What to make for supper? The age old question. I get bored very quickly with the same meals so I’m always looking for new staple recipes to add to my rotation. I look for meals that are packed with flavour and colour and fresh ingredients, that are straight forward and efficient in method. Yes, I used to individually dust with flour and fry my own onion straws just for an interesting garnish…. but these days I have four kids and ‘aint nobody got time for that!! Thankfully, you can still have absolutely delicious food without slaving over finicky, time consuming recipes.This recipe is here to prove it!
It comes together in one single skillet (my beloved cast iron pan of course) in under 30 minutes start to finish. This meal really delivers with a punchy fresh balsamic butter-y sauce filled with delightful bursts of charred cherry tomatoes and gooey browned mozzarella cheese to top it all off. It’s a total win, and I come back to it regularly.
The best part is you can take this recipe in so many different directions depending on how you want to serve it. If I’m feeling like a low carb option, I’ll serve it over steamed haricot vert (french green beans, the long skinny variety, not the fake sliced ones) or spaghetti squash. For a more substantial meal, it’s delicious over some whole wheat spaghetti or buttery mashed potatoes. Some good crusty bread (I often serve it with my whole wheat bread) is the perfect vehicle for sopping up that delicious sauce.
It all starts with my basic recipe for perfect pan seared chicken breast. This is the perfect starting point for pretty much any chicken recipe. If you struggle with cooking juicy flavourful meat, be sure to check out this post – I walk you through, step by step, how to portion, prep, and cook your meat perfectly every time.
Then we take it to the next level creating a gorgeous pan sauce, adding some beautiful veg (I’m guessing more than one of you have a beautiful harvest of cherry tomatoes right about now?!), and finishing it off with a broil of melty cheese. Quick, efficient, and ohhhhh so flavourful. I can’t wait for you to try it! Choose your favourite gluten free pasta, steamed veg, or mashed potatoes to have a complete gluten free meal. For those of you who are dairy free, you can easily sub in ghee for butter and goat’s cheese for the mozzerella (both hard or soft cheese would work) – it will be just as delicious. I would love to hear in the comments how this went for you if you end up making it. Happy cooking friends! Talk to you soon 🙂
Balsamic Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomato Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, portioned into 6 pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Kirkland organic no-salt seasoning blend optional, you can use any all purpose seasoning blend you like or just stick with salt and peper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp butter sub ghee for dairy free
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- pinch red chili flakes to taste
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 6-8 ounces mozzerella cheese, grated or torn use goats cheese for dairy free
- 1 handful fresh parsley or basil, chopped optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a large oven safe skillet over medium low heat.
- Pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towel. Drizzle with olive oil and season both sides generously with salt and fresly ground pepper. I also like to season the chicken with the no-salt seaoning blend from Costco but this is optional. To see how I portion and prep my chicken breasts, check out my perfectly cooked meat post.
- Sear the chicken in the heated skillet for 2-3 minutes per side until nicely browned (it will not be cooked through) and remove to a plate.
- Add the butter, balsamic vinegar, honey, broth/water, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and cherry tomatoes to the skillet. Stir to combine. Cook on medium low heat for 5-8 minute unti sauce has reduced and thickened slightly and cherry tomatoes have burst from the heat.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, cover and simmer on low for 5-8 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. If the sauce has reduced too much you can add another tbsp of butter and/or balsamic to make it more saucy. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to taste if needed. (What does this mean? If it is too tart, add a touch more honey. Add butter for more richness. If it is too sweet, add more balsamic vinegar. If you want it more spicy, add more red chilli flakes. If it needs more flavour, season with more salt.)
- Set oven to broil.
- Scatter mozzerella over the skillet, concentrating on top of the chicken breasts. Set in the oven to broil for 2 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and browned (watch carefully so it doesn't burn!).
- Garnish with fresh parsley or basil. Serve over a bed of pasta, rice, mashed potoates, steamed vegetables, and/or crusty bread.
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This post includes affiliate links, meaning I made a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you decide to click through the links and purchase anything. These are my honest opinions and I would never recommend anything to you I didn’t absolutely love and use on a regular basis. Hope you find these lists helpful!
Lodge 12-inch Cast Iron Pan – My everyday go to, most used pan. I keep it on the stovetop because I use it so often there is no point in putting it away. I keep it nicely oiled and it is better than any non-stick pan I’ve ever had. It gives the best sear and I am happy knowing there are no weird chemicals or coating potentially going into our family’s food. The size is perfect for our large family. This is probably my number one staple piece of equipment in the kitchen.
Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning – This is one of the only seasoning blends I keep on hand. It super versatile and packs a big punch of flavour. It is a dupe for the Trader Joe’s 21 Spice Seasoning blend I fell in love with but cannot easily/affordably find here in Canada. I put it on roasted meats and vegetables, in meatballs and burger patties, in soups and sauces… anywhere I want to add a nice herby garlic-y flavour. Look for it at your local Costco, or you can purchase if off of Amazon.
Ghee– Clarified Butter. This is the best lactose free substitute for butter because it is made with butter so you get the same rich buttery flavour without the dairy. It’s also a valuable Source of fat soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K. How cool is that?!
Oh my! Delicious!
Oh my! Delicious!
Thanks 🙂 This would be awesome with your garden tomatoes!!!!
This was so good!!!!! Will definitely make again!
Yay, I’m so glad you liked it!!!
Made this twice now…..absolutely delicious. The second time I didn’t have cherry tomatoes, so I used regular. It, of course, had a much more liquid sauce. I just scooped a bit out of the pan and used it in my rice. We had one left over that hubby was going to take for lunch……he ended up taking the chicken from the container (using it for sandwich meat), and leaving the container with the rice in the fridge. The next morning, I noticed the container still in the fridge and was so excited to have my yummy chicken lunch! Only at lunch to find he had just left the rice. So disappointing, and that is how I knew I was in love with this recipe, hahaha!
Haha, this made my day lol 🙂 !!! So glad you loved it and next time send the hubby with the rice hehe 😉