Tomato-Basil Chicken Bruschetta
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My chicken bruschetta swaps the usual garlicky toast for grilled chicken breast, but keeps the idea intact: Something substantial, piled high with juicy ripe tomatoes and basil. A lemony marinade gives the chicken a tangy flavor in the time it takes to heat the grill. Or, if it’s the dead of winter, get the broiler going instead. Once it’s cooked and draped with a slice of good mozzarella, spoon the warm tomato sauce over top while there’s still enough heat left to melt the cheese.
Bruschetta itself is an Italian bar snack, not a recipe with fixed rules — crusty bread, rubbed with raw garlic, doused in olive oil, topped with whatever’s ripe that day. Here, the chicken does the job the bread usually does — a sturdy, savory base for the tomatoes to sit on.
My lemon-herb chicken marinade infuses the chicken with tangy flavor in minutes.
Chicken bruschetta ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs): Either cut works — thighs stay a shade more forgiving on the grill, but both need the same 10-15 minutes in the marinade to pick up flavor without turning mushy. The upside of using breasts is more surface area for the topping.
- Cherry or grape tomatoes: These smaller tomatoes hold their shape and sweetness even out of season, when a big beefsteak would be underripe and watery. Swap in a ripe summer tomato, chopped, if that’s what you’ve have — totally the original vibe of this dish.
- Fresh mozzarella, packed in water: Skip the low-moisture block stuff — fresh mozzarella slices soften into the hot chicken on contact, going from firm to melted in under a minute.
Marinate, grill or broil, and melt
1. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and pour over the chicken. Let it sit 10-15 minutes before cooking, or refrigerate until ready to cook (up to 4 hours ahead). 2. Halve the tomatoes rather than leave them whole — more cut surface means more juice releases once they hit the pan..
Five minutes in the pan is enough to encourage the tomatoes juices into a light sauce — any longer and they’ll collapse into mush instead of holding their shape. 3. Layer the mozzarella on as soon as the chicken comes off the grill or out of the broiler — residual warmth is what melts it quickly. 4. Spoon the bruschetta sauce over the chicken and serve with zesty marinated white beans.
Tomato-Basil Chicken Bruschetta with Mozzarella
Ingredients
Bruschetta Topping
- 8 ounces (225 g) halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar, or fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
- 1 teaspoon thinly sliced garlic
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
Chicken
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or 6 boneless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano or tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried herb of your choice
- 1 teaspoon grated or finely chopped fresh garlic, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
- 4 ounces (113 g) fresh mozzarella, sliced thin
Instructions
Bruschetta topping
- To make the topping, combine 8 ounces halved cherry or grape tomatoes, 2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot, 1 teaspoon thinly sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper in a medium bowl and toss gently.
- Heat a medium (8-10 inch) skillet over medium heat until the surface is hot. Pour in the tomato mixture. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are slightly softened and start to release their juices. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in ½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves and set aside.
Grilled chicken
- Put 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish. Combine ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, 1 teaspoon grated or finely chopped fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper in a bowl. Pour over the chicken, turning the pieces over to coat on both sides. Marinate 10-15 minutes at room temperature, or refrigerate up to 4 hours ahead.
- Heat a gas grill to medium-high or prepare a charcoal grill for direct medium-hot grilling, or preheat your broiler to high.
- When the grill is ready, cook the chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. If you're broiling, arrange the chicken on a rack set over a broiler pan. Broil about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and immediately layer slices of mozzarella over the chicken. The cheese will soften and melt in minutes.
- Spoon some of the bruschetta sauce over the chicken. Serve warm or at room temperature, with additional sauce on the side.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- The tomato bruschetta sauce can be prepped up to one day ahead. Bring it to room temperature until you’re ready to cook the chicken.
- Instead of grilling, cook the chicken on the stovetop in a heavy pan, such as cast iron skillet or grill pan.
- A drizzle of good balsamic over the platter at the end adds a sharp, sweet edge the tomatoes don’t have on their own.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
Professionally trained cook, cookbook author, and the person behind every recipe here. I cook the way I was trained: Start with good ingredients, understand why they work, and don’t apologize for the salt. These are the recipes I actually make, for the people I love. Read more about me here.