Balsamic Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes is on the menu, friends, and you’re going to love it!
It’s that time of year around here where the garden tomatoes are juuuuusssst starting to ripen.
It’s so exciting to pick that first one or two that turn red, “Look, my first tomatoes!”
But before too long, you’ve got so many tomatoes you can’t carry them to the house in one load. Your entire kitchen counter is covered in tomatoes. You start pawning off tomatoes on everyone you possibly can. “YOU get a tomato, and YOU get a tomato!” 🍅 🍅 🍅 🍅 🍅
That time is fast approaching, friends. Crazy tomato season is almost upon us. You know what I mean.
But no worries, because I’m here today to help you with one of my favorite recipes to use up a ton of those tomatoes….even the ones that you didn’t get used quite soon enough, and may be a tiny bit wrinkly. Once they are roasted in this sauce, you’ll never know.
And if you’re not a gardener, supermarket tomatoes work just as well in this dish. Everything gets roasted together in a rich balsamic sauce. It’s just plain delicious no matter what tomatoes you use.
My husband made it once, when my parents were over for dinner, and my mom literally declared it, “The best thing I’ve ever eaten!” How’s that for an endorsement?! Especially if you knew that one of the most famous lines ever uttered by my mother (that my kids still love to quote) was, “Life just isn’t worth living without ice cream.” She clearly knew what she was talking about. 💕
How to Make Balsamic Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes
The Tomatoes
I used about a pint of grape tomatoes, but I only made this dish for two people. If you’re going to make it for a larger crowd, you will want to adjust accordingly. The amount of tomatoes is very flexible in this recipe. A pint was perfect for two people, because they cook down a bit when roasted.
The Balsamic Sauce
The balsamic sauce is a mixture of balsamic vinegar, a little brown sugar, and fresh garlic. Whisk it together in a small mixing cup.
Arrange the ingredients in your casserole dish…
Arrange your chicken breasts in the bottom of a casserole dish, and drizzle them with olive oil. Again, I only made two portions, but the recipe at the bottom of this post serves 4.
Arrange the tomatoes in a circle around the chicken. Add a few thinly sliced strips of onion on top to suit your taste.
Then pour the balsamic sauce over all.
Bake
Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven, for 25-30 minutes.
When it comes out of the oven, it will already look (and smell) divine. But wait! There’s more! You’re going to make it even better, by adding some mozzarella right on top! I know.…..
I used fresh mozz because that’s what we had– I keep it on hand all summer because… CAPRESE. But you can totally used sliced or shredded mozzarella, too, and this will still knock your socks off.
Pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese for just a couple of minutes. Plus, look what it does to those tomatoes. Can you see it? That slightly charred part…. that’s the goal. So. Good.
Garnish with some fresh basil to make it pretty. And because it tastes good.
You’re going to want to serve this Balsamic Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes with some fresh bread for sopping up all that rich juice underneath. It’s tomato-y, chicken-y, balsamic-y, and cheeeeesy. <eyes rolling back in head>. My mama was sooooo right about this one.
This one checks all the boxes…
- Easy… ✅
- Amazingly scrumptious… ✅
- Healthy…✅
- Helps you manage your overload of garden tomatoes… ✅
- Gives you a good reason to eat a lot of bread! Oh yeah…✅
Balsamic Chicken & Fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
- 2 pints grape tomatoes or cherry, or any large tomato cut in large chunks
- 1/4 of a red onion thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- mozzarella cheese for topping fresh, sliced or shredded- your preference
- fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with oregano, basil, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Sprinkle seasoning all over each breast. Arrange the tomatoes and red onion around the chicken.
- Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, sugar and remaining garlic in a glass mixing cup to combine. Pour over the chicken breasts, flipping each breast in the sauce to evenly coat.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts), or until no longer pink in the middle. To be on the safe side, check it with a meat thermometer and make sure it is 164° in the thickest part. Sprinkle with cheese and broil for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden.
- Garnish with basil, and serve with rice or pasta drizzled with the pan juices. Or use a thick slice of crusty bread for soaking up the juice, which is our favorite way.
You guys, this one is a keeper for real. You’re gonna wanna serve it on repeat.
Here are two of my favorite bread recipes that would be perfect for sopping up the delectable sauce in this recipe.
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I have this Pampered Chef Oval Baker, and I love it for dishes like this. I always use it for my Hot & Cheesy Corn Dip recipe, too.
These pasta bowls are my go-to dishes to serve pasta, but also anything that has a bit of sauce to it, like this Balsamic Chicken. They are kind of like a bowl and a plate combined in one.
My enamelware colander was my mom’s, but THIS ONE is very similar. It’s so functional and useful, and I love the vintage appeal.
I use my glass measuring cup all the time for making sauces like this. You can measure and mix all in the same container, making for less clean-up!
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I wanted to use up some late season tomatoes. This was perfect and so easy. I did cut down the brown sugar by 1/3 but next time maybe use just 1 teaspoon since the tomatoes were so sweet.
