Serve a 'company's coming' meal to your family on a weeknight with these tender, delicious Dutch Oven chicken breasts. There are plenty of healthy vegetables and herbs adding to the flavor. Dinner is on the table in less than an hour.
Why this recipe is just so good...
- This is a simple, one pot, easy to prepare recipe. I love having that comforting feeling of being able to smell a healthy dinner cooking. The chicken breasts cook in under 40 minutes. If your family likes dark meat as well, just add in some chicken thighs. They will take a few minutes longer to cook.
- When you cook meat in a Dutch oven is also know as braising. When you braise the chicken it just means you briefly brown the meat and then cook it in a covered pot in the oven.
- The vegetables are savory and delicious from the herbs and meat juices. But they are not mushy and still have a bite to them.
- Chicken breasts and vegetables are healthy, low carb and keto friendly foods that can be eaten as often as you'd like.
- If you are a fan of dutch oven recipes, try my Mediterranean Chicken Breasts, Pork Tenderloin, Corned Beef or Pork Chops.
Ingredient Notes
- We are using bone in, skin on chicken breasts for this recipe. What do most people complain about when eating chicken breasts?? Dried out and bland chicken!! Using bone in chicken with the skin is one of the best ways to ensure that your chicken will be juicy and not dried out.
- Add fresh or dried herbs and cooking with vegetables will guarantee lots of flavor to your chicken.
- Butter and herbs are the secret to juicy, delicious chicken. Rubbing butter and herbs under and on top of the skin will give tons of flavor and crisp up that skin. I'm using my Basil butter which I alway keep a batch in the freezer. You can use any type of butter for this recipe.
- String beans and carrots go along with this roasted chicken breast. The beans are thin and the carrots are sliced thinly as well. This helps them cook at the same time as the chicken.
- If you would like to add different vegetables you can try some baby potatoes or chopped sweet potatoes, turnips or rutabaga.
- Fresh herbs are always best but if unavailable, use the dried version, only a little is needed because the dried is concentrated. Red or yellow sliced onions also are added to this recipe.
How to cook chicken in a Dutch Oven
- Rub some butter and seasonings under and on top of skin of the chicken.
- Heat some oil in the Dutch oven over medium flame and brown the chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add vegetables and herbs to the chicken in the Dutch oven and roast in a 425°F oven for 15 minutes. Turn down oven to 375°F for another 15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 165°F.
- If vegetables are not soft enough, remove chicken to plate and cover with aluminum foil. Cook vegetables until they are tender-crisp or to your preference.
Cooking Tips
- According to the CDC, it is not recommended to wash the chicken first. Avoiding the risk of spreading bacteria outweighs any benefit of rinsing the chicken.
- If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use any oven safe pot. Or give the breasts a quick sear in a pan on the stovetop, then transfer the chicken and vegetables to a baking pan to finish roasting.
- There is no need to baste the chicken while its cooking. It will be plenty juicy with the addition of the butter under the skin. Also opening the oven will change the temperature of the oven and affect the roasting time.
- Always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness of 165°F. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat, not touching a bone.
- Let the chicken briefly rest for 5 minutes or so to allow the juices to redistribute into the meat.
- You can roast the chicken breasts in the dutch oven by themselves without the carrots and string beans. I would keep in the onions though since they add so much flavor. Try roasting some asparagus or squash and zucchini with this meal. Both side dishes go really well with chicken.
FAQ
The best ways to keep chicken from drying out require a few simple steps. First buy bone in, skin on chicken breasts instead of boneless. Use butter on and under the skin to moisten and flavor the chicken. Braising the chicken also keeps it juicy and makes plenty of flavorful sauce to drizzle over the meat. And don't overcook it. Use a meat thermometer to check for when it's done.
If you want the skin to remain browned and crispy, don't cover the chicken. It will cook pretty quickly and it's not necessary to cover to speed it up. Or if you prefer to keep it covered, that is fine since the skin will still taste delicious from the sauce and seasonings.
To make rich, flavorful gravy, remove chicken and vegetables from the dutch oven, cover with foil to keep warm. Strain the liquid into another pot, reserve ¼ cup. Make a "slurry" by adding about 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder in the reserved liquid and stir well.
Heat the liquid to a low simmer on the stove and slowly add the slurry stirring to thicken. You can adjust as needed by adding more water or chicken broth.
If you tried this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love if you gave it a 5 star rating. This tells me what you like and want to see more of. Thank you!
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Dutch Oven Chicken Breasts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Serve a 'company's coming' meal to your family on a weeknight with these tender, delicious chicken breasts roasted in a Dutch Oven. There are plenty of healthy vegetables and herbs adding to the flavor. Dinner is on the table in less than an hour.
Ingredients
- 4 bone in chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons herb butter
- 1 teaspoon each: paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 1 lb. string beans
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Combine dried seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Spread 1-2 teaspoons butter under and onto the skin of the chicken.
- Rub seasonings onto the chicken and under skin.
- Heat oil in dutch oven over medium flame.
- Brown chicken breast for 2 minutes, turn and brown the other side.
- Add vegetables and herbs to pot. Cover with lid.
- Cook for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 165°F.
- If chicken is done and the vegetables are not soft enough, remove chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil and cook vegetables another 5-10 minutes.
- If you want a pan gravy, remove vegetables to platter with chicken and keep warm with foil.
- Heat the juices in the dutch oven over medium flame. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir in the juices to thicken. You can also add some chicken stock or broth to make more gravy if needed.
Notes
*It is not necessary to wash your chicken before you cook it. Cooking it to the proper temperature is more important for food safety.
*The butter under and on top of the skin is key for juicy, flavorful chicken breasts.
*To keep the crispy skin on the chicken, don't cover in the oven.
*There's no need to baste the chicken, it will be moist from the butter and opening the oven will affect the cooking time.
*To test the chicken for doneness, use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, avoiding the bones. 165°F is the proper temperature for chicken.
Keywords: roast chicken, braised chicken, one pot meal
Juanita says
Is there really over 3000 mg of sodium in this - where is that coming from?
Deb Belsha says
Ahh, you are correct, that is a mistake, I hate making mistakes!! Anyway, the nutrition calculator I used picked up the chicken as
a rotisserie style chicken instead of the raw breasts that I put in the recipe. That is no excuse for me not catching it but that just shows you
how much sodium is in some prepared foods. Yikes. I corrected the recipe card. I hope you did or will enjoy the chicken recipe.
Jay says
10 stars
★★★★★
Deb Belsha says
Aw, thank you!
Meg says
Can’t wait to try it!
★★★★★
Deb Belsha says
Let me know how you like it!
Mary says
This recipe is so easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Deb Belsha says
So glad you enjoyed!
Meg says
Can’t wait to try it!
★★★★★