Easy Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts have a crunchy crust and lots of flavor from Italian seasoning! This easy chicken recipe turns out excellent every single time!
Easy pan-seared chicken breasts is one of my favorite ways to make chicken. You pan fry chicken right in the skillet. So that you can enjoy crunchy crust and lots of flavor! It’s an excellent way to cook boneless and skinless chicken breasts when you are short on time.
How to Make Easy Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts
To make this pan seared chicken, make sure to use thin boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can easily dredge them in the flour mixture. Another selling point is since they are flatter, they retain the coating better. By the way, I also used thin chicken breasts in this Parmesan Crusted Chicken recipe.
Besides, boneless chicken breasts are so easy to find! They are also low in fat and high in protein. So perfect!
To dredge chicken breasts, you will use all purpose unbleached flour. By the way, flour is one of the best coatings for frying or searing chicken. And it always produces nice and smooth coating.
How about whole wheat flour for dredging? Of course, you can use whole wheat flour, too. Whole wheat flour is very flavorful and will taste slightly different.
To Make Pan-Seared Chicken Gluten Free
- Use rice flour to get a beautiful golden crust on your chicken.
- Other mild-flavored flours that also work well include: specialty gluten-free flour mixes, corn flour and potato starch flour.
- Or, if you are able to tolerate nut flours, almond flour works great for coating and pan searing chicken. It also gives it a beautiful color.
I also have instructions on searing thick chicken breasts where I don’t use flour at all. In fact, you can compare and see how different the process is when chicken is thicker: How to sear thick chicken breasts.
How to Coat the Chicken Breasts
First, paper towel dry the chicken. Next, in a large bowl, combine flour, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning. Immediately stir well to blend.
Then, using a fork or tongs, coat the chicken breasts in the flour mixture and set aside. The reason why we want to dredge chicken in flour is simple! It’s because we want to make chicken’s surface attain a more attractive brown color. And we also want to get some crisp on the outside.
Additionally, you can also coat the chicken by tossing it with the flour. Use either a plastic bag, a paper bag or a plastic container with a lid.
Or, you can sprinkle the flour onto a plate. Then roll the chicken breasts around in it, while pressing it into the flour.
Searing Chicken Breasts
This easy pan seared chicken recipe produces a lovely crisp coating. It’s not the least bit heavy. What you really taste is the chicken, not the coating. And that’s how it should be. The coating is just barely there to complement the food.
- First things first, you will heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the skillet is hot, you will place flour coated chicken breasts in the skillet.
- Next you will sear chicken breasts them for 4 to 5 minutes on each side. They should turn golden brown in color on both sides.
- Finally, I recommend to turn them only once between cooking. And the total cooking time should not exceed 8-10 minutes.
What Kind of Skillet to Use
I recommend using a good quality stainless steel pan, such as this 12 inch pan that comes with a lid. Or, you can also pan sear chicken in a large cast iron skillet, such as this 12 inch cast iron pan.
Both hold heat incredibly well and are easy to cook with. I cooked most of the recipes on this site with one of these two skillets.
Hungry for more chicken recipes?
- Skillet Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
- Herb Roasted Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce
- Chicken in Mustard and Wine Sauce
Easy Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, (thin, boneless and skinless)
- ½ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Paper towel dry your thin chicken breasts (if you bought thick ones, make sure to butterfly each one). In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and Italian Seasoning. Stir well to blend.
- Using a fork or tongs, coat the chicken breasts in the flour mixture and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, place flour coated chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, turning once between cooking, about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pan and serve warm with pasta or vegetables.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Our new favorite chicken recipes include this Cajun Chicken and Sausage Penne Pasta dish.
Additionally, we also like this amazing Chicken Spinach and Bacon Alfredo Pasta. In fact both recipes are perfect for midweek dinners!
Connie says
Not happy with this. Olive oil smokes too much, and unless you use paper thin chicken breasts still raw in the middle after the cook time.. Did not cook even in my cast iron pan.
Joe says
Not even close to cooked after 10 minutes on the stove top and olive oil started to smoke.
Anna says
I had Herbs de Provence onhand instead of Italian seasoning, used almond flour to make gluten free/paleo, & cooked it in coconut oil. These three modifications for what I had onhand were OUTSTANDING. Actually enjoyed the flavor the coconut oil lent (sometimes the flavor can overpower but not in this instance). Have tried recipes for GF “breaded” chicken and this recipe absolutely satisfies my craving for a slightly crispier chicken without a crumbly GF “batter” falling apart or just getting soggy. This is going to become a new staple while on the Candida diet. Thanks Olga!
Lauren Dangerfield says
Absolutely delicious. Skillet or airfryer (without the flour) is just delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I now make chicken 2-3 times a week!
Olya says
I bet airfryer version was great!
Tiana says
Can I use all purpose flour for this recipe
Olya says
Yes
Susie C says
The chicken breast i used were quite thick, they were not cooked completely in the skillet so i continued to cook in a 300 degree oven for approx 10 mins. They did lack seasoning……any recommendations on adding more flavor?
Olga says
More sea salt and garlic powder always helps.
Amrita says
I made this yesterday evening. It came out perfect and was extremely tasty!!! will be making frequently for dinner. Thank you Olya!!!
Olga says
Sounds like you nailed it, Amrita!
Vely says
Hey! I tried your recipe and I stuffed the chicken with mozzarella cheese. It turned out heavenly. Thank you for sharing!
Love from Indonesia 🙂
Olga says
Can never go wrong between Mozzarella and chicken!
Rusty says
Onlyfans?
David says
Would you adjust the amount of cooking time per side if you cut the chicken breast into strips lengthwise vs cutting them into cutlets?
Olga says
I would keep the cooking time the same even for the strips.