3 juicy, baked chicken recipes for protein-rich meals

Begin the year right by cooking and eating better. These baked chicken recipes keep the juices and flavours intact, contain no butter and make for healthy weekday meals. The meat remains so tender that it can be used to make sandwiches, burgers and salads. Learn how to pick the right cuts, marinate them and then bake for delicious results. Here’re the recipes:

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Start with the basics
This is a comprehensive video for beginners. It details how to prep chicken breasts and marinate them for even cooking. It has recipes for three different seasonings for the marinade that allows you to experiment with different flavours. The video creator and YouTuber Jessica Gavin says, “If you want Cajun flavours, try adding some oregano, thyme and chilli pepper, like cayenne pepper. Try adding some ground mustard for pungency. For earthiness…coriander and cumin. To add a little sweetness, try some brown sugar, and for warm spices cinnamon and all spice." After the chicken is baked to tender perfection, she shares ideas to serve them in different ways. There’s a whole lot of advise in this video, and it’s meant to be bookmarked for keeps.

Tender baked chicken thighs

Every baked chicken recipe has unique tricks and tips to make it better. This one talks about cleaning chicken thighs with vinegar and saline water. The seasoning blends spices like onion powder, garlic powder and thyme for a burst of flavour. Olive oil is drizzled over each piece, and then they are generously coated with the seasoning. The result is a delicious aromatic baked chicken dish.

Greek lemon chicken

This is another recipe that uses chicken thighs with skin. The video creator and YouTuber Lisa Bryan says she picked thighs because they are literally ‘impossible’ to overcook and make them dry. It has a refreshing lemony marinade with fresh lemon juice. To complement the chicken, Bryan prepares lemon rice with Basmati. For a complete meal, she cooks green beans in an air fryer.

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