Name: Cast Iron Caprese Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. Chicken Thighs; 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes; 5 thick slices of Mozzarella Cheese; 10 Fresh Basil Leaves; 1 tbsp. Balsamic Glaze; 1 tsp. Onion Powder; 1 tsp. Garlic Powder; 1 tsp. Dried Oregano; 1 tsp. Salt; 1 tbsp. Olive Oil

This wonderful Cast Iron Caprese Chicken takes all the elements of a Caprese Salad but turns it into a fully fledged Chicken dinner. The famous Caprese Salad consists of a delicious combination of ripe Tomatoes, freshly sliced Mozzarella Cheese, a bunch of delicious Basil Leaves, and topped with a rich, Balsamic Glaze. It’s a beautifully balanced Salad dish on its own. However, when you add Chicken to the equation and roast it all together in a Cast Iron Skillet absolute magic happens!

Cast Iron is the best pot to use to make this dish

You could get away with making this dish in a Skillet or even a sheet pan, however that would involve using multiple pans. We’re not about that here at One Pot Dinners, so naturally the best pot for this dish is a Cast Iron Skillet. This is because you will need to use both the stovetop and the oven to complete this dish. It’s much easier just using one pot. Simply cook up the Chicken in the Pan, then add the Tomatoes and Cheese and straight into the oven it goes

If you don’t have a Cast Iron then any oven safe frying pan or skillet will also do the trick. Otherwise, just transfer the cooked Chicken from the skillet onto a sheet pan for the roasting component of the recipe. Easy!

Chicken Caprese Dinner — A Cast Iron pan is the best choice to make this dish as you can transfer it straight from the stovetop into the oven

This is a super simple and affordable dish to make

What I love about the Cast Iron Caprese Chicken recipe is how easy it is to make. Not only that, but it’s also cheap, and takes no time at all to make. In fact, from start to finish you’ll be done in under 30 minutes! This makes it a great economical choice for dinner to feed a hungry family for a midweek meal

The recipe requires very few ingredients, with the star components being Chicken, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella Cheese. We recommend using Chicken Thighs for this dish. Mainly because they hold up a bit better to being cooked in two different techniques. They tend to not dry out as much as Chicken Breasts and I think they taste better anyway!

For the Tomatoes, we’re using Cherry Tomatoes for this recipe. However, you can use any kind of Tomatoes you like. Just use ripe Tomatoes that are in season and you can’t go wrong. Heirloom Tomatoes, Truss Tomatoes, or Roma Tomatoes would be some other good choices to consider

For the Mozzarella Cheese, I’m not too fussy. You can use the super fancy Mozzarella that comes in the brine, but regular packaged Mozzarella is more than suitable for this recipe. If you were just making a Caprese Salad I would suggest you use the fancy stuff. Given the Cheese is cooked and melted in this recipe, the regular stuff works great

how to make Cast Iron Caprese Chicken — A simple recipe to make this amazing Cast Iron Caprese Chicken dish

How to make the Cast Iron Caprese Chicken Recipe

This whole dish is made in under 30 minutes and is so easy to make. First you’ll need to season your Chicken. A classic combination of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Salt will produce the most amazing flavor in the dish

You can use fresh Garlic if you like, but for simplicities sake the Garlic Powder works fantastically in this recipe. Once the Chicken is seasoned, add the Olive Oil to your Cast Iron Pan and heat it up over medium heat. Once hot, add the Chicken and cook for about 4 – 5 minutes until browned

Turn the Chicken over and cook for 2 more minutes. At this stage we’re almost completely cooking the Chicken, but not quite. It’ll still be a little undercooked in the middle which is fine. We’re finishing the dish off in the oven anyway which will bring the Chicken up to that perfect cooked temperature of 160F

At this point, remove the pan from the heat and add the Tomatoes and Oregano. Simply cut the Cherry Tomatoes in half to reveal their inner flesh and scatter them all over the pan. Be sure to get a few Tomatoes on top of the Chicken pieces. Because we then lay a piece of Mozzarella Cheese over each piece

Into the Oven the whole thing goes at 400F for about 10 minutes. This step is what brings the whole dish together. Those Tomatoes will begin to sweeten as they caramelize, and the Cheese will melt beautifully all over the Chicken

Simple One Pot Chicken Dinner — This is a super-simple dish to make at home. It’s a great weeknight dinner to feed the family

Once the dish is cooked, it’s time to finish it off with those classic Caprese Salad toppings

The final step to this wonderful dish is adding the fresh Basil Leaves and Balsamic Glaze to the dish. These delicious and powerful ingredients are hallmark flavors of a Caprese Salad, and they really make the plate look beautiful and appetizing

Generously scatter the plate with fresh Basil Leaves and then pour the Balsamic Glaze over the top. Be careful with Balsamic Glaze, it is an incredibly powerful ingredient, so you don’t want to use much. A few drops is more than enough to flavor the Chicken, so use it sparingly!

You can replace Balsamic Glaze with Balsamic Vinegar for this dish. If so you can be a little bit more generous with the Balsamic Vinegar. I’d recommend double the quantity to Glaze. However, we do recommend Glaze if you have it on hand

Cast Iron Caprese Chicken toppings — To finish the Cast Iron Caprese Chicken dish, top it with fresh Basil Leaves and a good quality Balsamic Glaze

Any leftover Chicken is great to enjoy in a Sandwich the next day for lunch

Essentially what you are making is a Chicken Parm. The layers of Chicken, Cheese, Tomato, and Basil are all staples in a classic Chicken Parm. So, what better way to enjoy any leftovers you may have from this recipe than a classic Chicken Parm Sandwich!

Just re-heat the Chicken and throw it straight in between a few slices of good quality bread. It’ll make for a delicious and hearty lunch. Hey, you can even just prepare the Cast Iron Caprese Chicken dish per the below instructions and simply serve it with a few big slices of crusty bread. That way your diners can make their own Chicken Parm Sandwiches right there at the dinner table