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My Buttermilk Chicken Breast recipe is ready in just 35 minutes, and is so tender and juicy! Perfect for a family dinner or meal prep. Serve as-is with your favorite sides for chicken, or slice to serve as a topping for salads and more!
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- Buttermilk Chicken Breast
- Buttermilk Chicken Breasts Ingredients
- Buttermilk Marinade for Chicken
- Buttermilk Chicken Recipe
- Chicken and Buttermilk Recipe Expert Tips
- How to Make Buttermilk
- Buttermilk Chicken FAQs
- Chicken Breast Temperature and Cook Times
- How to Store Buttermilk Chicken
- Chicken Recipes
- Pin it for later!
- Recipe
- Reviews
Buttermilk Chicken Breast
Quick and easy chicken dinner recipes are some of my favorites to make! Even when you’re in a rush, you can find the time for chicken dinner. I love pan-frying chicken breasts, cooking chicken breasts on the grill, shredding chicken to make soup, and of course, baking buttermilk chicken!
Buttermilk baked chicken is flavorful and juicy. It’s a wonderful choice for a Sunday dinner, and great for meal prep, too. I like to cook up a batch of chicken over the weekend to serve with meals throughout the week. You really can’t go wrong with this delicious chicken recipe!
Buttermilk Chicken Breasts Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: I’m using boneless chicken breasts. If you use other chicken cuts, be sure to check the internal temp and use my chicken temperature chart to avoid under- or over-cooking the chicken.
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil, light olive oil, or avocado oil will all work great.
- Seasoning: For the seasoning, you will need black pepper, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Buttermilk Marinade: For the marinade, you will need buttermilk, additional olive oil, fresh garlic, black pepper, sea salt, ground cumin, and maple syrup.
Buttermilk Marinade for Chicken
- Add peeled garlic, maple syrup, kosher salt, cumin, black pepper, and olive oil to a zip-top plastic bag large enough to hold the chicken breasts.
- Seal the bag. Use the heel of your hand to carefully crush the garlic cloves in the bag without piercing it. Add in the buttermilk, then the chicken.
- Re-seal the bag. Move everything around to ensure the chicken is completely covered with the buttermilk marinade.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight for best results.
Buttermilk Chicken Recipe
- When ready to bake the chicken, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Cover a pan with foil that is large enough for the chicken breasts to sit apart in a single layer. Coat with olive oil.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade bag. Drain it well, then arrange the breasts in the prepared baking pan, skin-side down, to coat them with oil. Turn them over, then sprinkle with more black pepper, cayenne, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when golden brown and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Roast for 5-10 minutes more or until golden and cooked through. Remove to a serving plate, but serve the pan juice alongside the chicken.
This tender chicken is fabulous on mashed potatoes or rice with Peppercorn Sauce!
Chicken and Buttermilk Recipe Expert Tips
- Marinate my buttermilk chicken recipe the night before so all you have to do the day of is bake it in the oven. So easy!
- If you have kids, you can use less cayenne pepper.
- Put the marinating chicken in a deep plate, just in case the bag leaks. You do not want to be cleaning chicken juice and marinade out of your refrigerator.
- I have made this recipe using drumsticks and it was also delicious.
How to Make Buttermilk
- Combine milk or cream with lemon juice or vinegar in a large bowl.
- Stir the milk and lemon juice together in a measuring cup.
- Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. When it is ready, the milk will be a bit thickened and you will see small curdled bits. These are fine to use. This substitute will not become as thick as regular buttermilk, but it works perfectly for making buttermilk roast chicken.
Buttermilk Chicken FAQs
Because buttermilk is slightly acidic, it helps in tenderizing chicken. Trust us, once you try these buttermilk-baked chicken breasts and you see how tender and juicy they are, you will never go back to traditional roasted chicken.
Absolutely! This recipe for baked buttermilk chicken works perfectly with chicken thighs or even a whole chicken. You will just have to make sure to adjust roasting times accordingly.
We recommend soaking chicken in buttermilk overnight, but the buttermilk marinade for the chicken is good for up to two days of marinating in the refrigerator.
