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Mozzarella chicken is a simple weeknight dinner recipe! It’s pan seared chicken smothered in a homemade marinara sauce and melty mozzarella — ready in just 30 minutes!
Dinner in around 30 minutes, with just 10 ingredients.
The ideal comfort food situation for busy weeknights. Mozzarella chicken to the rescue.
We’re talking about pan seared chicken breasts with a aromatic tomato sauce that tastes like something a nonna would be simmering it all day long. Top it off with melty cheese and I’m telling you this is going to top the charts for family dinner.
When I say 30-minute recipe, know that i’m being extra generous with the time. It’s more like a 6-10 minute chicken-searing-while-the-pasta-is-cooking-in-a-pot recipe.
Then it’s a zippy 10 minutes to slow simmer that sauce and voila!
Before you know it, it’s on the table and the whole family can smell it from miles away because it’s chicken smothered in marinara sauce and it’s topped with melty, stretchy, cheesy goodness.
But also, it’s ready in just 1 pan.
This is fantastic!!! It smelled soooooo good, my kids kept coming in the kitchen asking if it was ready yet! Even my picky 5 year old ate two helpings. It was a hit! Also, the sun dried tomato pesto was fabulous as well!!!
Let’s Make it (44 seconds):
Ingredients for mozzarella chicken
- Chicken breasts: I like to use boneless skinless chicken breast for most chicken recipes. Swap for boneless, skinless chicken thighs here but just know that chicken thighs take longer to cook.
- Olive Oil: we’ll need a drizzle to cook the chicken in before we make homemade marinara
- Minced Garlic: To save time, I just run the garlic through a garlic press.
- Onion: Use a box chopper to make this quick and easy if you’d like.
- Tomatoes: You’ll need crushed tomatoes for this recipe. Avoid diced tomatoes, they’ll require additional cooking time.
- Seasonings: I use Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, as well as dried basil, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Tomato Pesto: this is my secret ingredient to making the homemade marinara taste like it was slow simmered all day long. sun-dried tomato pesto contains ingredients like basil, some nuts, parmesan cheese, and spices. It gives the dish a ton of flavor.
- Mozzarella: I prefer sliced mozzarella cheese for this recipe, but shredded cheese works too.
- Fresh Basil or Parsley: just to add freshness to the dish.
Making Mozzarella Chicken in 30 Minutes
- Start with the chicken. season the tender chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then sear them in a hot skillet with a little oil over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until it reaches 165ºF and then remove it to a plate.
- Make the sauce. Add the onions to the pan and let them sweat down for a few minutes while you preheat the oven. Then add garlic and give it 30 seconds before adding the remaining ingredients. Allow the sauce to reach a simmer, and then let it thicken for a few minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
- Assemble. place the cooked seasoned chicken breasts into the sauce and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Place a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breastportion. We’ll broil in the oven for the last 1-2 minutes to give it some color. Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving with homemade garlic bread, pasta, rice or even some mashed potatoes.
FAQs about this recipe
Undoubtedly some garlic bread to soak up all that tomato sauce and maybe a house salad. You can also do pasta (any shape) rice, or even some garlic and asiago mashed potatoes.
Keep leftovers in an airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. This makes it a great recipe to meal prep!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Roasted Garlic Italian Couscous Salad
- Warm & Cozy Italian Meatball Soup
- Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
- Homemade Minestrone Soup
- Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs in Homemade Marinara
30 Minute Mozzarella Chicken in Homemade Tomato Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic pressed or minced
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning see notes
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato pesto homemade or store-bought
- salt and pepper + ¼ cup water
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese or 1 cup shredded
To serve:
- chopped parsley or basil
- Garlic Bread
- House Salad for serving
- Pasta for serving
Instructions
- SEASON: Sprinkle the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil.
- SEAR: Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side or until the chicken is completely cooked through, remove to a plate. If you are planning on serving this with pasta, get the water going and cook the pasta according to package directions.
- SAUTE: Preheat the oven on the broiler setting. Add the onions to the oil remaining in the pan. If there isn't any, add in about ½ teaspoon and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes until they soften, add the garlic and let cook for 30 seconds.
- SIMMER: Add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, dried basil, and pesto and stir to combine. When the sauce reaches a simmer, add a ¼ cup of water, lower the heat, cover and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- BROIL: Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce and using a spoon, cover the chicken with sauce. Top each breast with a slice of cheese. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese gets nice and bubbly and just melts.
- ASSEMBLE: Top with chopped parsley or basil ribbons. Serve with pasta or crusty bread and a salad.
Notes
- Though I do recommend using sun-dried tomato pesto for this recipe as it really enhances the flavor of the sauce and makes it taste like it was simmered all day, basil pesto will also work in the recipe.
- Also, you can use more or less red pepper flakes to taste. Omit for a milder sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
This was absolutely amazing, even my 4 year old daughter turned around unprompted, looked at me with big eyes and said, “This is good, mommy.” The sauce flavor was perfect. I will definitely be making this many more times!!! DELICIOUS!
Love love love your tomato sauce! Do you know if it works well to make up a large batch and freeze? Trying to figure out a way to make meals quicker and easier.
Glad to hear it, Dawsey! Yes, I think a large batch of this stuff would freeze well.
Great recipe! Thank you!!!
I have made this twice now and we absolutely love it! It’s a new family favorite! My husband asked that I make it for his “birthday dinner” 🙂
5star thank you for sharing! It’s a new family favourite ?
This is fantastic!!! It smelled soooooo good, my kids kept coming in the kitchen asking if it was ready yet! Even my picky 5 year old ate two helpings. It was a hit! Also, the sun dried tomato pesto was fabulous as well!!!
Perfect!
Could I make this in the slow cooker?
Sorry, not really sure about the slow cooker, I’ve only tested this as written for the stovetop.
I think this would be perfect for the slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes, pesto, seasonings and chicken and cook on slow 6 to 8 hours. Cook pasta seperately. Put chicken and sauce into oven safe dish, the with mozzarella and broil for a minute or two.
Chicken might fall apart due to slow cooking, but I bet it is still amazing since the sauce is simmering all that time to bring out more flavor.
Omg I made this today and I can’t keep my hands out of it… Great Recipe
Delicious. So full of flavor. Thank you for sharing
Marzia: Were were you when my kids were young? Quick, easy, and delicious—it held up to much more complicated and time-consuming versions…
So happy to hear that Maureen — thank you for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Great flavor!
It was really good!
Just made the recipe, sooo good ??
Where do I find the pesto in the grocery store?
Tracy my grocery store carries it in the same aisle as the spaghetti sauce! Hope you find it! 🙂
You can find it in Kroger in produce with the jarred garlic.
I made this basically as written (butterflied and pounded the chicken a bit, used diced tomatoes because it’s what I had lol) and it was delicious! Easy, beautiful and so yummy.
I served it simply with a big side of steamed broccoli, as we try to eat sort of low-carb. I’m always on the lookout for new skillet meals, this is definitely going in the rotation!
Can you substitute the chicken breast with chicken thighs?
Sure! If you use boneless, skinless chicken thighs the cooking time should remain the same.
Making this now, exactly how it’s written and I just got a spoonful of my sauce! OMG!! Umh umh good.. I just couldn’t resist, it smelled so good!! This is my sauce for everything now!! Bye Bye Jars!!
Just made this, wow! Wow! Is all I kept hearing from my family. Thank you!!!
I could not stop viewing your site, everything looks so finger licking yummy good. I realized I had not commented. It’s 10:22pm, and you prepared dishes are making my mouth water. Yum!
Thanks for taking a look around, Ivory! 🙂