This is the recipe everything else leans on. A simple soy-and-honey-glazed baked chicken breast that stays juicy and works shredded, sliced or cubed into wraps, salads, pastas and bowls. One breast is 47g of protein for 238 calories.

There’s an optional spinach-pesto crust that turns the same tray into something you’d serve at dinner.

Ingredients

  • Chicken breast — 4, ~200 g each raw [P 188 C 0 F 18]
  • Low-sodium soy sauce — 1 tbsp [P 1 C 1 F 0]
  • Honey — ½ tsp
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chilli powder — a generous amount

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F / 230°C.
  2. Season. Spread the breasts on a tray, add the soy, honey, oil and spices, and mix to coat.
  3. Bake. 16–18 minutes depending on thickness, until 74°C / 165°F inside.
  4. Finish. Spoon the pan juices back over the chicken.

What to eat it with

  • Everything — shred it for wraps and salads, cube it for bowls, slice it for sandwiches.
  • Rice and veg — the simplest complete plate.
  • The spinach pesto — see variations.

Variations

  • Spinach pesto crust: blend 2 cups basil + 2 cups spinach (or 4 cups spinach), 2 medium tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tsp olive oil and salt into a chunky paste; spread over the breasts with ½ cup low-fat mozzarella and tomato slices before baking. Per breast: 311 cal, 52g protein, 3.5g carbs, 9.5g fat.
  • Spicier: more chilli powder or cayenne.
  • Herby: oregano and thyme instead of the sweet glaze.

Honest notes

  • Weight correction: the book lists breasts at “5 oz / 145 g”, but 145g of raw chicken holds only ~33g protein — the listed 47g / 238 cal per breast actually corresponds to a larger ~200g (7 oz) raw breast, which is what’s written here. Use ~200g breasts to hit these numbers; smaller breasts scale down proportionally. This applies across the whole chicken chapter.
  • Fibre: essentially 0 on its own — pair with veg, beans or whole grains.
  • Don’t overbake: past 165°F it dries out fast; pull it and rest it.