If you’re cooking baked chicken breasts from frozen, you’ll want to cook them for 50% longer than you would a thawed chicken breast to ensure that they’re cooked all the way through. On average, a thawed chicken breast takes about 20-30 minutes to bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, so the time to bake frozen chicken breast at the same temperature is approximately 30-45 minutes depending on the size of your pieces. It’s a much better idea to thaw your chicken first, though, if you can spare the time; it’s a lot easier to end up with dry chicken when you bake it from frozen.
The time to bake a large chicken breast varies depending on the oven temperature you set it to:
- 350 degrees: 30 minutes
- 375 degrees: 30 minutes
- 400 degrees: 25 minutes
- 425 degrees: 20 minutes
- 450 degrees: 20 minutes
One smart trick, though, is to cut the breasts in half to make them thinner before you cook them. This way, the meat will cook more evenly, and you don’t risk drying out the outside before the inside is done cooking. Then, bake your chicken breasts at 400 degrees for 18 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees.
The bake time for boneless chicken breast varies depending on the oven temperature you use and how thick your pieces are. The time to bake a boneless chicken breast based on temperature is:
- 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees
- 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees
- 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees
- 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees
- 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees
However, one of the best ways to bake chicken breast is to start by cutting your pieces in half so they’re thinner, then coat them with olive oil and pop them into a 400-degree oven. They’ll bake in as little as 15 minutes using this method, and they’re less likely to dry out.
The bake time for bone-in chicken breasts will vary depending on your oven temperature and the sizes of your pieces. On average, the time to bake bone-in chicken breast will be:
- 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees
- 45-60 minutes at 375 degrees
- 35-45 minutes at 400 degrees
- 25-35 minutes at 425 degrees
- 20-30 minutes at 450 degrees
Check smaller pieces at the lower end of this time range; larger pieces will likely be done closer to the higher end of these time ranges.
The bake time for bone-in chicken breast is longer than for boneless chicken breast because the pieces are thicker and larger, but it’s worth the wait, as the bone helps to prevent the meat from overcooking.
The time to bake boneless chicken thighs varies depending on the oven temperature you use, but on average, you can expect your chicken to take:
- 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees
- 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees
- 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees
- 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees
- 20-25 minutes at 450 degrees
Boneless chicken thighs cook faster than bone-in chicken thighs, so you need to keep a close eye on them in the oven to ensure that they don’t dry out. That’s why it’s actually a better idea to make bone-in baked chicken thighs.
The time to bake leg quarters depends on the oven temperature you choose. Chicken leg quarters are most frequently baked at either 375 degrees or 425 degrees Fahrenheit. At the lower temperature, you’ll need to cook your chicken leg quarters for longer, but you’ll end up with juicier chicken. On the other hand, the higher temperature leads to crispier chicken that your family and friends will rave about!
The bake time for chicken quarters at these temperatures will be:
- 75 minutes at 375 degrees
- 45 minutes at 425 degrees
Once the timer goes off, use a meat thermometer to determine if the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If it doesn’t quite reach that temperature, put it back in the oven in 5-minute increments until it’s done.
The bake time for wings depends on your oven temperature, which will be determined in part by how you prepped your chicken wings. Oven-baked wings with sauce or a marinade require a lower baking temperature to keep the sauce from burning, while dry-rubbed wings are better for higher oven temperatures because using a shorter burst of heat on the meat creates crispier wings.
In general, the amount of time to bake wings is:
- 60 minutes at 350 degrees
- 50 minutes at 375 degrees
- 40 minutes at 400 degrees
- 30 minutes at 425 degrees
Our recommended method is to dry-rub your chicken wings, then bake them at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them over part way through to make sure that they turn out crispy on both sides.
The time to bake a whole chicken in the oven depends on the size of your chicken and the temperature of your oven. One important thing to note is that “bake” implies a temperature below 400 degrees; it’s actually a better idea to roast a chicken, meaning to cook it at a temperature higher than 400, than to bake it.
If you insist on baking your chicken rather than roasting it, set the oven to 375 degrees and bake your chicken for 20 minutes per pound plus an extra 15 minutes at the end to ensure that it’s fully cooked.
- 2 ½ to 3 pounds: 1 hour to 1 ¼ hours
- 3 1/3 to 4 pounds: 1 ¼ hours to 1 ½ hours
- 4 ½ to 5 pounds: 1 ¾ hours to 2 hours
If you want a nicely browned, flavorful bird, you should roast chicken at 425 degrees. The bake time for a whole chicken roasted at 425 will be about 15 to 18 minutes per pound plus an extra 15 minutes at the end. This will add up to about an hour and a half, depending on the size of the chicken.
Our recommended temperature for baked salmon fillet is 375 degrees. At that temperature, your salmon will take around 20 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness of your fillet. We suggest making baked salmon wrapped in foil, which helps it to steam in its own juices so it won’t dry out. If you’re in a hurry, you can crank up the oven temperature; obviously, the higher the oven temperature, the shorter the bake time. It will only take 15 minutes to bake salmon at 400 degrees or 10 minutes at 425 degrees, but be careful: There’s a fine line between underdone and overdone, and it’s easier to cross that line in a hotter oven.
The bake time for potatoes in the oven is 50 minutes at 425 degrees. For the best baked potatoes, use russet potatoes: Their insides get nice and fluffy when they’re baked. Make sure to prick them all over with a fork before you bake them so that the steam can escape. Then, pop them into the oven for 25 minutes. Pull them out, brush them with butter, and sprinkle them with salt before putting them back in the oven for another 25 minutes. The result will be delicious baked potatoes with crispy skins. Cut them open and top them with butter, or add sour cream, chives, cheese, bacon, and/or salsa!