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This Italian Chicken Caprese comes together in under an hour! It's fresh and full of authentic Italian flavor!
Have you ever noticed; there's a certain cuisine that's universally popular? Everyone seems to go crazy over it; old folks, wee ones and all those in between. Diners with picky appetites as well as adventuresome epicureans. It's always a popular choice for fancy nights out and cosy dinners in. (Spoiler alert: this Italian Chicken Caprese is a delicious representation of the cuisine I'm referring to.)
You probably know by now, I'm talking about Italian food (since you read the title of this post). There's a wide spectrum of favorites in this culinary category. There's traditional (at least here in the States) spaghetti, lasagna and pizzas to zillions of delicious gourmet entrees. And each region of Italy has their own unique specialties. The common denominator in delicious Italian food is simple, fresh, high quality ingredients.
I love surprising my family with Italian fare at home as it always brings smiles of delight. But preparing wonderful Italian dishes from scratch is generally a time consuming affair. Not a problem,if I have a stay-at-home-day with hours to keep an eye on a simmering pot. That's not the norm at my house though and I'm thinking it's probably not at yours either.
So it's my pleasure to introduce you to this wonderful Italian dinner delight, loaded with bright, vibrant flavor, fresh color and simple ingredients. You can have this Easy Italian Chicken Caprese on the table in well under an hour, making it perfect for quick weeknight dinners or easy company fare. Everyone in the family loved it when I served it for dinner last week. They declared it to be quite "blog worthy".
So I made it again, this time, for you! We snapped some photos, trying hard not to drool. It was as wonderful as we remembered. I think you'll love this Easy Italian Chicken Caprese too!
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Italian Chicken Caprese
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ pounds skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- ÂĽ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 2- inch sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms, halved
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced fine
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ÂĽ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 10 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced and placed on several thicknesses of paper towels to drain any excess liquid
- ÂĽ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- sea salt, for finishing
- fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Place chicken in a large zipper bag or between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a flat bottom pan or a meat pounder until flat and thin (about ½ inch). Cut into serving size pieces. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Place balsamic vinegar in a small pan. Add rosemary sprig and bring to a boil. Reduced to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes or until reduced to about 2 tablespoons (or half of the original volume). Remove rosemary sprig and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. When oil is hot, swirl pan to coat with oil then add mushrooms and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. At first mushroom mixture will seem quite dry. After a minute or two the mushrooms will begin to release their liquid. Continue cooking and liquid will be reabsorbed, then mushrooms will begin to take on a golden hue. Add 1 teaspoon of chopped rosemary and this point and continue cooking until deep golden brown. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Wipe out pan with a paper towel. Heat pan again over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add garlic and dried spices and salt and cook for 20 seconds. Increase heat to medium high and immediately add tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally just until tomatoes are beginning to wilt, about 4-5 minutes. Add chopped basil and transfer tomatoes to bowl with mushrooms.
- Wipe out pan again with a paper towel and heat over medium-high heat. Add last two tablespoons of olive oil. Add chicken and cook until first side is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip chicken to other side and cover pan. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes or until chicken is just cooked through. Do not over cook or meat will be tough.
- Remove cover and top chicken with fresh mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Cover pan and allow cheeses to melt. This will take 2-3 minutes. When melted, remove cover and scatter with tomato/mushroom mixture, leaving some of the cheese exposed.
- To finish, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, drizzle with balsamic reduction and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
- Serves 4
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This recipe looks delicious!! I printed it and took it to the grocery store to pick up all the ingredients I needed and will be making it for Kenny and I tonight. My mouth is watering already!
So happy you enjoyed it Zoe!
This dish is wonderful!! I have made it twice now. The recipe instructions are very clear. I love the aroma that fills the kitchen while this is cooking, and I love watching the faces of my family and friends when they take their first bite. So good!
Love this it looks fresh and great! I am actually prepping for it right now and dont see where you added the garlic? Theres four garlic cloves in the recipe ingredient list but not listed in the instructions? Please help! Im making this for dinner as we speak lol
Hi Paige, the garlic is added in step 4. Hope you enjoy it!
