How long to cook a 200 g chicken breast at 400°F
Short answer
A 200 g (7 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast takes 18 to 20 minutes at 400°F (205°C), from fridge-cold, in a fully preheated oven. Start checking at 15 minutes and take it out the moment the thickest part reads 165°F (74°C).
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Your results
Cooking time
20 min
Start checking at
15 min
Safe internal temperature
165°F / 74°C
Rest
5 min
Two hundred grams is the size most supermarket breasts land at, and 400°F is hot enough to colour the outside before the inside dries — which is the whole problem with chicken breast. At 350°F the same piece takes 25 minutes and spends five more of them losing moisture; at 450°F the surface tightens before the centre is safe.
The window between done and dry is about two minutes wide. Chicken is safe at 165°F (74°C) and unpleasant by 170°F, and a 200 g breast climbs through that range fast in a hot oven. This is the single cut where a probe thermometer changes the result more than any technique does.
Two things add time and neither is on the packet. A crowded tray traps steam between the pieces and can add five minutes. And a breast with a thick end and a thin tail cooks unevenly — pounding it to an even 2 cm, or tucking the thin end under, is worth more than any adjustment to the clock.
Let it rest five minutes before cutting. The juice needs that long to settle back into the fibres; slice it straight out of the oven and it runs onto the board, which is exactly the moisture you spent twenty minutes protecting.
Related questions
Should I cover chicken breast with foil in the oven?
Not at 400°F for twenty minutes — foil traps steam and you lose the browning without gaining much moisture. Cover only if you are cooking at a lower temperature for longer.
How long for two 200 g breasts?
The same 18 to 20 minutes, as long as they are not touching. Cooking time follows the thickness of each piece, not the total weight in the pan.
What if my breast is 250 g?
About 22 to 24 minutes at the same temperature. Weight and time do not scale one for one — heat has to reach a centre that is thicker, not just heavier.