This Caprese Grilled Chicken recipe is incredibly flavorful, easy to make, and ready in just about 30 minutes! Featuring juicy grilled chicken, ripe tomatoes, and your choice of creamy fresh mozzarella or indulgent burrata, it’s a delicious and healthy dinner option. For a twist, opt for burrata, which adds an extra layer of creaminess that pairs perfectly with the vibrant tomatoes and smoky chicken. We love serving it over a bed of sautéed asparagus, topped with a drizzle of balsamic glaze for a light yet satisfying meal.
Traditional Caprese salad is made with thick slices of tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Our recipe for Caprese grilled chicken uses cherry tomatoes (which are available and tasty year round) and a white wine shallot mixture. We roast the tomatoes in the oven, top the chicken with mozzarella, and finish it off by broiling it. The result is simply amazing.
How do you pronounce Caprese?
The way Italians say Caprese depends on what region of Italy the speaker is from. The most Southern parts of Italy will say “cah-preh-zseh. ” The more Northern parts of Italy will pronounce it “cah-prey-zay.” It doesn’t matter which of these pronunciations you use, as long as you can say them correctly.
What you will need to make Caprese Grilled Chicken:
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil has the most robust flavor and aroma. If you do not have olive oil, any vegatable oil will work.
Shallot: Shallots are milder and sweeter than onions, making them perfect for sauces, dressings, and sautéed dishes, however, any onion can be substitued such as red, yellow or white onions.
Garlic: We use fresh garlic in this dish. We keep the already peeled garlic in our fridge, as we feel the flavor is better than pre-chopped garlic. When we bring it home from the store, we add a paper towel inside the bag, as well as have a small container with a lid and a paper towel in it for our main fridge. This keeps the moisture lower, and the garlic fresher.
Roasted tomatoes: These are more plump than sun-dried tomatoes. These can be hard to find. We sometimes find them in the deli section at the store. Recently we started just making our own from scratch. We would just wash and quarter Roma tomatoes and place them on a cookie sheet and place them in a 250 F. oven for a few hours. Then store them in oil in fridge or freezer. You can sub out sun-dried tomatoes that have been re-constituted in hot water. You can also JUST use Cherry Tomatoes for this dish.
Cherry tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are always on our counter. We buy them every week. Check out or tips for storage article and find more cherry tomato recipes HERE.
Italian seasoning: The quality of Italian seasoning can vary, so opt for brands with a good mix of dried herbs and no artificial additives. If you do not have Italian seasoning you can use oregano or basil.
Hot pepper flakes: Choose good quality flakes without any added fillers or preservatives. We buy hot pepper flakes in smaller containers, as they lose some of the heat if they sit on the shelf too long. When you see a brighter color pepper flake, you know that it is fresh.
Kosher Salt: Kosher salt has larger, coarser grains compared to table salt, which makes it easier to pinch and sprinkle evenly over food. This texture is particularly useful for seasoning dishes during cooking or finishing touches.
Freshly ground pepper: Freshly cracked pepper has a more vibrant and complex flavor compared to pre-ground pepper. When you crack whole peppercorns, it releases aromatic oils, resulting in a fresher and more intense taste. The flavor of pre-ground pepper can diminish over time as the essential oils evaporate.
Fresh Mozzarella: Fresh mozzarella has a high moisture content and a creamy texture, which allows it to melt beautifully when exposed to heat. It becomes soft and gooey, creating a luscious and indulgent layer over the chicken, while melding well with the roasted tomatoes.
Chicken breasts: We marinate our chicken breasts in buttermilk for a few hours or overnight. When using buttermilk to tenderize chicken, it’s best to marinate the chicken in buttermilk for several hours or overnight. The longer you marinate the chicken, the more tenderizing effect it will have.
Remember that the quality of ingredients can significantly impact the taste and overall result of your dish. Always choose the freshest and best-quality ingredients available to enhance your cooking.
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
Ingredients for Caprese Chicken:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot diced fine
- 6 cloves garlic shredded
- 1 7 ounce container roasted tomatoes chopped save liquid
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch hot pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper
- 3 slices of fresh mozzarella per chicken breast
- 2-3 chicken breasts
Instructions
- We like to marinate our chicken in buttermilk, dijon, sriracha and garlic powder. I add this to a zipper bag in the morning, or night before, and add chicken breasts....but please use whatever marinade you like.
- Prep ingredients for sauce. Dice shallot, and shred garlic. Chop the roasted tomatoes, saving liquid. Pre-heat oven to 350°. Now it is time to grill the chicken, and start on the sauce!1 shallot diced fine, 6 cloves garlic, 1 7 ounce container roasted tomatoes chopped
- Preheat gas grill before cooking to medium-high heat or 350-400° F, or prepare charcoal grill. Lightly grease grill surface and add chicken. Close lid and cook 8 minutes, or until bottoms are browned with sear marks. Rotate chicken, close lid, reduce heat to medium and cook 7-10 minutes more, or until internal temperature reaches 165° F.2-3 chicken breasts
- Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in cast iron skillet. Add shallots, cook a couple minutes until softened, add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add chopped roasted tomatoes along with liquid. Toss in cherry tomatoes, stir, add fresh cracked pepper, chili flakes and Italian seasoning and place in oven till tomatoes break down.1 shallot diced fine, 6 cloves garlic, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1 pinch hot pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Bring chicken in to rest, covered 5 minutes. Place chicken on tomatoes and layer cheese on top, return to oven, and turn on broil. Watch for cheese to melt and brown.2-3 chicken breasts
- Serve over steamed or roasted asparagus with a drizzle of balsamic.
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ve been looking for more cast iron skillet recipes and this caprese chicken looks incredible!
Ali,
We love cast iron cooking. This is on high rotation!
Thank you,
Dina and Bruce
Caprese salads are my favorite!! This will be more filling and an easy dinner idea!
Whitney,
A great way to use up cherry tomatoes, and so yummy!
Thank you,
Dina and Bruce
We love caprese salads, so I made this chicken for dinner last night and my whole family loved it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Taylor,
So great! Happy to share!
Dina and Bruce
Yum! This looks absolutely perfect. Love caprese flavors, I bet it’s perfect with the grilled chicken. Trying this stat.
Dana,
When we buy too many cherry tomatoes, and some start hitting that ripe point, this goes on the menu…never fails!
Thank you,
Dina and Bruce
I love this!! Everyone at my house enjoyed it! I love easy it is to make!
Toni,
We have had to make it fully on the grill due to kitchen remodel, but it sure was tasty!
Thank you,
Dina and Bruce
What a delicious dish and such a great opportunity for me to use my cast iron! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Ned,
The cast iron is key in this recipe, so glad you loved it!
Dina and Bruce