Place tinfoil over toaster oven tray
Place thin pieces of chicken, Breasts or thighs, onto the tinfoil
Sprinkle on spices of choice. Steak seasoning and Mrs Dash work great
Cook at 450 degrees for 20 minutes
Ready to eat!
tycoon751/iStock/GettyImages A toaster oven can be a pretty handy little appliance, especially in a small kitchen. Most models have timers and can be set to bake or broil at certain
temperatures; consider these mini-ovens. They're also a good energy-saving option for people who cook only one or two servings at a time. Most toaster ovens may be too small to hold a whole chicken, but you can still roast chicken parts in them, just as you would in a normal oven.
Preheat
Set the toaster oven to bake and preheat it to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Chop
Coarsely chop a small onion and a few cloves of garlic.
Prep
Line the toaster oven tray with foil. Put a layer of onions and garlic on the foil, then lay the chicken on top. Put as many parts from a whole chicken that will fit into the tray without being packed too tightly. Lay the chicken parts skin-side up. Put any remaining pieces of onion and garlic between the chicken pieces.
Season
Drizzle the chicken parts with olive oil, a least 1 teaspoon per piece. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and fresh or dried herbs like sage, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary.
Cook
Turn the oven down to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and put the chicken in. Make sure chicken isn't touching the walls of the oven and that there's about an inch between the meat and the top heating element. Cook the chicken for about 20 minutes.
Baste
In a separate pan over the stove, melt a few tablespoons of butter and add pepper and a clove of crushed garlic. Olive oil may be used instead of butter. Use this to baste the chicken every 7 minutes while it's cooking.
Baste the chicken with the juices in the tray once or twice during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Tip
Try other chicken recipes in your toaster oven, adjusting the ingredients if using less chicken than the recipe calls for. Just make sure that the chicken pieces aren't packed in too tightly, that they aren't touching any walls, and that there's adequate space between the meat and the heating elements.
Adjust cooking times according to your own oven and make a note of it next to your favorite recipes so you don't have to guess every time you cook in the toaster oven.
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Seasoning a chicken in a roasting pan.
Image Credit: Howard Shooter/Dorling Kindersley RF/Getty Images
Baking chicken in the toaster oven opens up room in your regular oven, and it can help those who do not have an oven available. Due to the compact size of most toaster ovens, baked-chicken recipes are typically only suitable to make one to two servings at a time. You'll need approximately one hour to prepare and bake a chicken in the toaster oven.
Step 1
Marinate the chicken for four hours prior to baking it. Since baking can dry the meat, keep the chicken moist by soaking it for four hours in buttermilk or Italian dressing. Cover the chicken with the dressing and place it in a closed container in the refrigerator until it is ready to cook.
Step 2
Preheat the toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the "Bake" option on the appliance.
Step 3
Coat the chicken before baking. According to the cookbook, "Pop it in the Toaster Oven: From Entrees to Desserts" by Lois Dewitt, you can use a mixture of cornmeal, wheat germ, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic in your coating. Plain or seasoned bread crumbs will also suffice. Coat the chicken completely on both sides and set it aside.
Step 4
Cover the tray of the toaster oven with aluminum foil. Spray the tray with nonfat cooking spray to keep the chicken from sticking to the foil during cooking.
Step 5
Arrange the chicken breasts on the tray. Spread a small amount of olive oil on the chicken to coat it. This prevents the chicken from drying as it bakes in the toaster oven.
Step 6
Bake the chicken for approximately 35 to 45 minutes in the toaster oven. Use a meat thermometer to determine the doneness of the chicken. The internal temperature should read a minimum of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
1 to 2 skinless chicken breasts
Nonstick cooking spray
Olive oil
Aluminum foil
1 cup buttermilk or Italian dressing
2 cups breadcrumbs
Tip
Always use thawed chicken breasts, never frozen. Frozen chicken breasts will not cook properly in a toaster oven.