Description
A flavorful and easy one pan balsamic chicken recipe featuring juicy chicken breasts cooked in a tangy balsamic honey sauce, topped with fresh grape tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Perfect for a delicious and effortless dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Sauce
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. avocado or olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tomato Mozzarella
- 8 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine or pearls)
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chicken
- 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness
- 2 Tbsp. avocado oil or other high-heat oil
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare Sauce: In a bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
- Prepare Tomato Mozzarella Mixture: In a separate bowl, toss together halved grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, and finely chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook Chicken: Heat avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-safe skillet. Season the pounded chicken breasts all over with kosher salt and black pepper. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly golden brown.
- Add Sauce: Pour the prepared balsamic sauce over the chicken. It should quickly come to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan for extra flavor.
- Add Tomato Mozzarella Topping: Remove the skillet from heat immediately and evenly spread the tomato mozzarella mixture over the chicken.
- Bake: Place the skillet uncovered in the preheated oven and bake for 23 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If using ciliegine mozzarella (cherry size), cut the balls in half; if using smaller pearls, no need to cut.
- To ensure even cooking and tender, moist chicken, pound breasts to even thickness using a mallet or rolling pin between plastic wrap or in a sealed bag.
- This recipe was updated to include balsamic vinegar for simplicity and enhanced flavor compared to the previous soy sauce and tomato sauce marinade.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 410 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg
