Weeknight dinners just got easier. There’s no need to thaw chicken breasts when you’re strapped for time. Here’s how to cook chicken breasts from frozen. Yes, directly from the freezer!
Strangely enough, one of the most popular blog posts on this website is the one with instructions for how to cook fish from frozen. That post was revolutionary for me. I had never thought of cooking fish from frozen until I was approached by a company that wanted me to experiment with it. It was such a successful and convenient technique that now I always have frozen fish fillets in the freezer ready to go straight into the oven for a quick dinner.
Video: How To Cook Chicken Breasts From Frozen
Can You Cook Chicken From Frozen?
Those quick dinners got me thinking, could I do the same thing with chicken breast? Is it safe? Yes!
I checked with the USDA and sure enough you can cook chicken breasts straight from the freezer. No need to panic about dinner if you’ve forgotten to thaw them ahead of time.
How Long Do You Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts?
When cooking chicken straight from the freezer, you want to cook for 50 percent longer than you would with unfrozen. The average unfrozen chicken breast weighing 5-7 ounces usually takes 20-30 minutes at 350°F. So for a frozen chicken breast, you’re looking at 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breast.
If you are adding breadcrumbs (like in the recipe below), or if you want the chicken to brown more while in the oven, you can cook it at 425F for 30-40 minutes. Note that we are using chicken breasts that are of a medium size, 5-7 ounces. If yours are larger, it will take longer for them to cook.
Preparing Chicken Breasts For The Freezer
When you bring the chicken breasts home from the grocery store, you need to pack them properly. The reason is that when it comes time to cook them you can’t have a big heap of frozen breasts in the pan. They will not cook evenly at all.
When you get your fresh chicken breasts home from the grocery store, put them in a single layer in a freezer bag. Lay the bag flat in the freezer, making sure that there is space around each breast. Alternatively, you can freeze them flat on a tray or plate and then transfer them to a freezer bag. Whichever way you do it, after they’re frozen you can jumble them up and put the bag upright in the freezer. The key is that the breasts stay separated.
These chicken breasts were frozen on a tray and then put in a freezer bag. You can see that even though they were touching in the bag they aren’t really stuck together.
Cooking Frozen Chicken Breasts, Step-By-Step
Step#1
Preheat the oven to no lower than 350°F. If I’m doing breading, as I’ve done with the recipe below, I use a higher temperature, like 425F, to help brown the crumbs.
Step#2
Put the frozen chicken breasts on a pan in a single layer. It’s best to use a broiling pan or a rack over a foil-lined pan. This way, any liquid from the chicken breast doesn’t leak out to steam them. But I’m usually lazy and just use my regular sheet pan. Mine’s this really good heavy-duty one and it works great and is ideal if you’re doing a high temperature like I often do.
Step#3
Doctor them up! Season them with salt and pepper and anything else you like.
If you want to use a sauce (like BBQ sauce), it’s best to wait until the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time so it doesn’t dry out on the chicken.
If you want to do a breading, see the recipe below. But basically, I brush them with mustard (this acts to help stick the breadcrumbs to the chicken). You can use any kind of mustard that you like the flavor of, even honey-mustard.
Why use mustard on there? I use mustard because it’s easier to brush on and have the bread crumbs stick then it would be to dredge frozen chicken breasts in flour and then egg wash. The egg wash freezes to the chicken too quickly and then the crumbs don’t stick. This is a very simple solution.
Then sprinkle on some bread crumbs that have been mixed with a bit of oil to help the browning process. You can also add whatever seasonings you’d like. Italian seasoning with a bit of salt and garlic powder works really well.
Step#4
Bake the chicken breasts for 50 percent longer than they would normally take. Average-sized (5-7 ounces) unfrozen chicken breasts usually take 20-30 minutes at 350°F. So for frozen chicken, you’re looking at 30-45 minutes.
If you’re doing a breading, as I have done in the recipe below, the oven temperature needs to be higher (425F). But it will still take nearly the same amount of time.
Tip: Use an instant-read thermometer when you think the chicken breasts are done. The temperature needs to be 165°F. A thermometer is the safest bet to make sure that they’re done. But if you know what you’re doing and trust yourself, you can cut into the thickest part of one and make sure that it’s not pink inside.
