A Baked Chicken Caprese Recipe everyone will love! Chicken is stuffed with mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil for the perfect easy dinner!
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This easy and impressive Caprese Chicken Recipe has all of the flavors of a caprese salad stuffed in a juicy chicken breast.
Tender chicken breasts are stuffed with pesto, slices of juicy tomatoes, melty fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves. Then they are seared in a skillet for golden brown color and finished with a sweet and tangy balsamic drizzle.
If you love caprese, you need to try our Caprese Meatballs or Chicken Caprese Zucchini Noodles!
Why We love Chicken Caprese
There is a lot to love about this chicken caprese recipe. It’s one of our favorite proteins for a healthy dinner because it’s:
- Easy to make – While this chicken may look complicated, it’s so easy to slice, stuff, sear, and bake these chicken breasts and your family or guests will be so impressed! Plus it only takes 30 minutes!
- Light & fresh – This is the perfect Spring or Summer recipe because it won’t leave you feeling heavy after.
- Delicious! – The combo of basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes is simply unmatched!
Baked Caprese Chicken Recipe Ingredients
For this chicken caprese you’ll need:
- chicken breasts
- salt, pepper
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- garlic
- brown sugar
- basil pesto
- roma tomatoes
- mozzarella
- fresh basil leaves
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
We love this meat thermometer for checking the temp to make sure your meat is cooked thoroughly!
How to make Baked Caprese Chicken
- Trim chicken breasts and slice a large pocket horizontally in the center of the breast, making sure not to cut all the way through. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat whisk together the balsamic, garlic and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, and cook until it has reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Place 1 tbsp of pesto into the pocket of each breast and spread evenly. Stuff each chicken breast with 2 halves of the mozzarella, 2 slices of tomato and 1 to 2 basil leaves. Secure with toothpicks.
- In a large oven safe skillet over medium heat, thinly coat the pan with olive oil. Sear the chicken breasts until the outside is golden brown.
- Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the chicken’s inside temperature reaches 165℉.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze and fresh basil for garnish.
Chicken Caprese Recipe Variations
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Chicken Breasts: It’s hard to substitute chicken breasts in this recipe. You might be able to do it with chicken thighs but they’re smaller and not as easy to stuff.
Fresh mozzarella is the best choice, but you could use block or shredded mozzarella if you must, but it will not melt as smoothly.
Roma tomatoes are a great choice for this dish because it has less moisture and seeds than other tomatoes and keeps the dish from becoming too watery. Sun dried tomatoes can be a good substitute.
Basil: Keep the fresh basil leaves tucked inside the chicken as best you can. Basil burns really quickly and will turn brown and crispy if it’s not tucked in the chicken.
Balsamic Glaze: You can buy already made balsamic glaze at the grocery store in the same aisle as the vinegar if you want to take a shortcut.
What to serve with Caprese Chicken
You can serve this Chicken Caprese with any of your favorite sides, pasta, rice, or a crisp salad. Some of our favorites are:
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Grilled Vegetables
- Green Beans Almondine
- Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Balsamic Mushrooms
Tips for making Chicken Caprese
Make sure all of your chicken breasts are about the same size. If they are different sizes you can gently pound them out a little to make them more uniform.
Too much or too vigorous pounding and you will break apart the muscle fibers too much making it hard to stuff the chicken.
Storing Leftover Baked Chicken Caprese
Storing: This chicken caprese will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this recipe. It will not defrost well.
Reheating: The best way to reheat this chicken is in the oven, toaster oven, or in a pan on the stove. You can cook in a pan coated in olive oil on the stove until warmed through.
Other healthy chicken dinner recipes:
Chicken recipes are our favorite! Check out these Healthy Chicken Recipes & see more of our best chicken recipes below. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Baked Chicken Caprese
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts 4 small breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Balsamic Reduction:
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Filling:
- 4 tablespoons basil pesto
- 8 slices roma tomatoes sliced thin-about 3/4 cup
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella cut in half -about 3/4 cup
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Trim chicken breasts and slice a large pocket horizontally in the center of the breast, making sure not to cut all the way through. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- Make the balsamic reduction. In a small saucepan, over medium heat whisk together the balsamic, garlic and brown sugar. (Tip: You can buy already made balsamic glaze at the grocery store in the same aisle as the vinegars, if you want to take a shortcut. )
- Bring the balsamic mixture to a boil, and cook until it has reduced by half, until only a ¼ cup remains and the mixture is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Prep the chicken. Place 1 tablespoon of pesto into the pocket of each breast and spread evenly. Stuff each chicken breast with 2 halves of the mozzarella, 2 slices of tomato and 1 to 2 basil leaves.
- Secure the chicken together with toothpicks to make sure the filling is secured.
- In a large oven safe skillet over medium heat, add enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan. Sear the chicken breasts until the outside is golden brown.
- Once the chicken has seared, bake in the oven until the chicken is fully cooked and the inside temperature reaches 165℉, about 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. If you do not have a large oven safe skillet, you can transfer the chicken to a baking dish or sheet tray to finish baking in the oven.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the balsamic glaze and fresh basil for garnish.
Lisa Gates says
This sounds so good! Cannot wait to make it, probably next week💜💜
Tina says
Loved this recipe, quick and easy!! Made it for a family dinner with a bunch of family members and everyone loved it!!! Will definitely add to my list of regular meals.