Baked Caprese Chicken
Baked Caprese Chicken with Italian seasoned chicken breast, sweet oven roasted tomatoes, savory balsamic vinegar, and melted mozzarella cheese.
This 30-minute Oven-Baked Chicken with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese will have everyone begging for seconds. This is one of those dinner recipes that is a classic go-to because it is so easy and everyone loves it.
It all starts with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can use the traditional thick breasts or pick up the thinly sliced chicken breasts. I tend to go for the thinly sliced chicken breasts because the chicken cooks evenly and there's more topping. It's all about the topping!
Next, to make this Caprese Chicken, you need to season the heck out of the chicken breast. Let's be real here...chicken is way bland on its own and needs a little help. It is amazing the power of spices to transform bland, boring chicken. We are rubbing on extra virgin olive oil to keep it moist and juicy and a mixture of Italian spices to make it extra flavorful.
To bring in the freshness, we are using vine-ripened tomatoes. We all know vegetables taste even better when they are roasted so we are roasting tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make them soft, slightly sweet, and savory. You can use any type of tomatoes but I usually grab the campari or grape tomatoes at the grocery store and halve or quarter them.
Bring on the mozzarella cheese! Oh cheese, how I LOVE YOU. After the chicken is baked through, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, and broil it for 5 minutes to get it melted and toasty. You can use grated or freshly sliced mozzarella cheese. If you use grated mozzarella cheese, it will melt easier since fresh mozzarella tends to keep its shape for a longer period of time. Both are amazing on this Balsamic Chicken with Tomatoes and Mozzarella so it is up to you!
Bake at a higher heat to seal in the juices. Bake the chicken just until cooked through, which may be anywhere from 18-23 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breast. Top with mozzarella cheese and place on the top rack to broil for 5 minutes to melt cheese. There's something so amazing about a cast iron skillet, you can find my favorite for less than $15 bucks HERE.
Serve this Baked Caprese Chicken with a side of angel hair pasta or vegetables.
How to make Baked Caprese Chicken?
- Season, season, and season again chicken breast with olive oil, garlic, and Italian spices.
- Use Fresh Tomatoes, halved or quartered, with balsamic vinegar.
- Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 20-22 minutes, depending on the thickness of chicken breast.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place oven to broil setting and broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and toasty.
- Serve by drizzling sauce all over chicken.
Baked Caprese Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 Large Chicken Breasts (or 5-6 thinly sliced chicken breasts)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ¾ teaspoon Dried Basil
- ¾ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 ½ cups Fresh Tomatoes such as Campari or Grape, halved or quartered
- ⅓ cup Red Onion diced
- 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 ½ cups Grated Mozzarella Cheese or 4 - 8 Slices Fresh Mozzarella
- Garnish optional:
- Fresh Italian Parsley or Basil diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place chicken breast in a baking dish or cast-iron skillet. Sprinkle with olive oil, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Place halved tomatoes and diced onion all around chicken.
- Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.
- Bake for 18-24 minutes, depending on the thickness of chicken breast.
- After chicken is cooked through, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Set oven to broil and place baking pan or skillet on the top rack. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil or Italian parsley.
- Serve by drizzling balsamic sauce and tomatoes all over chicken.
Nutrition
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Laurie
Amazing Recipe!! So tasty and quick & easy.
Audrey
This was fantastic!!! I made this for a good friend of mine with a side of angel hair pasta and it was a big hit!! Her husband loved it so much he wanted the recipe!! Thank you for sharing!!
Mike Hoysler
I used diced tomatoes, drained most of the juices, added the balsamic, brown sugar, diced half a white onion, some chopped fresh basil, garlic powder & Italian seasonings. Brought it to a boil & turned it way down to allow it to reduce & set it aside. Once the chicken was baked I added shredded mozzarella & topped with the tomato/balsamic mixture. Every guy at the fire station inhaled it. They all said it was my best dinner ever!
Modern Honey
Thanks so much, Mike! What a great endorsement. So glad the caprese chicken was a hit. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Rita
The EASIEST recipe!! Love it so much.
Jenn
Can this be made without the brown sugar?
Lori
Do you combine the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar? And how much of it do you use on the chicken before you bake it? All of it? Or save some to drizzle at the end? Thanks!
sharon Lock
I've made this recipe several times . Every time , is a hit . never any leftovers .My husband asked if I could make that chicken dish again . So Every time he ask , I do.
Dean
I love this dish! Chicken, balsamic, mozzarella cheese with Italian spices cooked in a cast iron is definitely a winner. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe!
Joanne
Great recipe. Very flavorful and really easy. Plus, quick cleanup! I cooked them for 20 min then 5 more. A little too long but i had sliced my chicken breasts in half. I only used half the amount of cheese and it was plenty. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing????
Charles Franks
This is awesome!! Nice flavor and after flavor. My wife's son would like this recipe. He does not like creamy sauces. Served with baby home grown gold potatoes then drizzled the sauce over the potatoes. Dipped the bites of chicken in the sauce again. WOW!! This was a right on recipe. Thanks
Ellen
Very good but will add 1/2 cup of white wine next time. An easy and pretty presentation! Looking forward to making it again.
Rhys
Loved this recipe! Prep was pretty easy and the chicken was really flavorful. I used two chicken breasts and slices of mozzarella. Delicious.
Lisa
I started the chicken in the cast iron to give it a little color before popping it into the oven. The flavors were great, hubby loved it too. This recipe will definitely be in my rotation. I love how quick and easy it is with little prep.
Briana T.
Absolutely scrumptious! Was craving chicken with mozzarella and tomato and this recipe came up. This was exactly what I wanted and MORE! When I tell you how juicy and flavorful the chicken was omg! So easy too, I didn’t even have to modify the recipe.
Mariellen
This is fantastic! Super easy and uses all ingredients that I typically have on hand. Hubby loved it, too. Looks just like the pic- a keeper.
John E Gelroth
5 star isn't adequate to describe the delicious results of this recipe. My spouse and I put this together per the letter of the recipe and had a beautiful end result that we just could not stop eating.
Catherine
This was such an easy fabulous dish full of flavor and so easy. I added a few stalks of asparagus. Yum. Definitely on our regular rotation.
Michele
This tasted very good. The only thing is that I wished the sauce was a little thicker.
Bonnie
This was outstanding. Very moist & tasty. Instead of Onion I substituted Shallots. I also added some Fennel seed over the chicken & vegetables. Yum yum!
Sharlette White
I love this recipe. I also like that I could convert the ingredients for 1 serving.