Step#5
Once you discover how easy this is and how delicious the chicken turns out, make plans to try another from-frozen recipe. In fact, my favorite way to cook shrimp is straight from frozen, and frozen lobster tails too. Enjoy! -Christine xo
Print
How To Cook Chicken From Frozen (and Bread It)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
There’s no need to thaw chicken breasts when you’re strapped for time. You pretty much cook them like normal but add 50% more cooking time.
Listen to learn how to make this recipe, along with some great tips from Christine:
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs (panko crumbs turn out way better, if you have them)
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, etc.)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (5–7 ounces each) that have been frozen individually
- 4 tsp. mustard (yellow or dijon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- In a small bowl combine the breadcrumbs, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
- Put the chicken breasts on the prepared baking sheet. Spread or brush 1 teaspoon of mustard onto each breast. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, pushing down to help them adhere to the mustard.
- Bake until chicken is 165°F according to an instant read thermometer, 30-40 minutes.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post was originally published in April 2017 and was revised and republished in February 2021.
Pina says
Trying this tonight for dinner. Do I flip the breast half way?
Christine Pittman says
Sorry for the late reply, but you don’t need to flip the breast halfway through cooking, Pina. Hope you enjoyed!
Chad says
I made this and fed it to my kids and they said ” where did you buy this chicken? Its WAY better than your normal chicken!”
Now they are grounded.. and this chicken is no longer allowed in my house
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Haha, glad it turned out delicious for you, Chad!
Charlotte says
OK, I’ve tried this now with and without the breadcrumbs and both ways work. I just had to come tell you! Bookmarking this!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Charlotte, So happy to hear that! It’s such a convenient thing to know how to do. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and 5 star rating. I really appreciate it!
Janelle says
Throughout the article it says 350 but then the recipe says 425. Would love to know which temp is correct for 30-40 mins
Christine Pittman says
You want at least 350°F, Janelle, for 30-45 minutes. If you do breading like in the recipe card instructions, 425°F works best to brown the breadcrumbs, but start checking it around 30 minutes.
Danitav says
Dinner today for family was cancelled due to ice storm. Already thawed, soaked in egg and milk with seasoning. I wanted to know if I could cook chicken for a few days and continue making my recipe chicken Parmesan for this weekend.
Cindy DuBose says
Hi, Do I cook the chicken at 350 degrees or 450 degrees?
Christine Pittman says
You want at least 350F, Cindy. If you do breading like in the recipe card instructions, 425F works best to brown the breadcrumbs.
Ann Crocker says
This worked well. I am so happy to have found the solution to last minute chicken breasts. Thanks so much.
Christine Pittman says
Wonderful, Ann! Always good to have last minute options, right?
Christine Pittman says
Nicole, I’m not sure what went wrong for you here. The times and temperatures work for me and for others, and are in line with the cooking times and temperatures on the United States Department of Agriculture, where they are testing things to make sure the food we eat is safe. So, there are a couple of things that could be wrong for you here.
First, your chicken breast could be much larger than usual. We are typically talking about an average-sized 6 ounce chicken breast.
The second thing that could be going on, and this is actually somewhat common, is that your oven might not be accurately at temperature. If your oven was pre-heated to 360F and the chicken breast was still raw inside after 40 minutes, I would say it could be the temperature. What you should probably do is get an oven thermometer. They sell them for just a few dollars at my grocery store, or you can get one here. If your oven is running low but 20-30 degrees, that could explain things. I hope this helps! -Christine
Meredith says
I accidentally bought a ton of bone in chicken (when I wanted boneless) – they take so long the thaw, and I’m terribly impatient when it’s dinner time if meat isn’t unfrozen. I’ve been using this recipe all summer with various cuts of chicken (bone in/out, thighs/breasts) and they have all turned out wonderfully!! I sauce and season as I feel that day with mustard/bbq sauce/tomato based sauces/olive oil/etc., and any herbs or spices that complement the sauce. Whatever you use – that will keep the chicken moist. I also tend to start at the 30 min mark (up to 45 as needed) and flip halfway, with about 3-4 min. of broil at the very end for a touch of crispy skin or browning. I’ve had great results! My roommates love when I throw a few pieces in the oven for sharing. Thanks Christine for the original recipe that we can modify to our tastes!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
That’s wonderful, Meredith! I love to hear that you’ve adapted it in various ways to make it work for you.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Eric.
