Balsamic Chicken

This balsamic chicken recipe tastes as if it came from a fancy Italian restaurant, but it’s a simple one-pan wonder! Like all the best Italian chicken recipes, balsamic chicken has traditional Italian flavors with easy-to-find ingredients.

I love chicken recipes that transform simple chicken breasts into a flavorful family meal. Italian and Mediterranean chicken meals deliver just that! My family loves this quick and easy recipe!

If you and your loved ones enjoy this recipe, consider trying our Chicken Francaise, Sheet Pan Italian Chicken, Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken, or Italian Dressing Chicken next.

Let’s make this!

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Recipe

• Only one pan to clean!
• Uses fresh tomatoes that are available year-round.
• No advanced prep or planning required!
• The SAUCE! Thick, Complex, and sooo Yummy!!

BALSAMIC CHICKEN INGREDIENTS

• Chicken: I start with boneless, skinless, chicken breasts.
• Salt + Black Pepper: Create the perfect base seasoning for this dish.
• Oil: I like olive oil but any neutral-flavored oil will work.
• Shallots:
• Garlic: Please use fresh garlic, not the stuff that comes pre-minced suspended in that weird-tasting liquid!
• Tomatoes: We developed this recipe using grape tomatoes so that we could make this dish year-round with fresh tomatoes! If you’re making this during tomato season, feel free to use any tomatoes that are in season and at their best!
• Rosemary: I love the flavor of fresh. I have it growing year ’round in my yard. If you want to, of course, you can use dried.
• Chicken Broth: Start with low-sodium chicken broth so you have more control of the overall sodium in this dish.
• Basil: As with the rosemary, fresh is best for flavor. If you want to, of course, you can use dried.

TIPS

• Cooking the Chicken: When you return the chicken to the sauce for its final cooking, be sure not to overcook it. If you boil the chicken in the sauce for too long, it will become tough and rubbery. Cook it just until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.
• The Vinegar: Like wine, there is a wide variety of balsamic vinegar ages and qualities. I suggest a mid-range vinegar that has a hint of age, but it doesn’t have to be the super expensive stuff. The older the vinegar, the sweeter it becomes.
• Cutting the tomatoes – Cutting the individual tomatoes can be tedious. I suggest the sandwich method (that’s my name for it!) Place your tomatoes on a cutting board, plate, or even a Tupperware lid with a slight lip around the edge.
  • Put your tomatoes on it and put a plate or lid on top to make a sandwich. Press down just hard enough to hold the tomatoes in place and use a sharp knife to slice through them in one pass.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

This chicken goes well with cooked spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or rice. I also enjoy having copycat Olive Garden breadsticks, pull-apart garlic bread, or homemade garlic bread on the side. Crispy parmesan potatoes and dark leafy greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette are other good companions.

Savory vegetable sides like roasted broccoli, simple roasted peppers, garlic sautéed asparagus, or my brown sugar glazed carrots are great if you want to up the ante!

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

• How Long Will This Last In The Fridge? The chicken will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. Allow the chicken to cool completely before putting it in a well-sealed container. I suggest using a glass storage container because of the tomato-based sauce. You can defrost and reheat slowly on medium heat.
• Can You Freeze This? This recipe freezes well, though the tomatoes will lose their texture after a trip through the deep freeze.
• Make Ahead:  You can make this in advance in one of two ways.
  • Option one: finish the entire dish, then freeze or refrigerate the chicken and sauce it in an airtight container like a gallon plastic bag. Cooked chicken keeps for about three months in the freezer and three days in the refrigerator.
  • Alternatively, you can cook the seasoned chicken, freeze it, and put together the sauce when you want to serve. Defrost the chicken by putting it in the refrigerator the night before.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety, check out this link.

HOW TO MAKE BALSAMIC CHICKEN RECIPE

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Cook the chicken breasts with a bit of oil in a skillet.
3. Once they are mostly cooked, remove them from the skillet and set aside.
4. Sauté the garlic and shallots until tender.
5. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar. Reduce the vinegar until it is syrupy.
6. Add in the chicken broth and tomatoes.
7. Bring to a boil and allow the sauce to thicken
8. Add the butter.
9. Put the chicken back into the sauce and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and coated.

***See the full instructions below.

MORE MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN RECIPES

• Marry Me Chicken Pasta
• Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
• Chicken Milanese
• Honey Balsamic Chicken (Sheet Pan)
• Greek Chicken
• Pesto Chicken 
• Creamy Lemon Chicken
• Chicken Scarpariello
• Chicken Vesuvio
• Chicken Lazone 
• Italian Chicken Soup
• Chicken Florentine Soup
• Chicken Tortellini Soup

TRIED THIS RECIPE?

Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Save Recipe!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Balsamic Chicken

You can't beat the one-pan wonder of Balsamic Chicken with tender chicken in a tangy sauce. Easy to make but tastes like it's straight from a restaurant!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 1 (18-ounce) container, about 3 cups grape tomatoes cut in half
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• ▢ 3/4 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 cup basil, chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Pat chicken breast (4) with paper towels to remove any excess moisture from the packaging. Season chicken breast generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil (2 tablespoons) in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, when it begins to shimmer, add chicken breast. 
• Cook, turning once, until firm to the touch, about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the breast. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and set aside.
• Add the shallots (1) and garlic (1 tablespoon) to the same skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until the shallots are soft, about 4-6 minutes.
• Add the balsamic vinegar (1/4 cup), stir and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet, and cook until the vinegar is reduced and becomes syrupy. 
• Stir in the tomatoes (3 cups), rosemary (2 tablespoons), chicken broth (3/4 cup) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the sauce has thickened a bit. 
• Add butter (2 tablespoons) and stir in until melted and combined. 
• Add chicken, along with any accumulated juices, and nestle chicken into the sauce. Simmer until chicken is warmed through. Flip chicken to coat with sauce. 
• Remove chicken to serving platter and sprinkle with chopped basil (1 cup). Serve.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
• 
  Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta
• 
  Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
• 
  Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

RATE THIS RECIPE

Save Recipe!

Notes

1. Cooking the Chicken: When you put the chicken back into the sauce for its final cook, be sure you don’t overcook it. If you boil it in the sauce for too long, the chicken will be tough and rubbery. Cook it just until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.
2. The Vinegar: Like wine, there is a wide variety of ages and quality of balsamic vinegar. I suggest a mid-range vinegar that has a little age to it, but it doesn’t have to be the super expensive stuff. The older the vinegar is, the sweeter it is.
3. Cutting the tomatoes – Cutting the individual tomatoes can be tedious. I suggest the sandwich method (that’s my name for it!) Put your tomatoes on a cutting board, plate, or even a Tupperware lid with a bit of a lip around the edge.
   • Put your tomatoes on it and put a plate or lid on top to make a sandwich. Press down just hard enough to hold the tomatoes in place and use a sharp knife to slice through them in one pass. This video shows it perfectly. It’s a great trick and saves tons of time. Just be sure your knife is sharp, and you don’t squash the tomatoes!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 1193mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1519IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I'D LOVE TO SEE!Tag @GonnaWantSeconds or #gonnawantseconds on Instagram!

© Gonna Want Seconds. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media/website/blog is strictly prohibited.

 

Pin

Share

Email

2K Shares