Tomato Basil Chicken

Tomato Basil Chicken – Would you make this chicken dish if I say just three things? Super easy, super quick and super delicious!! It’s actually quite brilliant and good looking too!!

Those gorgeous looking cherry tomatoes in a slightly buttery-orangey sauce with hints of basil are just too good on otherwise plain chicken breast. The perfect answer to end a rather busy day is this Fast Flourish!!

I get you my readers, life is fast and demanding. I get it every single day. I thought life as a stay home mom would be a breeze, taking a break from my gypsying lifestyle, living out of suitcase for months at a time. Well, quite the opposite!!

After being a full time blogger for nearly two months, 24 hours doesn’t seem like nearly enough time for my never ending to do list. Besides doing regular mom things, maintaining a food blog is quite challenging, from conceptualizing to writing to cooking to shooting to editing to posting to optimizing… wow!

After days in and days out of cooking, sometimes I just want something a little simper and little kinder. And I don’t mean cooking some ramen, I still want some great taste, but one that is possible in less than 30 minutes. So here is one of those…

What is Tomato Basil Chicken?

That title could fit a lot of very different recipes! I could have called this one orange tomato basil chicken, as there is a good amount of orange marmalade to make that yummy, citrussy-tomatoee sauce, but I decided to keep the name as simple as the dish.

As you can see, I have used those lovely heirloom cherry tomatoes. By now you must know I am absolutely, head over heels, in love with them. Every time I go grocery shopping I veer towards those baby tomatoes. I just love the stunning array of colors and the unique flavors of them.

These small, round guys with their thin skins squirt juice all over when you bite them.  They are super sweet and have a high water content. They are not only good in salads or plain snacking, but makes great sauces, pickles, stews and even jams and jellies. Here is my list of 25 favorite cherry tomato recipes.

Whenever I can, I try to use these beauties in my GypsyPlate recipes. As you can see, they add a glamour factor to your foods, in addition to being so flavorful. When a dish is as simple as this, these tomatoes exude a freshness and vibrancy. You can always replace cherry tomatoes with whatever you have available, but if you can get a nice heirloom variety the taste will be elevated.

Ingredients Needed

This uses some very basic pantry staples… 

• Chicken – Usually I steer towards thighs, but for this recipe I am using butterflied breasts.
• Cherry Tomatoes – Yum!
• Fresh Basil – My favorite herb.
• Orange Marmalade – For a nice touch of sweetness.
• Butter and Olive Oil – For frying the chicken.
• Salt, Pepper and red wine vinegar – To complete the flavors.

Tomato Basil Chicken Recipe:

All you have to do is brown your chicken breasts, seasoned with just salt and freshly ground black pepper, in butter and olive oil. I love the freshness of cracked pepper. If you have those giant chicken breasts so common in the stores these days, we recommend you butterfly them. Once they are nicely browned, remove and set aside.

In the same pan, I add more butter and half the portion of halved tomatoes and sauté for a minute, scraping all the good brown bits left by the chicken into your mixture, this builds a yummy sauce. 

Next I add in 3-4 Tbsp of water and stir in orange marmalade and vinegar and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously, until the tomatoes starts bursting and sauce begins to thicken. Then I toss in remaining tomatoes and cook for a couple of more minutes or until thoroughly heated. Lastly I  add in basil, salt and pepper to taste. 

This method has half the tomatoes thoroughly cooked and the other half almost fresh and crunchy. If you like a saucier consistency, cover and simmer over low heat for up to 10 minutes once you add the second half of the tomatoes. I like this sauce chunkier and fresher myself.

Serving Suggestions

Now all that’s left is to scoop the sauce over your chicken. You are going to love the sweet and tangy flavors mixed with the freshness of basil. I like to pair this chicken with a garden salad or some warm couscous and top with my favorite cheese, like goat cheese or feta. It also goes great with spaghetti or zucchitini… The choice is yours! All I promise is a yum, quick and easy dinner!

For more easy meals, check out our hand picked collection of Dinner Ideas for Tonight. Until next time…

Tomato Basil Chicken, on my Gypsy Plate… Enjoy!!!

Looking for more 30-minute-or-less weeknight dinner ideas?

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce
Puerto Rican Picadillo
Caribbean Coconut Mussel Curry
Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Blackened (AKA Cajun) Shrimp and Grits
Kung Pao Chicken
Easy Creamy Chicken Skillet
Flank Steak Fajitas
Shrimp Remoulade
Pesto Shrimp and Grits

Tomato Basil Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This tomato basil chicken is a quick, light and tasty weekday meal. The sweetness from the orange marmalade is a great complement to the freshness of the tomatoes and basil!

Print

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1.5 pt cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 Tbsp orange marmalade
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup fresh basil

Instructions

1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter with olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook 5 minutes per side, until slightly browned. Remove to plate and set aside.
3. Lower heat to medium-low, add remaining butter to pan. Once melted add half of cherry tomatoes, scrape browned bits from chicken and mix.
4. Add 3-4 Tbsp water, vinegar, orange marmalade and remaining cherry tomatoes. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring continuously. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with basil.
5. Serve tomato mixture over chicken.

Notes

1. I like a fresh tomato flavor, but if you prefer it a bit saucier cover the pan after adding all tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes.
2. Goes great over pearled cous cous, but for a keto friendly option goes well with zoodles!

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 321Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 117mgSodium 1307mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 1gSugar 9gProtein 38g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.