Help Me Jazz up baked chicken breasts!
February 2, 2014 1:32 PM   Subscribe

As part of developing better eating habits, my new go-to dinner has become baked chicken breast and vegetables. Now I love me some chicken, but this can get pretty boring after a while. What are some good spice mixes, rubs, or marinades that you guys use to make chicken delicious?

So far, I've been doing a rub of a little olive oil and Sazon Completa, or a marinade of lemon and lime juice.

Low calorie if possible, please!
posted by nickhb to Food & Drink (26 answers total) 94 users marked this as a favorite
 
Spread some dijon mustard on them, dribble them with some soy sauce, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.. bake as usual.. simple and tasty.
posted by HuronBob at 1:36 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Rosemary and garlic by Tones

Kick'n Chicken Weber grill
posted by JujuB at 1:41 PM on February 2, 2014


I love this recipe for grilled chicken skewers.

For the marinade:
3 tbspn soy sauce
1 tbspn groundnut oil or similar
1 tbspn lime juice
1 tspn ground coriander (cilantro, I guess, for Americans?)
1 tspn ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed

Mix the marinade ingredients together. Cut a skinless chicken breast into chunks and marinade for at least 30 minutes (longer is better). Once marinaded, cut a red (bell) pepper into slices and thread the sliced pepper and marinated chicken on to wooden or metal skewers. Pour over any of the left-over marinade and grill under a high heat for about 5-8 minutes, then turn and grill the other side for the same length of time.
posted by meronym at 1:52 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Okay not healthy but....

Score the breasts crosswise with half inch deep cuts. Like 3 on each side. Spackle cream cheese into the cuts. Take tooth picks and bacon slices and mummify the chicken breast. Bake at 350 covered for like 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 or so. Yum.
posted by ian1977 at 2:06 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]


Penzey's Bicentennial Rub is the best thing that's ever happened to chicken breasts (or any other chicken parts). My partner was so bored with chicken breasts that he pretty much banned them from the household menu until I convinced him to try them with the Bicentennial Rub, now we have them weekly.

A spicy peanut sauce made with peanut butter thinned with chicken broth and seasoned with soy sauce and chili pepper is also pretty fantastic.
posted by rhiannonstone at 2:14 PM on February 2, 2014 [3 favorites]


this recipe
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:29 PM on February 2, 2014


Pushcart chicken! It says to use thighs, which is delicious, but it would also be super good with breasts.
posted by ulfberht at 2:39 PM on February 2, 2014 [3 favorites]


Star Anise & Ginger Chicken
posted by Pudhoho at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2014


Chunk it up, bake until done. Salt and a pepper and then hot sauce. Back under broiler for a couple. Hot sauce = low calories. If you don't like HOT then try Tabasco green or Louisiana Pete etc. Plenty of milder options (or hotter) at the megamart.

Also throw slices of ham on it. Ham is SURPRISINGLY low calorie. Think 15 cal a slice. So if you use a TINY amount of swiss cheese (or none like I do) cordone bleu is a great option.
posted by chasles at 3:05 PM on February 2, 2014


Gochujang, a bit of sesame oil and a touch of vinegar. Slather on the chicken and marinate for a few hours. Note, it is spicy. Bake as usual. Also very good as a marinade for frozen, drained, pressed, dried well tofu.
posted by kathrynm at 3:13 PM on February 2, 2014 [1 favorite]


Using salsa on plain chicken breasts as a sauce is good. Also a tiny bit of ranch dressing.
posted by gt2 at 3:27 PM on February 2, 2014


Spice it up (I'm thinking cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic, onion etc) and then once you've baked it squeeze some fresh lime on there, heaven! Bonus points if your sides are black beans and rice and a corona light for the beverage.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 3:54 PM on February 2, 2014


Roast them with a little chicken stock, chopped green olives and preserved lemons, thyme, and garlic. It's basically my favorite chicken thing right now.

Debone the breasts and pound them flat, flour them a little bit, and sautee in butter or oil until they're cooked and crispy. Make a squick sauce of lemon juice, mustard (not yellow or hot; otherwise your choice), a bit of butter, and some capers.

Cut into cubes, stir-fry until almost done. Add ginger, garlic, a splash of soy sauce, chicken broth, and some orange juice mixed with cornstarch; reduce the sauce to a syrup, simmer chicken in sauce for a minute, and eat.
posted by MeghanC at 5:06 PM on February 2, 2014


Previously
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 6:15 PM on February 2, 2014


Lots of chicken recipes at Mouth of Wonder. Many are also "low cal and lovely."
posted by mon-ma-tron at 7:30 PM on February 2, 2014


Pesto Sauce. Cover breasts in sauce. Bake.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:58 PM on February 2, 2014


Slice up a couple of cloves of garlic, 1/2 to whole lemon (depending on size) and get a few sprigs each of rosemary and thyme. Put all of it together with the chicken in a baking dish. Mush it all around. Salt and pepper. Lightly drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminium foil (you are allowed to leave out the extra "i" if your supermarket doesn't carry it) and bake half an hour or so. Works with any chicken part, bones, boneless, whatever.
posted by Athanassiel at 9:37 PM on February 2, 2014


Busha Browne's Jerk Seasoning. If you can rub it in and leave it for an hour, so much the better, but it'll do the job straight outta the jar. Your chicken breasts will not be boring.
posted by mumkin at 11:47 PM on February 2, 2014


I love using Top Secret Recipes Salmon Rub on chicken breast. I think it has been rebranded as Top Secret Fish Rub.
posted by neushoorn at 12:54 AM on February 3, 2014


I don't know how low calorie it is, but I love to marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts (which can be dry and lacking in flavor) in Italian salad dressing plus a little Parmesan cheese for a few hours before grilling over a charcoal fire. The oil keeps it moist, the vinegar makes it tender, and the herbs, spices, Parmesan and charcoal grilling make it delicious.
posted by Daddy-O at 3:18 AM on February 3, 2014


Lemon juice, montreal steak seasoning, and oregano. Wrap up in foil and bake until done.
posted by skittlekicks at 5:04 AM on February 3, 2014


Saute breasts in butter, sprinkle with a few drops of good quality balsamic vinegar when done and a shaving of parmesan.
posted by zaelic at 10:21 AM on February 3, 2014


I love Thai curry. Yellow red or green.
posted by vapidave at 11:56 AM on February 3, 2014


I asked a similar question last year that you might find helpful.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:37 AM on February 4, 2014


The problem with chicken breasts is a logistical one: It's not which flavor to use, but rather how to get the flavour into the chicken and to stay there, as opposed to just burning in the pan or falling off the outside. As great as lemon and garlic and herb marinades sound, I find they just flavour the outside milimeters of chicken, hoping that it makes up for the dry insides

The answer, strangely enough, is YOGURT, which I saw described here (with a great recipe) as "the diplomat of Indian cuisine. It is often there, but in the background, seeing that things go smoothly".

So basically, mix together your chicken with a mixture of yogurt, lemon juice, and whatever spices you want: cumin and lemon zest, za'atar, powdered garlic, let it sit overnight, and then, drain the yogurt, and cook it on a griddle pan (a bit messy), or in a high temperature oven on some foil.
posted by cacofonie at 5:48 AM on February 5, 2014


Glory's vegetable cooking base has a lot of awesome and deep flavours going on. Works great as a quick rub. Pour any juices left in the tray over the chicken. Yum.
posted by mosessis at 6:14 AM on February 5, 2014


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