Robert Foster says
Wasn’t sure of the mustard part since family loves mayo with chicken but they loved it with mustard and said it had a great kick! Only concern is that the bottom of the chicken was crusty. The top breaded half was moist and delicious. Baked it with aluminum foil. Maybe I will add parchment paper and cut the baking time from 45 min to 40 min. I wonder if I should bread both sides and then flip in oven after 20 min? Temp readings was 180 to 190 so have room to cut baking time down.
Charlynn says
My boyfriend and I tried this for the first time the other day and loved it! The chicken was not dry at all and the bread crumbs were nice and crispy.
We used mayonnaise instead of mustard, as we don’t like mustard that much.
We are making it again tonight! :)
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Sounds great, Charlynn! So glad you liked it.
J. Blough says
How many breasts does this recipe cover?
Christine Pittman says
This recipe is for 4 chicken breasts, J.
Dottie says
Just baked these, doubled the recipe for a crowd and they were delicious! Followed the recipe exactly as stated. Will definitely make these again! Thanks for a great easy recipe
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thank you, Dottie!
Jessica LeClair says
@Benjamin Khachaturian, it’s in the 4th paragraph of the thawing section: “However, chicken can be cooked from the frozen state in the
oven or on the stove. The cooking time may be about 50 percent longer.”
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for helping out another reader, Jessica!
Benjamin Khachaturian says
Love this!!
Quick Q though:
I reviewed the linked USDA document and I read the “Safe Thawing” section. I couldn’t find where it says that it’s safe to thaw in the oven. I saw that they recommend the microwave and the refrigerator.
Did you contact them on your own?
Of did I miss something in that document? Thanks!!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
No worries, Jessica was kind enough to copy over the information in her comment above.
Laura C says
Can’t wait to try this recipe Christine, What sides would you suggest?
Amy says
This recipe was amazing! I added a tad of mayo to the mustard because I was worried about possibly drying out the chicken and thought the extra fat from the mayo would help it retain it’s moisture. It did! I also used coarse stone ground mustard instead of regular yellow and added a bit of cayenne to the breadcrumb mixture for a little extra kick. I did, however, forget to add the oil to the breadcrumb mixture before adding on the chicken and placing it int the oven.. silly me. But, luckily, I remembered and drizzled a tad of olive oil on each breast about five minutes after placing them in the oven – they came out perfect and crispy.
I paired this main dish with sautéed fresh green beans w/ diced crispy bacon and garlic mashed potatoes. My boyfriend and I enjoyed this nice home-cooked meal while being under lock down (due to covid-19 pandemic) after getting tired of ordering take out all week when we weren’t aware how long this lock down was going to last. It’s more economic and healthier to enjoy a yummy home-cooked meal like this ones instead of relying on take-out during a time like this.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Christine Pittman says
That sounds amazing, Amy! Glad you’re using time at home to make some delicious meals!
Frank Zumpf says
When I do chicken breasts I coat them with Better Than Bullion , but I use it as the paste right out of the jar, then sprinkle them with garlic powder & creole seasoning, then put them in my air fryer oven & cook on Chicken & raise the time from 25 to 30 minutes. They come out very tasty. But I do like this freezer version.
Christine Pittman says
Interesting, Frank. Thanks so much for sharing!
Alexys Bigelow says
Hi! I am a teen who cooks for the whole family (there is six of us) and I had a question. For the glaze used to make the breadcrumbs stick, is there something I could use instead of mustard? I’ve read the comments of people using mayo (yuck, no offence) or honey. I would try the honey, but my dad really doesn’t like it. I was thinking of maybe using ranch and some hard cheese, kind of like chicken parmesan. Would this work? Does anyone have any thoughts about what else I could use? Thanks for the help!
Christine Pittman says
I think a dressing like ranch would work, yes. As to the hard cheese, I’d try finely shredding something like Parmesan and mixing it with the breadcrumbs. It will add flavor but it will also crisp up adding to the crunchy coating. Also, I think it’s wonderful that you cook for your family, Alexys!!!