This easy cheesy Caprese Chicken is so over-the-top delicious! In only 45 minutes, you will have perfectly cooked chicken breasts and a sauce so tasty that you’ll want to put on everything.
Doesn’t that look amazing? Delicious melty cheese over baked chicken breast, surrounded by roasted cherry tomatoes and topped with fresh basil. Finally, drizzle some balsamic reduction over it for a little extra sweetness. I can’t believe there’s only 263 calories per serving of this amazing dinner!
WHAT IS CAPRESE CHICKEN?
Caprese is traditionally an Italian salad made with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt. Sometimes you might see a drizzle of balsamic vinegar taking this classic dish over the top! It’s so simple, yet so delicious. While this recipe isn’t traditionally Italian, the caprese flavors overtop a juicy chicken breast were to die for.
HOW TO MAKE CAPRESE CHICKEN
Start off by preheating your oven to 400F. Season the chicken breasts generously with the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. The cheese and basil will be added later, so we want to make sure these chicken breasts are nice and flavorful on their own. Drizzle olive oil to coat the bottom of your baking dish and add the chicken breasts.
Next, you’ll add the cherry tomatoes to the dish. Spread them around the chicken evenly. We cut them in half, but you can definitely leave them whole if you like! Now your chicken is ready for the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, or until 165F at the thickest part of the breast if you have a meat thermometer handy.
It’s time for the fun part! Take the baking dish out of the oven and top those chicken breasts with about 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Feel free to add more if you’d like, I won’t tell anyone! Instead of mozzarella you can use gouda, mild cheddar, provolone, havarti, gruyere, or other mild melty cheese that you like.
Return the dish to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle that beautiful fresh basil over the chicken, a drizzle of balsamic glaze, and serve!
WHAT TO SERVE CAPRESE CHICKEN WITH
After this chicken came out of the oven, I saw all those gorgeous juices that I could just not bring myself to waste. All the flavors from the chicken, tomatoes, and cheese mixed into that sauce is seriously SO delicious. I made a big pot of spaghetti to serve it over for lunch. It was incredible!
You could serve it over regular or cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, or grab a good loaf of bread and soak up everything left in the pan. But whatever you do, don’t let that glorious sauce go to waste!
LOVE THIS EASY RECIPE? TRY THESE!
- Lemon Chicken Piccata
- Skillet Braised Greek Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Pesto Caprese Pasta
- Baked Chicken Breast
Caprese Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning or to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup mozarella cheese shredded
- 2-3 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade*
- Balsamic glaze to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Generously season your chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning on both sides. Drizzle the olive oil to coat the bottom of a baking dish. Add the chicken and cherry tomatoes. Disperse the tomatoes evenly around the chicken.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the breasts reach an internal temperature of 165F in the thickest part. Take the baking dish out of the oven, and put about 1/3 cup of the mozzarella over each chicken breast. Return the dish to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the basil over the chicken. Serve the chicken with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
Video
Notes
- Instead of mozzarella you can use gouda, mild cheddar, provolone, havarti, gruyere, or other mild melty cheese that you like. You can add or subtract the amount of cheese to suit your preference.
- You can leave the cherry tomatoes whole if you like. You can also use any type of tomato that you prefer, cut into bite sized pieces.
- This recipe can be used for chicken thighs as well.
- You can serve these over pasta, chicken, rice, etc. to use up the sauce in the pan.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
How to make balsamic glaze and do what with the other 2/3c cheese?
1/3 cup over each breast, there are 3 breasts, so 1 cup in total. The glaze we use is store-bought in the same aisle as the vinegars!
Jo is the best ever! another fast, easy & delicious meal.