This recipe is one of my favorites to make for my husband and I. It’s super easy to make, zero prep and easy on the wallet too. On top of all that, it’s delicious and light!
If you’re trying to eat cleaner – this recipe makes it easy. If you can’t cook much – this recipe makes it easy. If you don’t normally like grilled chicken (like my husband) – this recipe will make you enjoy it. At least according to my husband. I can’t get him to eat many grilled chicken recipes, but he enjoys this one!
When I say easy, I mean easy. You just dump all the ingredients into a casserole dish and pop it in the oven. Zero prep work other than opening the packages the food comes in.
What you will need:
- Chicken breast – I have made this recipe with both normal chicken breast and chicken breast tenders. I personally like making it with the tenders better because it doesn’t take as long to bake. When I used the breasts I would filet them in half to reduce baking time.
- Fresh mozzarella – I like to buy the log of mozzarella that is pre-sliced. Mozzarella pears or even just shredded mozzarella would work as well.
- Cherry/grape tomatoes – If you want to save more money you could buy one whole tomato to slice yourself, but I like to buy the cherry tomatoes and dump them all in (after rinsing).
- Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing – This can be found with the salad dressings. Not balsamic vinegar.
- 8×8 Casserole Dish – This size fits perfect for my recipe. If doubling the recipe for a bigger crowd I would suggest using a 9×13 casserole dish.
Step by step instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. If using chicken breast, cut in half then place at the bottom of the casserole dish. If using the chicken breast tenders, place at the bottom of the casserole dish.
Pour about 3/4 of the balsamic vinaigrette dressing into the casserole dish. You can do less if you want or more. I suggest at least making sure all of the chicken is covered with the dressing.
Rinse cherry or grape tomatoes. If using a whole tomato – rinse and cut into slices. Dump the entire container of cherry tomatoes into the casserole dish, spreading them around as you dump them. The amount you use is up to you. You don’t have to use the entire container if you’d rather not. Half or 3/4 of the container would likely do.
Place sliced mozzarella spread out across the entire dish. When I first started making this I would add the cheese towards the end, but I found that the sliced mozzarella would never fully melt. I recommend adding it right away. This makes it nice and melty like the mozzarella cheese in mozzarella sticks.
Bake in oven for 30-37 minutes. Mine took about 35 minutes. It also depends on what kind of chicken breasts you’re using and how thick they are. When I’ve made this recipe with chicken breasts (even cut in half) it has taken much longer to bake.
To make it more caprese you could serve on a bed of spinach or with a spinach side salad.
Serves: 2-4 people
Ingredients:
- 1.5lbs chicken breast or chicken breast tenders
- 8oz sliced fresh mozzarella
- 10oz or less cherry tomatoes
- 12oz Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- If using chicken breast – slice into two per breast. Spread chicken breasts (or tenders) evenly on bottom of casserole dish
- Pour balsamic vinaigrette dressing over chicken
- Place cherry tomatoes evenly across dish
- Place sliced mozzarella evenly across dish
- Bake for 30-35 minutes
Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment below to let me know how it went!