This Chicken Caprese recipe is a lighter version of traditional Chicken Parmesan. Packed with flavor, it is a great way to use up the fresh tomatoes and basil from your garden!
Chicken Parmesan is always a big hit in my house, but now that I have a bumper crop of tomatoes and fresh basil in my garden, I wanted to be able to use that to create a lighter and fresher version. This Chicken Caprese recipe does exactly that!
This recipe serves 4 people, but you might notice that it only uses 2 large chicken breasts. That is not a typo. We have been trying to be more mindful of portion sizes in our family and, as most people know, a "portion" of chicken (as well as most meats) is considered to be 4 ounces. Over the years, the boneless skinless chicken breasts that you buy in the store have been getting larger and larger...to the point where 1 breast is anywhere from 8 - 10 ounces! If you really want a larger piece of chicken, you should adjust the the ingredients list accordingly, but I say it would feed a family of four nicely with a vegetable or salad added to your meal
I tossed the pasta with the juices from the pan for a light sauce. That said, we prefer our pasta to be simple and not swimming in sauce. You could add additional broth and/or extra tomatoes if you wanted it to be a little saucier. If you eat gluten-free or low-carb, this is also delicious over spaghetti squash!
I find the easiest way to cut the chicken is to lay my hand over the entire breast and gently press down as I cut. Let the knife do the work as you cut through, making sure to keep the thickness as even as possible. I actually bend down so I can clearly see where I'm cutting. If one end of the chicken is thicker than the other, you can just pound it out to ensure even cooking.
You can really make this your own by adding more or less of whatever you want. If you want more tomatoes, cheese or garlic, feel free to add it! You can even replace some of the chicken broth with wine, which is also delicious. My husband likes crushed red pepper in his, while I add lots of extra basil and Parmesan to mine.
Tearing the basil gives it a more rustic look, but you can also do a chiffonade, which looks pretty sprinkled all over the dish. To do that, just stack the leaves up, tightly roll them, and then cut into long, thin strips.
Note about the basil: Heat will almost instantly turn fresh basil dark brown, so I like to wait until the last minute to sprinkle it on. Plus, not exposing it to heat will keep the bright, fresh flavor, which is what Caprese is really all about!
Scroll down for the recipe!
Chicken Caprese Recipe | An Easy One-Pan Dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts 8 - 10 oz each
- 2-3 plum tomatoes sliced thin
- 2-3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese or 9-10 small balls
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves torn
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan plus extra for serving.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to broil.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the chicken in half horizontally to create two, thin cutlets.
- Lightly sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and then dust with flour, shaking off the excess.
- Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, place the chicken in the pan and don't move it for 2-3 minutes. You should hear it sizzling, and that's good. If it appears to be cooking too hot, you can turn your heat down a bit.
- After 2 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook on the remaining side for two more minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the garlic to the pan, sprinkling it all around the chicken. After about a minute, add the chicken broth followed by the butter. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan and incorporate all those drippings into the sauce.
- Remove the pan from the heat and top each piece of chicken with 2-3 tomato slices. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a pinch more salt and pepper, if desired.
- Add the mozzarella on top of the tomatoes.
- Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven. The chicken is nearly cooked at this point, so you're just browning the tomatoes and cheese to your liking, which was about 5 minutes for me. Since you're broiling, you'll need to watch it close so it doesn't burn.
- Remove it from the oven and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan right before serving.
Julie Beveridge
I cannot wait to try this. I recently went low carb and this will fit perfectly. I wish I had a garden with fresh tomatos to make it with. I am going to have it over spaghetti squash too!! Thanks for the recipe. I am going to pin it too!
Ashleigh Walls
This looks delicious! You should come and link up at The Happy Home Life linky.
Gina Marie
This looks so yummy! Portion control is key in my household or my 13yr boy will eat us out of house and home! lol I can't wait to make this for my family!
Gina Marie from Always Savory
KLW Rose
This looks mouth-wateringly good. And, I have all the ingredients on hand! Thanks for the supper inspiration.
Brian
I agree with your potion control, Chicken breast are getting bigger and we tend to only use one between us, any way this recipe does sound lovely and is on the list of things to cook in the Autumn!
Ros Emely@stressfreemommies
This recipe looks so delicious! I love chicken parmesan, so i know I will love this and is a lighter version of it, even better!
Brenda Young
I love Caprese salad, so this is definitely a no brainer recipe to try for us! Love the print feature, and Pinning!
Amy@ A Cup Full of Sass
Yum! I love the looks to this easy dinner! Pinned to our group board. Thanks for sharing on the Monday Funday Party!
Becky
This looks absolutely delicious! I have been looking for some summery chicken dishes, and it looks like I've found one! I can't wait to try this one out.
And so true on the size of the chicken nowadays! I usually split my chicken breasts in half for a better portion size (and it saves on the budget too!).
Anna Hettick
I have been dieing to try caprese. This looks so good and my husband would try this too since it had meat! :0
Visiting from Crafty & Delicious Party!
Cici @A Hooahs Housewife
I am definitely going to have to make this for my husband & I when he returns! This looks amazing! 🙂
Tara @ Lehman lane
You gotta love those one pan dinners!!! This looks delicious! Pinning to try in the future:). Thanks so much for linking up your recipes at Dream. Create. Inspire. Link. Have a great weekend and take care, tara
AnnMarie
I love caprese salad and the tomatoes are in abundance now so this is a perfect summer meal. Pinned!
Nicole
This looks so incredibly good that I am definitely pinning. I love one pan meals! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty with us!
Jenna Hill
One pan meals are the best and this looks delicious! Pinned! I'd love to share this at our next weekend features post on Sunday with a link back. I can let you know when the post goes live so you can share on social media. Thanks for a great recipe!
amy
Looks delicious! I'd like to try making it without the flour though. TFS! Visiting from the Creative Corner.
Laura | Food Fun Family
Mouth watering! This looks amazing! So glad you shared with the Delicious Dishes Recipe party this week!
Ginger M Cochran
omgosh this looks yummy 🙂 I'd like to invite you to visit my new linky party on Mondays 🙂 Feel free to check it out here: http://superstinkyboys.blogspot.com/2017/03/support-your-fellow-crafter-linky-party_27.html
Sophie
This look delicious ! I was looking for a chicken recipe for dinner tonight ! This will be it for sure. Thank you for sharing .
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner
This recipe looks delicious! I agree with you on the chicken portions. I got some boneless skinless breasts in bulk and each one is almost 1lb! Crazy.
Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
AnnMarie
It will be August before I have fresh tomatoes and basil but I will keep this recipe for then. It looks delicious!
Karly
Delicious! Thanks for linkin' up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
Heidi
This looks delish! Printing it off! Thanks for sharing on Funtastic Friday!