Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken
Easy One Pan Caprese Chicken
Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken is the perfect easy dinner recipe. Is it accessible enough for a beginner? This is a great recipe for beginners. There are very few ingredients and no special techniques. Is it quick enough to make on busy weeknights? That’s the best part: this recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes. This is a one-pan meal? You mean I won’t have a stack of dishes to contend with? You will not! Above all, this caprese chicken recipe is a delicious meal form of a classic caprese salad: juicy chicken breasts, fresh tomatoes, a tangy balsamic reduction, creamy fresh mozzarella slices, and fresh basil. Yes, please! This will quickly become one of those easy recipes you reach for again and again. I know it is a summer favorite in our house because it is such a great way to use ripe tomatoes.
Why You Should Give This a Try
- While Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken is an easy chicken recipe, it tastes like the sort of sophisticated dish you would order in a restaurant.
- Easy to find, simple ingredients
- No complicated steps, no special equipment
- This recipe is accessible to even the most inexperienced cook.
- Because you are using thinner chicken breasts, cooking time is super quick.
- Melted mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken makes everything better!
Recipe Ingredients
To make Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken, you will need the following ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Thin sliced, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- Balsamic vinegar
- Grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Salt and pepper each side lightly.
Place chicken breasts in the heated olive oil and cook over medium-high heat, turning every two minutes or so. Cook until lightly golden brown on each side, about five minutes total. The chicken should not be fully cooked through.
Pour the balsamic vinegar over the chicken. Let simmer gently over medium heat. Be careful not to boil the balsamic vinegar. You are working to create a balsamic reduction here and don’t want to let the vinegar evaporate. For best results it is better to lower the heat temporarily to medium so avoid overheating.
Add the grape tomatoes or some juicy cherry tomatoes to the pan with the chicken. Either type works equally well. Cook until the tomatoes are soft, but do not crush them into the pan, about 5-6 minutes.
Place a slice of mozzarella on top of each piece of chicken. Cover the pan and let the cheese melt, approximately 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and serve immediately.
Check out the printable recipe card for step-by-step directions.
Tips and Tricks
- If the chicken is not evenly sliced, make sure you cut lightly into the thickest part to be sure it is cooked through. Chicken is cooked when an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F.
- Your tomatoes should be fork tender, with some splits, but avoid pressing into them. You don’t want to overwhelm the vinegar with tomato juice.
- Keep an eye on the mozzarella as it melts. Fresh mozzarella will disintegrate into almost nothing if left on the heat too long. You want a nice gooey slab of cheese on top of your chicken.
- Do not treat the balsamic vinegar as a sauce. While eating it along with the chicken is delicious, downing many spoonfuls may be unpleasant. It is, after all, vinegar.
- I only had dry basil because I was badly organized. Next time, I will definitely go for the fresh basil.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve my Easy 30 minute One Pan Caprese Chicken over creamy rice like risotto or a packaged alfredo rice mix. You can also serve it with pasta. If you choose pasta, I recommend spaghetti so you can place your chicken and tomatoes directly on top.
A green side salad rounds out your meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make thin-sliced chicken breasts?
I also sometimes have trouble finding thin-sliced chicken breasts. In that case, you have a few choices: you can use regular boneless chicken breasts and increase the cooking time, use a meat mallet to thin out thicker pieces, or slice the chicken breasts in half.
If you increase the cooking time, cut into the chicken to be sure there are no pink spots before serving. Remember, an instant-read thermometer is the most accurate way to test for doneness. Cooked chicken breasts have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
If you happen to have a meat mallet, you can place the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and hit them with the mallet until you reach the desired thickness. This can be a little labor intensive.
If you want to cut the chicken, place it on a flat surface. Put your hand on top and slice VERY carefully and VERY slowly, horizontally. Be careful not to lift up the knife (I am always focusing on pressing downward) or you may find the knife in your hand. Slow and steady!
Can I use “regular” mozzarella instead of fresh mozzarella?
Yes! So why use one instead of the other? Fresh mozzarella is very moist with a creamy, velvety texture. Its disadvantages are that it needs to be eaten rather quickly so it won’t spoil and it melts into a puddle if you let it cook too long. Regular mozzarella is low moisture so it lasts longer. It also melts more evenly and has a bit of a saltier taste.
How much dry basil should I use if I don’t have fresh?
I often purchase fresh herbs but basil somehow seems to be in short supply when I need it. Generally, the rule is to use ⅓ the amount if you are using dried herbs. In this case, I would actually recommend using either 1 tablespoon of dried basil or 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.
Easy 30 Minute One Pan Caprese Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper
- 1 lb thin-sliced chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
- 5-6 slices fresh mozzarella
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil or 1 tbsp dried basil
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a deep fry pan.
- While the olive oil heats, pat the chicken breasts dry and lightly salt and pepper both sides.
- Fry the chicken over medium high heat, turning occasionally until it is evenly golden on both sides, about five minutes It will not be cooked through yet.
- Pour the balsamic vinegar over the cooking chicken. You don't want to boil away the vinegar, so you may need to lower the heat to keep it from bubbling.
- Add the tomatoes and cover, cooking over medium heat until the tomatoes begin to split, about 5-6 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be soft but do not want to crush them into the pan.
- When the tomatoes are ready, top each piece of chicken with one slice of mozzarella and cover, letting the cheese melt at medium heat.
- Test your chicken to be sure it is cooked. If you have an instant read thermometer, it will read 165 degrees F.
- Sprinkle with chopped basil
