Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast, pan-fried marinated chicken full of flavor and so tender too!

Name: Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 Chicken breast fillet; 1 medium potato; 1/2 Courgette / zucchini; 1 clove garlic; 3 - 4 Teaspoons Olive Oil; 2 Teaspoons Dried Tarragon; 3 Teaspoons Lemon juice; Redcurrant Jelly, optional; Salt & Pepper

Quick and easy Moist Chicken Breast is exactly that! Here I will show you a recipe that will give you juicy chicken and bags of flavor.

I have to confess I am not the biggest fan of eating chicken breast or white meat as it is often called.

The reasons being firstly, the meat can be easily overcooked, or cooked using a technique not suited to the ‘structure’ of the meat, resulting in a dry chewy experience.

Second, there is not much flavor in the meat itself as it is lower in fat than it’s neighbor, the thigh or leg, and is often bought without the skin on. Both the fat and skin on meat add heaps of flavor and moisture during the cooking process, so when these two things are missing, it is no wonder why the chicken breast can be a ‘boring, tasteless, dry and chewy’ experience.

My challenge was to come up with a chicken breast recipe that was quick, versatile and most importantly, tasty, succulent and full of flavor.

This is such a quick recipe, so I’ve also included instructions of cooking some potatoes & courgettes / zucchini to accompany the chicken. The fact that this whole meal can be ready on your table within 15 minutes has got to be a bonus! So it’s a quick and easy chicken skillet dinner!

You can also use this same recipe to BBQ or Grill, just remember to make sure your chicken breast is of even thickness so it cooks properly.

We’ve also got a recipe using chicken thighs, check out our other chicken skillet dinner here

You’ll need to use a skillet or frying pan. I used a cast-iron skillet pan as that can get to a high temperature very quickly so we can pan fry everything.

To maintain the moisture in the meat, it has got to be cooked very fast.

This means doing a little ‘work out’ on your meat, so it is not as thick. If you sear the chicken under high heat, the outer layer will be quickly cooked, thus sealing all the meat juices and then the center of the meat starts to cook, retaining its moisture.

This is important to achieve the moisture we want.

So roll your sleeves up and get your skates on for a very fast cooking experience!

You will need :
A small saucepan for the potatoes
A frying pan
A meat hammer (or end of a rolling pin)
Plastic wrap

Ingredients:

1 Chicken breast fillet
1 medium potato
1/2 Courgette/zucchini (cut as you see in the photo here)
1 clove garlic
3 – 4 Teaspoons Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons Dried Tarragon
3 Teaspoons Lemon juice
Redcurrant Jelly (optional)
Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil the kettle, peel potato and cut into 2 cm pieces and place in pan.

2. Add the boiled hot water to the potatoes and cook on the hob.

This should take approximately 3-4 minutes. Once cooked (test with a knife if the potato is soft) drain the water and transfer to a bowl for now. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. We will return to the potatoes later.

3. Make up a quick wet marinade. Add the garlic, lemon juice, tarragon, olive oil & salt and pepper into a mortar and pestle and beat until mashed together. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, mix together in a bowl, you will need to pass the garlic through a garlic press first.

4. Place your plastic wrap on top of a chopping board, making sure the wrap will be long enough to fold over the top of the chicken (see photo at step 7), then place the chicken breast on the wrap.

Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast, pan-fried marinated chicken full of flavor and so tender too!

Over turned breast on the plastic wrap

5. Turn the breast over – you will notice the underside has a slight cut from where it was removed from the bone. This is where we will do what is known as a butterfly cut, which will open out the chicken breast and make it thinner and more even for when we come to pan fry.

6. Taking a sharp knife, place it where the cut is already, and cut all the way along the length of the breast. Do not cut the breast any deeper that 2 cm from the bottom. We just want to cut through the breast 2/3 deep

Follow the cut with your knife

Cut 2/3 deep into the meat lengthways

7. Turn the chicken breast over and spread it out. Place the plastic wrap over the chicken. (You should now have a layer of plastic wrap underneath and over the chicken).

Cover the chicken with the plastic wrap

8. Very gently, hit the chicken all over so it is 2 cm in thickness. Make sure you get an even thickness through out. Do not hit too hard as you will break right through the meat and have holes in it. This should only take 30 seconds!

flatten the meat

9. Start heating up the frying pan. It needs to be very hot.
10. Place the meat in a dish and pour the marinade (garlic, tarragon etc) over the meat, turn and make sure the marinade is underneath too.

marinade meat

11. Whilst waiting for your frying pan to get hot, cut the zucchini lengthways and then into halves and halves again (see photo below)

12. Place the chicken in the pan, and cook on both sides for 1 minute to seal the meat.

Then add the potatoes & courgettes / zucchini to the dish that had the chicken marinating (just to use up the marinade). Move them around a bit so they take up the leftover marinade.

cooking in the frying pan

13. Let the chicken cook for a further 2 1/2 minutes, and turn over to cook the other side for 2 1/2 minutes. Use a fish slice or spatula to push the chicken down into the pan GENTLY if you see thicker parts of meat.

When juices run clear, remove the chicken on to a side plate and cover with some foil or a saucer. This will allow the chicken to cook a little longer in some steam, and also develop juices whilst the meat relaxes.

NOTE:

Do not add any oil to the pan. this will cause a lot of smoke, and it is not necessary. There is oil on the chicken from the marinade which will stop the meat from sticking to the pan.

add vegetables to pan

14. Add the vegetables and potatoes to the same pan, add salt & pepper. – In the photos above, do you see how hot the pan is? Stir the potatoes so they are browned on all sides, turn the courgettes/zucchini when each side is browned. This should take no more than 2-3 minutes.

15. Whilst you’re waiting for the vegetables, slice the chicken breast, arrange on the plate and then add the potatoes and courgettes

If you’re looking for a sauce, we’ve got a delicious lemon garlic sauce for chicken recipe. Easy to make too!

You could also use this recipe to make a Tropical Chicken Salad as seen in this recipe from Who Needs A Cape. Delicious!

Delicious Chicken Dinner Ideas

Here's a selection of lovely chicken dinner recipes for you. All very easy to make and the family love them!

Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast

Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast, pan-fried marinated chicken full of flavor and so tender too!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 Chicken breast fillet
1 medium potato
1/2 Courgette / zucchini
1 clove garlic
3 - 4 Teaspoons Olive Oil
2 Teaspoons Dried Tarragon
3 Teaspoons Lemon juice
Redcurrant Jelly, optional
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Boil the kettle, peel potato and cut into 2 cm pieces and place in pan.
Add the boiled hot water to the potatoes and cook on the hob. This should take approximately 3-4 minutes. Once cooked (test with a knife if the potato is soft) drain the water and transfer to a bowl for now. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. We will return to the potatoes later.
Make up a quick wet marinade. Add the garlic, lemon juice, tarragon, olive oil & salt and pepper into a mortar and pestle and beat until mashed together. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, mix together in a bowl, you will need to pass the garlic through a garlic press first.
Place your plastic wrap on top of a chopping board, making sure the wrap will be long enough to fold over the top of the chicken (see photo at step 7), then place the chicken breast on the wrap.
Turn the breast over - you will notice the underside has a slight cut from where it was removed from the bone. This is where we will do what is known as a butterfly cut, which will open out the chicken breast and make it thinner and more even for when we come to pan fry.
Taking a sharp knife, place it where the cut is already, and cut all the way along the length of the breast. Do not cut the breast any deeper that 2 cm from the bottom. We just want to cut through the breast 2/3 deep
Turn the chicken breast over and spread it out. Place the plastic wrap over the chicken. (You should now have a layer of plastic wrap underneath and over the chicken).
Very gently, hit the chicken all over so it is 2 cm in thickness. Make sure you get an even thickness through out. Do not hit too hard as you will break right through the meat and have holes in it. This should only take 30 seconds!
Start heating up the frying pan. It needs to be very hot.
Place the meat in a dish and pour the marinade (garlic, tarragon etc) over the meat, turn and make sure the marinade is underneath too.
Whilst waiting for your frying pan to get hot, cut the zucchini length ways and then in to halves and halves again (see photo below)
Place the chicken in the pan, and cook on both sides for 1 minute to seal the meat.
Then add the potatoes & courgettes/zucchini to the dish that had the chicken marinating (just to use up the marinade). Move them around a bit so they take up the leftover marinade.
Let the chicken cook for 2 1/2 minutes, and turn over to cook the other side for 2 1/2 minutes. Use a fish slice or spatula to push the chicken down into the pan GENTLY if you see thicker parts of meat.
When juices run clear, remove the chicken on to a side plate and cover with some foil or a saucer. This will allow the chicken to cook a little longer in some steam, and also develop juices whilst the meat relaxes.
Do not add any oil to the pan. this will cause a lot of smoke, and it is not necessary. There is oil on the chicken from the marinade which will stop the meat from sticking to the pan.
Add the vegetables and potatoes to the same pan, add salt & pepper. - In the photo to the right, do you see how hot the pan is? Stir the potatoes so they are browned on all sides, turn the courgettes / zucchini when each side is browned. This should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
Whilst you're waiting for the vegetables, slice the chicken breast, arrange on the plate and then add the potatoes and courgettes

Quick and Easy Moist Chicken Breast