How Long Should I Bake Chicken For?

Just how long should I bake chicken for? This is a common question asked by many people who hardly use the oven to bake their chicken dishes. However, there is no definite answer to this question as there are many factors such as oven temperature, oven type, thickness of the chicken meat as well as the presence of skin or bone in the chicken that can affect the overall baking time. For example, chicken strips is obviously going to bake faster than a 3 pound whole chicken.

Using high oven temperature will definitely speed up the baking process but doing this will also dry up then chicken and even overcook it if you're not careful. On the other hand, lower oven temperature might take a longer baking time but the baking result is that the chicken will be moist and juicy (if you take it out from the oven when it is cooked just right).

Convection oven will also speed up the baking process so make sure you make the necessary conversion or adjustment before baking your chicken. To make things easier, we will use the oven temperature of 350 as the standard baking temperature for cooking the different parts of a chicken:

Chicken Parts	Estimated Baking Time
Boneless and skinless chicken breasts	15-20 minutes
Boneless chicken breasts	15-25 minutes
Bone-in chicken breasts	30-45 minutes
Thawed chicken legs	1 hour
Frozen chicken legs	2 hours
Chicken thighs	45 minutes
Chicken tenders	30 minutes
Chicken strips	25 minutes
Chicken tenderloins	25 minutes
Chicken cutlets	30 minutes
3 pounds whole chicken	1 hour 20 minutes

The estimated baking time table above is only meant as a guide. To really check whether your chicken is fully cooked, it is highly advisable that you use a meat thermometer or slice into the meat and check the color of the juices. If the juices are not bloody and they run clear, it is a good sign that the meat is fully cooked and safe for eating. After you remove the baked chicken meat from the oven, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.