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The easiest garlic butter tomato baked chicken with mozzarella. It’s a one-pan recipe that comes complete with roasted sweet balsamic tomatoes, cooked chicken with melty mozzarella, and the most fantastic sauce for your quinoa, rice, pasta, or veggies!
Tomato Baked Chicken.
We’ve got a garlic – balsamic – butter tomato situation we need to discuss. It’s a little out of control at the moment because we’re not even in peak tomato season yet and I can’t stop, won’t stop with this tomato baked chicken recipe. And yes, this is just the first of many tomato basil balsamic sauces I’ll be making. And that brings to me to a critical point I’d like to discuss; it’s not actually a sauce. But more like tomato pan gravy?
Let me explain.
It is the most delicious pan sauce slash an entire serving of veggies that would be beautiful if you were to say, mop it all up with a hunk of crusty bread? There’s also quick baked chicken breasts and tons of melty mozzarella cheese to finish the whole thing off. As if those aren’t reasons enough on their own to give this recipe a go, here’s a little more music to your ears –
You only have to clean ONE dish.
Crazy delicious! My family RAVED about this dish! Easy, healthy, memorable; a real hit that gained immediate entry into the rotation and can be made on a weekday (or for company!)
Tomato Baked Chicken Video:
This tomato baked chicken recipe is the kind of meal I love cooking for the two of us. It starts with simple ingredients that I usually have on hand and takes very little prep work to whip up. I have to say, judging from the popularity of my one skillet dinners, it’s pretty obvious, you guys prefer these kinds of meals too.
I’m going to be straight with you. Today’s tomato baked chicken recipe is a mash-up of a few different recipes I’ve already shared with you already. More specifically, my bruschetta chicken meets a Caprese salad meets my 30-minute mozzarella chicken. It’s the kind of food I think about late into the night while my head rests on my pillow just waiting to drift off to sleep. It’s a little bit of everything. You get a roasted tomato side, a spoon-slurp-worthy gravy, and of course tender chicken under a blanket of melty mozzarella cheese. A new addition to our chicken dinner recipes and I couldn’t be more stoked to share it with you!
Tomato baked chicken starts with chicken breasts. But as always, you can swap them for boneless, skinless chicken thighs as well if that’s more your thing. We’ll season them with ingredients that we’ve already got at home. A little olive oil, a splash of white wine vinegar, a few cloves of garlic and some dried seasonings. You can marinate for as little as 15 minutes and still achieve a great flavor!
I can’t get over how easy it is to put this tomato baked chicken together.
What do you need to make tomato baked chicken?
All you need are four chicken breasts to start. I had two huge ones hidden way in the back of my freezer, so I just sliced them up lengthwise. To marinate the chicken, I just tossed all the ingredients for the marinade into a ziptop bag and gave it a good shake. In goes the chicken. Give it a quick massage to distribute the flavors. If you’re cooking this right away, let it hang out on the counter or if you’re making it later, just refrigerate until you’re ready.
How to make tomato baked chicken
- While the chicken brines, we’ll toss together the ingredients for the tomato pan gravy. You can do this directly in your baking pan, I sure did! Again, humble ingredients that will yield a gourmet dinner you’ll be proud to serve dinner guests.
- You’ll need roughly three cups of sliced cherry tomatoes mixed with minced garlic, butter, balsamic, a squeeze of honey, chopped basil, dried thyme, and onion powder.
- When those tomatoes roast with the chicken you’re left with bright and sweet tomato juices that would be delicious drizzled over a bed of rice, pasta, or even some steamed veggies.
During the last 5 minutes, you’ll add shredded mozzarella to the top and pop the chicken back under the broiler just long enough for it to get warm and bubbly. You can make my tomato baked chicken recipe without the mozzarella too if you’d like. I’ve tried it in the past, and it’s still delicious. But personally, the mozzarella adds a cheesy little something to this dish!
Other cheeses that would work well here: provolone. My next best choice.
Serving Suggestions
- I serve my tomato baked chicken up with a little basmati rice and a side salad, and both Anees and I drizzled that tomato pan gravy over the rice, and I even went as far as using a bit on my salad.
I couldn’t believe my mouth when I first tried this. Could simple ingredients make this kind of dinner?
It’s bright, sweet yet acidic and it is fresh as a good spring meal should be!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
- Pesto Baked Chicken with Mozzarella
- Garlic Butter Baked Chicken Breasts (20 minutes!)
- Garlic Butter Baked Chicken with Mozzarella
Garlic Butter Tomato Baked Chicken with Mozzarella
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 chicken breasts boneless skinless
Balsamic Tomato Pan Sauce:
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Marinate: Add all the ingredients except the chicken breasts into a zip top bag along with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Seal the bag and shake until mixed. Add the chicken breasts, seal, and massage so the chicken is covered in the marinade, set aside for 10-15 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Balsamic Tomato Pan Sauce: Add all the ingredients except the mozzarella to an oven-safe baking dish, along with a big pinch of salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Move the tomatoes around the edges and place the chicken breasts in the center.
