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
More Favorites from Little Broken
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.
Don’t know why I waited so long to make this! Absolutely delicious!!! Have to make double next time so there’s leftovers.
Will be making this often! It was amazing! Thank you!
This was delicious! I will definitely make it again.
DELICIOUS!! I doubled and made for 7 with some left overs. Everyone went in for seconds it was a huge hit. I can’t wait to make again!!
Really delicious!!
Thank you
Can you make this dish completely in the oven? Is so, what temp and time do you recommend?
Hi Jo: I’ve never made this completely in the oven so I can’t answer with certainty. Personally, I would not recommend just baking the chicken as you lose a lot of flavor if you don’t sear the chicken.
This was absolutely delicious! So easy to make and so flavorful. I will definitely be making this frequently.
Is it possible to make it ahead and then reheat?
If so what temperature and for how long?
I would reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low heat with a splash of a little liquid such as stock, partially covered until warmed through. I don’t have an exact time in mind as it will depend on the pan and the amount of the chicken used.
This was delicious and easy. I reduced to 1 TB and it was perfect.
Can you sear chicken in advance?
Yes it should be fine to do that. Just check on the bake time then to make sure it cooks through in the amount indicated.
Super easy & very flavorful recipe!! Hubby loved it!
Wow! So much flavour, yet so easy to make. Total keeper!
Very good! I made this for a dinner party. Everyone enjoyed it. Paired it with orzo and roasted Romanesco.
That was a super tasty recipe!! Definitely going to make that over and over again!
The only change I made was the cheese as I only had a brick of mozzarella so I just cut it up into small pieces also I only had dried basil so I used a third of the amount of fresh. Other than perfecto!
My store was out of the mozzarella balls so I substituted cut up block cheese version.. It worked just fine. I also finished off a bottle of balsamic glaze which added to the flavor. We enjoyed dinner!
Excellent! This is very flavorful. I followed the recipe to a T and the only change I would make in the future is to add a cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce. Other than that, it is so yummy!
I made this tonight for my husband and I. We both loved it and agreed, it is company worthy. Thank you so much!
Followed the recipe exactly – this dish is delicious! My picky husband was scraping his plate – will definnitely put this one in the rotation!