You can mix milk or cream with one teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to make your own homemade buttermilk for your buttermilk-marinated chicken.
Chicken Breast Temperature and Cook Times
Chicken should always read between 165°F and 175°F on a meat thermometer. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is done cooking in the oven.
| Boneless Chicken Breasts (Large) | 375°F | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Bone-in Chicken Breasts (Large) | 375°F | 35 to 40 minutes |
For more chicken recipes and inspiration on how to cook chicken perfectly, follow my Chicken Temperature Chart!
How to Store Buttermilk Chicken
- Refrigeration: Let the chicken cool, then put it in an airtight container or wrap it tightly. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: If you want to freeze uncooked chicken, put it in a freezer bag or container. Label it with the date. It can stay frozen for 3 months.
- Thawing: Move frozen chicken to the fridge to thaw overnight.
- Reheating: Heat thoroughly until it reaches 165°F (74°C) before eating.
Chicken Recipes
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Recipe
Buttermilk Chicken
Equipment
- Large zip-loc bag
- Deep dish for marinating chicken
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 2 cups Buttermilk
- ¼ cup olive oil plus more for roasting
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ tablespoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon sea salt or 1½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
For roasting
- 6 chicken breasts with skin or chicken pieces of your choice, approximately 3 lbs.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pinch Cayenne pepper sprinkle cayenne pepper and extra black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- In a Ziploc bag large enough to hold all your chicken breasts, add the peeled garlic, maple syrup, salt, cumin, black pepper and olive oil. Close the bag and use the heel of your hand to crush the garlic cloves, being careful not to pierce the bag.¼ cup olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, ½ tablespoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 6 chicken breasts, 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Add in the buttermilk and then the chicken. Seal the bag and mash everything around to make sure that all parts of the chicken are covered with seasoned liquid.2 cups Buttermilk
- Leave the chicken marinating in the refrigerator overnight in the bag in a deep plate, or at the very least out of the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When ready to roast, preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C. Cover with foil and coat with olive oil a baking pan that's large enough for the chicken breasts to sit apart in a single layer. Take the chicken out of the bag and drain it well in a colander.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Arrange the breasts in your prepared baking pan, skin side DOWN to coat with olive oil. Now turn the breasts over, sprinkle with a little more black pepper and some cayenne, along with onion powder and garlic powder.½ tablespoon black pepper, 1 pinch Cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle a little more olive oil on the breasts and roast for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
- Remove the chicken to a serving plate, but serve the pan juice alongside your chicken. It is fabulous on mashed potatoes or rice!
Linda says
You say to use chicken skin on. But all pictures show skinless chicken breasts. I love crunchy crust. So please explain?
Em Beitel says
Hi Linda! We did photograph ours with skinless chicken breasts at the time, but you can make them with the skin if you’d like. It’s entirely up to what you prefer.
Andre’a says
When do you add the syrup? It’s not listed.
Em Beitel says
Hi Andre’a! Sorry for the confusion. You would add it with the marinade in the bag. Enjoy!
Jodi says
This was delicious. The chicken was very moist and flavorful. We will make this again. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Isabel Laessig says
I am so happy to hear this, Jodi. Thank you for leaving a comment to let me know!
Kimberly A Head says
Very good I replace the Cayenne with paprika because I have a toddler eating it It came out amazing.
Isabel Laessig says
So happy to hear this, Kimberly! Thank you!
Lori Brownlow says
Can I use skinless chicken breast’s in your buttermilk roasted chicken recipe?
Isabel Laessig says
For sure, Lori! Enjoy!
Bridget says
I am curious why you crush the garlic in the bag? Instead of dicing it up before adding to the bag. I am thinking maybe this will give you a stronger garlic flavor? I can’t wait to try this. Looks like a great recipe.
Isabel Laessig says
Hi Bridget! The crushed garlic in the bag will offer a stronger garlic flavor, as you said. If you’d prefer to mince it beforehand, though, you can! Enjoy, and thank you!