%) | Saturated Fat : 2 g (10%) | Cholesterol : 58 mg (19%) | Sodium : 498 mg (21%) | Potassium : 205 mg (6%) | Fiber : 1 g (4%) | Sugar : 1 g (1%) | Vitamin A : 144 IU (3%) | Calcium : 59 mg (6%) | Iron : 1 mg (6%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published May 25, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation. Please enjoy one of our easiest, most flavorful chicken recipes.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kelly

      March 21, 2018 at 7:50 pm

      Evenly cooked. Crunchy. Moist. Nicely spiced.
      All you promised it would be.
      I usually don't like breast meat, but this is a new favorite.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        March 25, 2018 at 9:59 pm

        Hi Kelly,t ma
        This is one that I do repeat. I love cutting down the size of those huge breasts. It makes everything cook evenly and make the portion size I personally like.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    2. Jason Cummins

      March 12, 2018 at 4:22 am

      This was really good! I only used an 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne and I didn't have celery salt, but I added a little Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and chives. I was really happy with how it turned out. For now on I plan to make split breasts this way more often.

      Reply
    3. Dawn

      March 10, 2018 at 9:01 pm

      Made this tonight using 10 thighs (bone-in). The only thing I added was to brush the thighs with a bit of EVOO 35 mins in. Total time 45 mins @ 450. Very tasty!

      Reply
    4. Gail

      February 11, 2018 at 7:32 pm

      The recipe was very good, but with a couple of changes it is great.First I seasoned the chicken with the rub and put in fridge for 3 hrs.While oven was heating, some paprika was added to the chicken and let chicken sit while waiting for oven to reach temp.Mine was done in about 32mins.So check internal temp before 35mins so it doesn't get over done.

      Reply
    5. Danna

      February 02, 2018 at 12:52 pm

      Delicious and easy! Loved it, will be a regular for my husband and I - thanks!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 03, 2018 at 1:22 pm

        Hi Danna,
        It is one I do frequently. Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    6. Jenn

      January 05, 2018 at 7:57 pm

      Just made this recipe- turned out great, it's delish! Thank you for sharing it!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 05, 2018 at 9:59 pm

        Hi Jenn,
        Glad it worked well for you.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    7. Eun

      January 02, 2018 at 6:50 pm

      Thank you so much for the reply, I quickly changed my mind and cut the chicken in half!!!

      Reply
    8. Eun

      January 02, 2018 at 6:07 pm

      It’s my third time making this awesome recipe, except tonight I’m not cutting the chicken into pieces!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 02, 2018 at 6:13 pm

        Hi Eun,
        Glad you enjoyed it. Now about the full breasts, be sure to get to 165 internal temperature. The issue with trying to get the internal temperature high enough without burning the skin was what prompted the cutting up of the breasts. So watch that issue.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

      • DrDan

        January 02, 2018 at 6:52 pm

        :)

    9. Elizabeth

      November 06, 2017 at 3:33 pm

      Hi Fan
      This recipe is frikken awesome !!
      Thank you so much for sharing
      Oh btw, I wanted to add one of your readers put it
      Too much cutting , going back to B.Contessa no offence Ina we love you
      But lady Jan just cut your chicken when it’s still half frozen much easier to cut
      ..xo thank you again Dan
      Winner winner chicken 🐔 dinner

      Reply
    10. Natalie

      September 04, 2017 at 10:18 pm

      Just found this recipe - it is delish! Didn't change a thing. LOVE it. Thank you.

      Reply
    11. Kota W.

      August 21, 2017 at 12:34 am

      my other half has been cooking for me all month because im unwell on acount of my luekimia but i was out today and happened to pick up some chicken. i used this to make him dinner tonight for a change :D was good thank you!

      Reply
    12. halfadime7

      February 13, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      WOW and WOW!! I don't usually write reviews on recipes, but I had to on this one. Did two breasts, not 3, so I had a bit of the seasoning left which I just pitched. Didn't have celery salt, but I don't think it was missed at all. The skin was so crispy and all the meat was flavorful and so juicy my husband even commented on it. We used a conventional oven at 450 degrees for 35 mins. As you mentioned; these days the breasts we get are HUGE! How big are those chickens anyway, 20lbs? LOL Anyway, next time I'll cook only one because just one was enough, and my husband is a really BIG eater. Thank you, Dan, for this wonderful recipe. The seasoning was just right and the baking powder was magical. A keeper for sure that I'll share with many friends and family. I may try something similar on fish.

      Reply
    13. Robyn

      January 19, 2017 at 3:50 pm

      Can flour or corn starch be used in place of the baking powder?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 19, 2017 at 5:41 pm

        Just skip it...
        Dan

    14. Jill

      January 02, 2017 at 2:57 pm

      I found your recipe a few years ago and it is an all time favorite with my husband. I have also shared it with several friends who love it as well. I have used it with both chicken breasts on the bone and thighs and legs and it comes out great each time. I do double sometimes triple the recipe depending on how many pieces of chicken I'm making. Excellent recipe!!!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        January 02, 2017 at 7:15 pm

        Hi Jill, Thanks for the note. This is one of those everyday recipes I still use.
        Dan

    15. Lynda

      September 14, 2016 at 6:36 pm

      I was hoping to use chicken legs and thighs. How long would i cook it then

      Reply
      • DrDan

        September 14, 2016 at 6:45 pm

        Hi Lynda
        The technique is about the same but end point shifts to 185 range. Here are two links.
        https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/oven-baked-chicken-thighs/
        https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/the-art-of-drummies-oven-baked-chicken/

        DrDan

    16. Erin Kelley

      September 07, 2016 at 8:45 am

      Wow! I just had my socks knocked off by a chicken recipe! This is going straight into my recipe bookmarks and I'm sure it will become a regular in our household. The amount of seasoning is perfect. It's bold, but not overpowering and the baking powder really does quite the awesome job of creating crispiness.
      Don't skip this recipe!!!

      Reply
    17. John

      June 14, 2016 at 3:08 pm

      what would be some good sides to serve with this??? Thanks

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 14, 2016 at 6:02 pm

        Hi John
        Here are a couple of my favorites.

        First https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/parmesan-garlic-baked-potatoes/ which would cook about the same time as the chicken if both were at 425.

        Second https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/how-to-cook-corn-on-cob-three-easy/ I tend to do the microwave method for an easy side dish.

        Dan

    18. kennelle clark

      June 07, 2016 at 3:46 am

      THIS RECIPE IS GREAT! AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU CAN PUT ANY BLEND OF SPICES YOU WANT...IT'S REALLY THE COOK TEMP THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF THIS RECIPE.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 09, 2016 at 8:10 am

        All recipes are just guidelines as you noted.
        Thanks for the comment.
        DrDan

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