30-Minute Baked Chicken Mozzarella
Baked chicken breasts topped with melted mozzarella in a thick and spicy tomato sauce. This easy one-pan recipe has intense flavor and is ready to serve in about 30 minutes.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 (1.3 kg) boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2½-3 pounds
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced or grated
- 3 oil-packed anchovies chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed optional if using Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or more/less to taste
- 1 15-ounce (30 g) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers drained and chopped
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves torn or chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 (220C) degrees.
- Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and black pepper.
- Put a large (12-14-inch) ovenproof skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook the onion until it's softened and translucent, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, anchovies, oregano, fennel seed and crushed red pepper to the pan. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Stir in the tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then arrange the chicken on top of the sauce and turn off the heat. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake 15 minutes.
- Flip the chicken breasts over. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top of the chicken and bake 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle the basil over the chicken and serve.
Video
Notes
- Serve with your favorite pasta.
- Instead of pasta, serve with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice tossed with basil pesto sauce.
- The chicken keeps up to 5 days refrigerated. You can also freeze it for up to a month. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheat at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, or until the portion is heated through.
Nutrition
Calories: 407kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 35gFat: 26gSodium: 991mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2g
