Description
Baked Chicken Mozzarella Marinara. Super easy. Comfort food. How about a new and healthy twist on chicken Parmesan? Bake chicken breasts in a homemade marinara sauce with fresh mozzarella cheese for cheesy Italian goodness.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 small onion chopped, about 1/2 cup
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds
- About 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
- Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley and basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- To make the marinara sauce, heat a 1 quart sized pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, onion and garlic. Saute the vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of the Italian herb blend. Stir to combine.
- Turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cherry tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the marinara sauce aside.
- To assemble the baked chicken, in a 9 x 13 inch ceramic baking dish add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add the chicken breasts to the dish placing about an inch or so apart.
- Sprinkle the chicken with the remaining Italian herb blend, season with salt and pepper and a few shakes of red pepper flakes.
- Top the chicken with the marinara sauce making sure the chicken is covered.
- Place the slices of fresh mozzarella on top of the chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn the oven up to 425 degrees F and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and top with the freshly shredded Parmesan and a sprinkling of parsley and basil. Serve.
Notes
- Use chicken breasts that are all about the same size. That way they will all cook in about the same amount of time.
- The optimal internal temperature to bake the chicken to 165 degrees. If it is baked to higher temperature, the chicken with get tough and dry out.
- Add fresh herbs when at all possible. They add a nice bright pop of flavor and color.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: entree
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken breast
- Calories: 540
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 672 mg
- Fat: 34.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.8 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 45.9 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg