Chicken Caprese is a gorgeous, restaurant quality meal loaded with Italian flavor. Sautéed chicken with oven roasted tomatoes, balsamic, and melted mozzarella cheese.
As much as I love to cook, I always look forward to a meal out. Not an easy feat when you’ve got little ones.
I will never forget the amount of planning and organization that had to take place to have a date night with my husband when the boys were small. It was a pretty major ordeal that required lining up a babysitter and planning and cooking a meal they could eat in our absence. For years now we’ve been able to just hop in the car and go, and I will forever consider it a true luxury. That effort is REAL and those memories don’t fade.
This Chicken Caprese recipe was inspired by the caprese salad we always ordered when we hit up our favorite little Italian place back in California. It’s got the basics – slices of fresh mozzarella layered with red, ripe tomatoes, and basil, but they also include prosciutto and the whole thing is drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Simple and perfect. With a little bread and some wine, we could easily call it dinner. I got to thinking about this and decided to add some chicken and do exactly that.
This is a recipe that has had some time to marinate (pun intended). It was first published here on Valerie’s Kitchen way back in 2013. Since then I’ve had time to work with it and make some improvements including a simple chicken marinade that ensures the chicken will be tender and flavorful and a fabulous method for crisping prosciutto.
It’s all prepared in one skillet, starting on the stove and ending in the oven. Chicken Caprese is a restaurant quality meal that is stunning on the plate.
Ingredients for the Chicken Marinade
- Chicken – You’ll need thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If they are regular thickness, pound them with a mallet to about ¼-inch thickness or use a sharp knife to slice them vertically through the center to create two pieces.
- Lemon juice – From a fresh lemon, not the bottled stuff.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Rosemary – Either fresh or dried rosemary will work just fine.
- Minced garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Marinate the Chicken
- Combine the marinade ingredients and place it in a resealable plastic storage bag.
- Add the chicken, press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Move the chicken around inside the bag until well coated with the marinade and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
Ingredients for the Chicken Caprese
- Cherry tomatoes – I love to use a package of multi-colored cherry or grape tomatoes for beautiful color contrast.
- Balsamic vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Minced garlic
- Sugar – A little sugar enhances the sweetness of the tomatoes which get even sweeter when they soften in the oven.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Prosciutto – I’m listing this as an optional ingredient because I know it can be pricey. This dish is plenty flavorful without it but crisped prosciutto adds a really nice element. See below for more on this.
- Fresh mozzarella – Logs of fresh mozzarella come pre-sliced now which is pretty awesome.
- Fresh basil
- Parmesan – I will also use Pecorino Romano cheese from time to time. If you really want the Parmesan to stand out, try shaving it it with your box grater or you can use a vegetable peeler or very sharp knife. Use a light touch for thin shavings.
- Marinated chicken
How to Crisp Prosciutto in the Oven
Crisped prosciutto is an easy way to add great depth of flavor to appetizers, salad, or pizza fresh out of the oven. It’s like crumbled bacon but fancier.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and lay the prosciutto out in an even layer.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness) until nicely crisped. Remove it from the oven and set it aside while you prepare the chicken
How to Make Chicken Caprese
- in a medium mixing bowl combine the cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and set it aside.
- Heat olive oil in a 12- to 14-inch skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the chicken (discard the marinade) and cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown on both sides.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the tomato mixture with all the liquid from the bowl evenly over and around the chicken.
- Tear the slices of fresh mozzarella into small pieces and scatter them over the top.
- Bake the Chicken Caprese uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted, the tomatoes have softened, and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when measured in the thickest part with an instant read thermometer.
- Scatter the basil over the top, sprinkle with shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese and pieces of the crisped prosciutto and serve.
Serving Suggestions
It’s a natural fit to serve Chicken Caprese with pasta. We love it with cheese tortellini tossed in a little olive oil and sprinkled with black pepper and fresh basil. More great side dish ideas:
More Italian Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken and Spinach Skillet Pasta
- Chicken Marsala
This post was originally published on April 27, 2013. It has been updated with new text and images.
Chicken Caprese
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, thin-sliced or see directions below
For the Chicken Marinade
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Marinated Tomatoes
- 10 ounces multi-colored cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the Rest
- 2 ounces prosciutto, optional
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
Marinated Chicken
- If chicken is more than ¼-inch thick, place it on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to slice all the way through the pieces, vertically, creating two thin pieces. If necessary, pound the chicken to ¼-inch thickness. Cut into smaller portion sizes, if needed. Transfer chicken to a resealable plastic storage bag and set aside.
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour it over the chicken. Press out as much air as possible from the bag and seal it. Move the chicken around inside the bag until well coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Marinated Tomatoes
- While the oven is preheating, in a medium mixing bowl combine the cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and set it aside.
Crisped Prosciutto (Optional)
- Lay the prosciutto slices on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer without overlapping. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness). Remove from the oven and set aside while you prepare the chicken. Leave the oven set to 375 degrees F.
Caprese Chicken
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12- to 14-inch skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the chicken (discard the marinade) and cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown on both sides. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the tomato mixture with all the liquid from the bowl evenly over and around the chicken. Tear the slices of fresh mozzarella into pieces and scatter them over the top. Bake, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted, the tomatoes have softened, and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F when measured in the thickest part with an instant read thermometer. Remove from the oven.
- Scatter the basil over the top, sprinkle with the finely shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese and pieces of the crisped prosciutto and serve.
- Serve with cooked pasta of your choice or all on it’s own.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
I made this dish for my family last night. What a huge hit it was! Both of my grown daughters told me they wanted this recipe for their recipe book. Even their toddler children loved it. Didn’t change anything about the recipe. It was perfect just the way it is listed! Thank you for sharing it with us!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks so much for your comment, Lisa. 🙂
Thank you for another delicious recipe Val! I made this last night and really enjoyed it!
I never realized how hard it becomes for the parents when their children are little until I grew older and saw it on TV show. Haha. This dinner looks delicious, I’m loving the colors of the tomatoes!