One Pan Balsamic Chicken
Juicy one-pan balsamic chicken topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. This easy dinner comes together so easily and will surely become a family favorite!
For more one pan meals, try our basil chicken.
Balsamic Basil Chicken
This one-pan balsamic chicken is one of our favorite dinner meals. It’s flavorful, delicious, and can be made year-round!
The chicken breast is quickly seared on the stovetop with delicious homemade balsamic sauce. Then topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to finish baking in the oven.
It’s a meal that can easily be prepared on a weeknight. It serves well over anything that can soak up the sauce, such as rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta.
Ingredients
- balsamic vinegar
- honey
- avocado oil
- garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Dijon mustard
- grape tomatoes
- mozzarella balls
- fresh basil
- chicken breast
- salt and pepper
Can I Use Boneless Chicken Thighs?
Yes, you just have to adjust the cooking time. Thighs cook really fast so I recommend checking for doneness after 7-10 minutes. Also, since thighs are more tender and juicy than chicken breast, there’s no need to pound them.
How to Make Basil Balsamic Chicken
- Whisk together the ingredients for the balsamic sauce.
- In a separate bowl, toss together the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.
- Over high heat, cook the chicken breast until lightly golden brown. Add balsamic sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Top with tomato mozzarella. Bake at 400F until chicken is cooked through.
Serving Suggestions
This one pan balsamic chicken is a great dish to pair with something to soak up the delicious pan juices and sauce. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower Rice Pilaf
- Pineapple Rice
- Cauliflower and Ricotta Mash
- Egg noodles
- Roasted vegetables
- Quinoa
Video: How to Make One Pan Balsamic Chicken
More One-Pan Meals
- Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken
- Thai Chicken and Cabbage Skillet
- Orecchiette with Baked Mini Meatballs
- Chicken and Quinoa in Mustard Sauce
- Chicken with Zucchini and Corn
One Pan Balsamic Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
One-pan balsamic chicken is such a flavorful weeknight dinner. Made with simple ingredients and easy steps!
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. oil, such as avocado or olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Tomato Mozzarella
- 8 oz. grape tomatoes, halved
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine or pearls)
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
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
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, toss together the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large oven-safe skillet. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, to taste. When the pan is hot and oil is shimmering, add the chicken to the skillet in a single layer. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until lightly golden brown. Add the balsamic sauce mixture. It should quickly come to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat and add the tomato mozzarella mixture over the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 18-23 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. Internal temperature should register at 165F. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Mozzarella: If using ciliegine mozzarella, also known as “cherry size” fresh mozzarella then cut it in half. If using “pearls” which are smaller size mozzarella balls, then no need to cut in half.
- Chicken: To pound the chicken, place the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap or into a gallon size Ziploc bag, and using a mallet or rolling pin, pound the chicken to even thickness. Make sure not to skip this step. It helps the chicken cook evenly, tenderizes the meat, and results in moist meat.
- Original Recipe: This recipe was originally published on 9/28/17 and did not include balsamic vinegar. Instead, the recipe relied on a combination of ingredients that resembled the taste of balsamic vinegar. However, it ended up being too confusing to so many readers so we decided to rewrite the recipe to include balsamic vinegar. Here is the old version of the recipe: ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 lemon, juiced (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.), 2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (pounded to even thickness), 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 8 oz. grape tomatoes, halved, 8 oz. fresh mozzarella balls (ciliegine), 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil, Kosher salt and fresh black pepper . In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, tomato sauce, and lemon juice. Add chicken tossing to coat in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, toss together the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Melt butter over high heat in a large oven-safe skillet. Remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the hot skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side or until lightly golden brown, seasoning both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Immediately, off heat, top the chicken with tomato mozzarella mixture and bake uncovered for 18-23 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 6 oz. chicken with sauce
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 9.4 g
- Sodium: 530.2 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.6 g
- Protein: 40.3 g
- Cholesterol: 93.5 mg
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
The original recipe is so good! Family loved it! Made this new one and they didn’t like it as much!
Thanks for your feedback!
I was really looking forward to making the original dish again this week. I absolutely loved it before, can I have the original recipe sent to me?
We added the original recipe to the notes.
Thanks for adding the original recipe. It had just a few ingredients and was great. Thank you!
I’m so happy you’re enjoy it!
I LOVED the original recipe! Is there anyway that recipe could be emailed to me or posted in addition? Thanks !!
Hi Eva: We’ll email the original recipe to you.
Can I get the original as well? My family absolutely loved it!
Can I also receive the original recipe?
I am surprised by so many raves. I made as in the recipe, even adding marinade time, But didn’t taste like balsamic at all. Really was quite bland, but was very juicy, so may try again but with more spice and flavoring.
I use Williams Sonoma Balsamic vinegar and it is to die for. Maybe try that next time.
I made this the other night and my husband loved it. My only regret was I didn’t leave enough basil for the final presentation. I also served it with lemon angel hair pasta.
This was a quick, easy and absolutely delicious dish! The chicken was so moist, flavorful and so tasty! A healthy and fantastic dish! I used a little keas butter in the pan, and added a drizzle of balsamic glaze on top just prior to baking.
Everyone in my house loved it – and it is a beautiful dish. Restaurant quality in presentation and taste!
Family loved it, served it with parmesan angel hair pasta.
Made this tonight and it was amazing! Served it up with a side of lemon angel hair pasta and was an instant family favorite. And beautiful too. Thanks for sharing.
This is so delicious! Something I would even make if I was hosting a dinner.
Is Balsamic vinegar missing from the ingredients? I’m confused by the name of the recipe if balsamic is not included.
There’s no balsamic vinegar but the chicken does taste like balsamic chicken once you combine all the ingredients.
Was looking for a change of pace chicken dish our three teenage boys would like. I gave this a go and it is not only delicious, but easy to make. This recipe along with your Vodka Sauce and Baked Chicken Parm recipes are home-runs in our household!!
Thanks so much Bret! So happy to hear that.
Can i freeze this?
It’s hard to say as I’m not so sure how the sauce or the tomatoes will hold up, it does last in the fridge for at least 3 days though.
I made this for my wife per instructions…
Holy crap, so good.
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for feedback.
She explained to someone else who asked that, about how it doesn’t have balsamic vinegar in it, but when all is combined, it has the taste of balsamic.
This was delicious. I did add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over the ingredients before baking. So quick and easy, this is definitely going into my dinner rotation!! I served it with rice and fresh green beans.
Thank you Eileen! So glad to hear you enjoyed it.
This recipe has become one of our favorites!!! So delicious, easy to make and health. Thank you so much!
Thank you Cristina! So happy you’re loving the recipe.
This was so, so easy and really delicious – I made it exactly as instructed and my boyfriend said it was maybe the best thing I’d ever made!
That’s awesome Alison! So glad you guys loved it. Thanks so much for your feedback!
This was absolutely delicious!!! This recipe will become a regular! I didn’t change a thing. It is perfect! I have shared it with many friends!
Wonderful recipe , thank you for the inspiration . I added some herbs Provencal and called it Chicken Breast Caprese . I added link – reference to your great blog .
Thank you!
We made this last night and it was delicious. Thank you!
That’s great! Thank you Nogol.
Top with Balsamic Reduction Balsamic?? Where is the Balsamic in this recipe