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This garlic basil chicken breast recipe is incredibly juicy and flavorful, thanks to a simple marinade and baking the chicken on a bed of juicy tomatoes.
Our family loves this juicy, tender baked chicken breast recipe with the most delicious garlic basil marinade. I love baking the chicken breasts surrounded with tomatoes, which turn into a lovely fresh sauce.
If you ever struggle with dry chicken breasts, this recipe is for you! For more chicken breast recipes like this one, see our recipe for baked lemon chicken breast or these lemon dill chicken breasts made in a skillet.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts: While this recipe features chicken breasts, you can easily adapt it to use chicken thighs. Thighs may require a slightly longer cooking time.
- Garlic and Basil: I am generous with the fresh garlic and basil and use them to make the marinade. I also use the basil stalks underneath the chicken breasts to infuse even more flavor. You can substitute the basil for dill, parsley, cilantro, or mint.
- Olive Oil and Vinegar: Olive oil and vinegar create the base of the marinade, ensuring it coats the chicken beautifully. I love red wine vinegar adds a lovely tang, but champagne vinegar or even lemon juice work well too.
- Tomatoes: I love tossing lots of tomatoes around the chicken to bake at the same time. As they bake in the oven, they burst and release their juices, making the most delicious sauce at the bottom of the baking dish.
- Mozzarella Cheese: I add cheese towards the end of the baking time and allow it to melt down over the chicken.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Baked Garlic Chicken
Tip 1: Use our marinade. It’s a simple combination of red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and basil. We only marinate chicken breasts 1 to 2 hours — you really don’t need to go longer than that. After the chicken has marinated, move on to the tomatoes.
Tip 2: Use lots of tomatoes. Use a variety of cut tomatoes and whole small tomatoes. The cut tomatoes give up their juices quickly and the cherry tomatoes stay intact. Add them to a baking dish with basil stalks (we used the leaves to make the marinade). You won’t end up eating the stalks, but they are really fragrant. We also add basil stalks to these slow cooker chicken meatballs.
Tip 3: Cook your chicken covered. Time for the chicken. Just nestle it in to the dish. Then we bake loosely covered with some parchment paper. By loosely covering the chicken, the chicken bakes and braises simultaneously, meaning the chicken bakes in its juices. This method of baking chicken breasts keeps the chicken juicy and so tender.
Tip 4: Top with cheese and save the liquid. After 35 to 40 minutes the chicken should be done and it’s time to add a little mozzarella on top. Oh, and that liquid at the bottom of the baking dish? It’s pure gold! A big piece of focaccia bread to sop it all up is a great idea!
Baked Garlic Basil Chicken
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
For juicy, tender baked chicken breasts remember these three things: marinate, bake loosely covered, and use a meat thermometer. In our photos, we show baking 2 chicken breasts, but the marinade shared below is enough for 4 chicken breasts. The chicken does not need to be completely immersed in the marinade, just coated by it. If you plan to double the recipe, simply double the amount of chicken, tomatoes, and the mozzarella.
4 Servings
You Will Need
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 bunch fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like things
3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a large knife or minced
2 cups tomatoes, cut to rough 1-inch chunks and leaving cherry tomatoes whole
1/4 cup torn fresh mozzarella cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Marinate Chicken
1Remove basil leaves from the stalks and set them aside. Roughly chop the basil leaves so that you have about 1/4 cup. Whisk 2 tablespoons of olive oil, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper together until the salt has dissolved. Stir in the garlic and basil. Refrigerate and use within 1 to 2 hours.
2Add chicken breasts to the marinade and marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
- Bake the Chicken
1Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400°F (204°C). Lightly oil one side of a sheet of parchment paper large enough to cover the baking dish. (Aluminum foil can also be used.)
2Add the basil stalks set aside from earlier to a baking dish large enough to fit the chicken breasts arranged in one layer. Add the tomatoes, then toss with 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
3Nestle the chicken breasts into the tomatoes, allowing the tomatoes to gather up the sides of each breast. Throw the garlic cloves from the marinade into the baking dish, then cover the dish with parchment paper. Loosely tuck the parchment paper around the chicken.
4Bake until the chicken is opaque all the way through, and an internal thermometer reads 165°F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Check for doneness in around 25 minutes, and then go from there. Most chicken breasts will take 35 to 40 minutes.
5Scatter mozzarella on top of each breast, then broil on high for about a minute or until the cheese melts. Serve the chicken with the baked tomatoes, juices from the bottom of the baking dish, and more torn basil leaves.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/4 of the recipe
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Calories
240
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Protein
28 g
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Carbohydrate
4 g
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Dietary Fiber
1 g
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Total Sugars
2 g
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Total Fat
12 g
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Saturated Fat
3 g
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Cholesterol
89 mg
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