- Bake: Bake uncovered for 18-22 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked through. Add the mozzarella cheese to the chicken breasts and broil just long enough for the cheese to melt. Top with additional chopped basil or parsley and serve warm with crusty bread, pasta, rice, or steamed veggies!
Notes
- Extra points for being lazy: you can melt the butter right in your baking dish before adding the remaining ingredients (as long as it is microwave safe!)
- I suggest shredding your own mozzarella for this recipe. Pre-shredded mozzarella didn’t yield such great results for me, unfortunately!
- You can marinate the chicken for up to 4 hours! Feel free to do this earlier in the day if you’d like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Wow was this good! And I never bother to post reviews even if I like something. The garlic butter sauce is fabulous and you can put all of this dish over pasta. And so quick and easy to make!
This is Absolutely Delicious! So simple to make. I added Tricolored Peppers, Onions & Mushrooms. I did slice Peppers & Onion’s thinner, afraid they wouldn’t Cook. But Cooked Beautifully. Thank You for Sharing, Sending Recipe to My Sister.
My new Favorite! I’ve made it twice so far and telling all my friends. I used to make lemon butter chicken quite frequently but this has taken it’s place! Thanks for sharing
A great recipe, even when you discover it’s not a chicken breast that you’ve defrosted but hake! Honestly it did look like chicken…and not to self, label the items in freezer.
However, husband enjoyed it and ate fish that hadn’t been grilled or fried, so a plus all round. Looking forward to trying it keep with the right protein ?
My family loves this recipe. Such a tasty dish. So yummy served over rice! Thank you!
I have made this delicious recipe several times and every time it gets rave reviews. Everyone who has tried it has asked for the recipe. Simple and elegant but great taste. Thanks. I am trying other recipes on your site and again great flavors. Thanks.
Love this dish!!!!! My fiance just made it for dinner it was amazing. We were wondering though of what way we can thicken the sauce?
Mix 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon of cold water. Stir until smooth. Whisk or stir into sauce. If it’s not thick enough after a few minutes, repeat the above.
God bless!
Can’t wait to try it! Quick question: I can’t have onion powder (but can have “real” onion, oddly), so how should I adjust the sauce so it’s still as tasty?
This is DELICIOUS. I’ve made it several times now for company and it always gets such rave reviews. I did add a step of cooking it in a big cast iron skillet so I could sear the chicken beforehand and then pop the whole thing in the oven. Man, those cherry tomatoes are little bites of heaven!
Hi,
This looks delicious !
can i make it on the stove top? Cook the chicken first and then add the tomatoes and sauce ingredients?
Ill be using bone in chicken.
It could work, I’m just not sure as I’ve only tried it the way written. I’d love to hear the results if you decide to give it a try!
This dish is A.MA.ZING. !!!!! I sliced 2 chicken breasts horizontally for a total of 4 pieces and was well done in 25 minutes. Also, I had only 1 cup of GRAPE tomatoes so chopped up one vine-ripened as well. I didn’t add thyme as every dish I’ve eaten that includes it tastes like mold to me. This is an excellent recipe to serve guests(s)!! I would have liked to spiralize zucchini and serve mixed with pasta, but didn’t have any on hand, so served atop Fusilli. Can’t wait to make it again ?
I can’t even put into words how amazing this meal was. I wish I could eat it every day. Which I sort of have been doing for the last three at least (thank god for leftovers!!) I made a few small changes – I doubled the pan sauce recipe and put 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of balsamic glaze instead of 4 tbsp all of balsamic vinegar. I also accidentally put 2 tsp of onion powder – definitely didn’t hurt the final product though! so amazing. Will make weekly.
I never comment on recipes…. But I make this once a week. My husband calls it “yummy chicken”. The only thing different I do, is that I use chicken breast tenders instead of the whole breast. I also double the balsamic, honey, butter garlic mixture for the tomatoes because I love when I have extra “sauce”! Especially since I serve it over rice. Thanks for this recipe!
Amazing! I made it with dayia dairy free cheese and my family loved it! Thank you
A new family favorite!! Sauce is the best part!! So delicious!
Could I use tenderloins or thin chicken breast for this?
Yes, absolutely! Thinly sliced chicken breasts will just require a shorter baking time!
This chicken looks amazing! Going to try it during the week, I pinned it to remember too 🙂 I have to try it before it starts getting too hot out. It would be a perfect early fall dish too when it is cool enough for the oven and yet I still have cherry tomatoes in the garden!
The chicken breasts at the store here are always too big to cook in that time frame, but I will just add a little more time or cut them in half if I have to.
Hi Dawn! Glad to hear you’re gonna give this recipe a try! Yes, for larger chicken breasts I suggest splitting them in half lengthwise so that they cook in the time listed. Hope you enjoy it! ?
Insanely delicious!! Little tip- add a little plain yogurt (2 TBSP- 1/4 cup) towards the end of cooking to stretch that delicious sauce!!
Delicious weeknight meal. I had Roma tomatoes on hand so I used those instead. I served with a side if sauteed spinach w/riced cauliflower and my husband lived it. Will definitely make again.
This was great! Easy and Delicious! Thank you