Hi Susan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. It is one of our favorites that we make on repeat. If you have really delicious fresh garden tomatoes that are already sweet, less sugar is a good idea. The grocery store kind may need the full amount. Glad you were able to customize it to your liking.
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
This is going to the top of our favorite meals! So easy to make and so incredibly delicious. Was considering using a balsamic glaze but followed the instructions and glad I did. Many thanks for the easy to follow directions.
This was very easy and lovely! What a great way to use up an over abundance of tomatoes. I used dark heirloom large tomatoes so I cut into chunks and it worked well. I was afraid they would fall apart but it worked. Next time if I’m using those I’ll probably leave out the brown sugar because it was pretty sweet probably from those tomatoes.
I’m so glad you gave it a try, and that it worked pretty well with the tomatoes you had on hand. Your extra sweet tomatoes sound delicious!
Wow this sounds so good! I have lots of tomatoes in my garden right now so I will be making this recipe this week! I will be using your bread idea to sop up all the juices! 🙂
Karin
I hope you love it like we do! It’s one of our favorites and we make it on repeat!
Do you use regular balsamic or the thick aged one? This looks tasty.
Just regular balsamic vinegar. This is such a good meal. I hope you’ll come back and tell me how you like it, Maxine!
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
Yum and pinned! new follower too from Marilyn’s link party! laura in Colorado
Welcome Laura! So glad you found your way here. Thanks for taking the time to leave a nice comment! 🙂
Congratulations! Your post was my feature pick at #OverTheMoon this week. Each Hostess displays their own features so be sure to visit me on Sunday evening and to see your feature! I invite you to leave more links to be shared and commented upon. Please don’t forget to add your link numbers or post title so we can be sure to visit!
I’m thrilled to be featured with all the wonderful recipes you always have on your site. Thanks so much, Marilyn!
I must try this! I just bought some grape tomatoes yesterday. Don’t have any balsamic vinegar though, but I will see what I can substitute with. May have to use parmesan instead of mozzarella, since I’m out of the latter. Thanks!
I hope you will come back and let me know how it worked out for you, Priya! 🙂
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Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
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This recipe reads super delicious and flavorful! and beautiful images too! Wonderful share!
This looks so tasty and yet so simple. A perfect mid-week meal. x
#createbakegrowgather
What a gorgeous way to use tomatoes and that combination with balsamic is a winner. Love the recipe – looks delicious, thanks for sharing on Fiesta Friday!
I’ve made this 4 times over the last few months and it’s amazing!! We are having some friends over for dinner tomorrow and making it for them – it’s definitely company ‘worthy’!! So good!!!
Aww, Jane, you made my day! It’s definitely one of our favorites too, and I’m so glad to hear that you and your family/friends love it just as much! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. 💜
-Niky
Outstanding! I sent it to a friend who made it first with cherry tomatoes from his garden and they loved it. Lucky for me he shared his cherry tomatoes with me! I made it last night and served over mashed potatoes, it was a definite hit.
Laura,
I’m so glad it’s a hit with your friends and family! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know! 💕. I haven’t tried it over mashed potatoes, but I think I will now!
-Niky
Visiting from Imparting Grace Link Party. The recipe looks so easy and delicious. I am pinning it for later!
This looks absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I’ve pinned it for future reference!
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!
Richella,
That’s great news! Thank you so much for featuring my recipe!
We seems to eat a lot of chicken these days so I am always looking for new recipes to try out. This one looks delicious. Thanks for sharing it. #HomeMattersParty
That is a beautiful dish!! Pinned -Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope you’re enjoying your week.
Defo giving this recipe a go, I have two bottles of Balsamic for some reason and only ever seem to use it in salad dressing, now I have a new recipe I can use…in fact, I’m going to make this tonight! I’ll let you know how I get on!
Oh, I can’t wait to hear what you think! Definitely pop back with your feedback, Rebecca!
-Niky
Made this last night and it was a big hit! I cut it in half for the two of us and made do with a half pint of tomatoes and no mozzarella on hand and served it with a baguette. So easy to put together and a delicious light meal for Sunday supper. Thanks Niky!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nancy! This is a really flexible recipe, and happy you were able to adjust it to your liking and ingredients on hand! 💕
This looks amazing, printed & pinned! I always have an abundance of tomatoes from our garden, this is the perfect way to utilize them!
I definitely have tomato envy! I am hoping even a few of my green ones ripen…maybe around September. This sounds easy and delicious. Thank goodness they have cherry tomatoes at the store, and thank you for bringing it to FF.
That sounds so tasty! Basil, cheese, and balsamic vinegar are so tasty together.
I have been experiencing an aversion to chicken lately for some reason, but this looks so good! I think my family would really enjoy this. Pinning for later. Thanks for linking up.
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
It does look and sound like a perfect summer dish; I try it as soon as I get some garden tomatoes!