What a beautiful dish! It's so true that Italian is the one cuisine that everybody seems to love.
My family licked up the plates. Absolute delicious! Congrats! I am cooking so many of your recipes and we love them all. When I am trying something new, like today, my family knows your style already, and they screamed "Yummy, this must be Chris´recipe!". Thank you! Greetings from Berlin again!
You make me smile! I wish we lived near each other, I think we'd be great friends. Thanks for getting back to me about the chicken. I'm so happy your family enjoyed it!
I adore anything Caprese and could of course eat Italian every night of the week and never get bored 🙂 Gorgoeous photos!
This looks great! Caprese dishes are always yummy. 🙂
Sounds absolutely wonderful, I really like this easy to fix Italian meal. Going to put this on the list to make, thanks for the recipe Chris.
I see what you mean by these vibrant colours - amazing! Dazzling on the eyes and bet on the tastebuds too.' Blog worthy'? Ideal for any time you want to celebrate deliciousness!
WOW that looks so good! Italian food is definitely a gateway food for my picky husband, I bet he would definitely try this.
This is a scrumptious looking dish! I love Italian food, your dish is so vibrant and fresh looking!
What a great idea! It looks elegant and delicious.
I'm actually not a huge fan of Italian food most of the time because it always seems heavy, but the bright, fresh flavors in this could definitely make me fall in love.
My 15-year old is quite a picky eater, and we always know that if we go out to an Italian restaurant we'll all be happy. This dish looks great, and I'd love to recreate it!
Such a fab looking chicken dish. I love anything Italian and this would go down superb with my family.
My first visit at your blog space and I am so glad I stumbled upon here!
Oh, my gosh, does this look terrific, Chris! I love Caprese everything...and I've never thought of using these ingredients on top of chicken. Love the mushrooms, too. You've done it again!
What a great dish Chris!!! Looks so flavorful and comforting!!!
Wish I had a nice big serving right now! Very colorful and seasonal:@)
Yum! Both really healthy AND with gooey cheese, it has it all!
Look beautiful Chris!!
You always make great Mediterranean dishes, Chris! And this one is not an exception. So lovely!
Look at that lovely cheese and all the pretty colours! Well done Chris. I definitely agree with you. Italian food is loved by nearly everyone!
Chris my mouth is watering. I love the balance of red and yellow tomatoes.
I can see why they said it was blog-worthy! Caprese salad is one of my favorites, so to incorporate chicken into the dish sounds very appealing to me. The pics are wonderful 🙂
Really good dish! Love all the colors, and the fact it's a one-dish meal. Super post - thanks.
What a absolute beautiful dish, the colors are stunning! I can't wait to try this with all our garden fresh tomatoes!
This dish is well worth every minute of preparation. Love the colors and textures!
At this time of year I love to get a new recipe with lots of colourful tomatoes - thanks! This one looks very good!
Yummy in my tummy!
This is so beautiful and delish! I can almost taste it and it is fabulous!
I love anything Caprese so I know I'd love this chicken!
Your family is so lucky having you cook for them. This caprese styled chicken looks so colourful and appetizing!
I needed something new to do with chicken. I'm excited to give this a try, especially with all the great flavors of summer tomatoes and basil.
Well this sounds so good!
You describe the recipes so well Chris:) Love the color the tomatoes bring to this beautiful dish.
Oh Chris - yum! Cheese, fresh herbs, balsamic, chicken - all my favorites. And yes I want to sit around at home stirring a pot of fresh marinara and watch my bread rise! OK I'm over it now - back to work. Putting this on my 'pile' of must make recipes 🙂
I feel like you made this just for me! What a wonderful Italian dish! I do agree with you that Italian food is a cuisine that everyone goes crazy for, especially in this house!! I love your recipe!!
Italian food is always welcomed in our home. What a pretty dish with the colorful tomatoes and basil.