This strawberry balsamic chicken is a delicious and easy fruity version of caprese that I adore!
Ok, I feel like last summer I bombarded the blog with caprese recipes.
From chicken caprese, to stuffed caprese bites, grilled caprese sandwiches, and these caprese bites, I think we’ve established that I love all things red, white and basil. ;)
So to switch things up this summer, I thought it would be fun to do a different take on my favorite combo and make some strawberry caprese!! I was so excited about the idea, but my friends gave me the raised eyebrow when I told them the recipe name. So I caved and named this one Strawberry Balsamic Chicken.
(To-may-to…to-mah-to…although actually no tomato anywhere in this caprese!)
Either way, this strawberry-balsamic-chicken-caprese recipe is crazy good, and uber easy to make.
Just bake, saute, or grill up some balsamic-marinated chicken breasts. Top them with a strawberry caprese salsa, made from the fresh trio — strawberries, mozzarella and basil. And finally, drizzle on some reduced balsamic for an extra kick, and BAM — this tasty meal is ready to go with just minutes or prep time.
My kind of colorful, fresh and yummy summer meal.
And my taste-testing neighbor agreed. ;)
Strawberry Balsamic Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Baked chicken is topped with a fresh and healthy strawberry caprese topping!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar, divided
- salt and pepper
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
- 4 oz. fresh mozzarella ball (or shredded mozzarella), roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Combine chicken breasts and 1/2 cup balsamic in a ziplock bag. Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes, or up to 5 hours. When ready to cook, place chicken in a baking dish and pour the remaining vinegar on top. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.
- Meanwhile, bring the remaining 1/2 cup vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until reduced by half. Remove and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together strawberries, mozzarella and basil to make a caprese topping.
- When the chicken is ready, transfer to serving dishes. Then top with the strawberry caprese topping, and then drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar.
- **For an additional option, you can add the strawberry caprese mixture to the chicken in the baking dish once the chicken during the last 5 minutes of baking. Then the cheese will thoroughly melt and the strawberries will be warm. Either way works great!
For you caprese lovers out there, feel free to check out these other yummy caprese recipes too!
I made this but substituted goat cheese for mozzarella and added onions and walnuts. Absolutely delicious!
What sides did you serve with this?
Hi, this looks SO good! I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if I could use this recipe for a strawberry recipe round-up I’m doing? I would be using a photo only and linking back to this post for the recipe. Thanks!
Thanks Brittany, and sure, of course you can! Thanks for asking! : )
I came across this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it even though I didn’t have all the ingredients. I made the chicken as directed but substituted smoked gouda cut up and parsley as that was the only cheese and fresh herbs I had in the fridge- LOVED IT. I highly recommend to try that combo :)
I made this last night with some roasted asparagus and parmesan – delic! I added the strawberry mixture to the oven w the chicken for the last 2 minutes to warm everything through which melted the chesse a little bit. Also, I had fresh pesto which I added to the strawberries and mozzarella since I didn’t have fresh basil on hand. I’ll definitely be making this again soon :)
Oh my word. This looks amazing! I’m going to make this sometime this week for sure!
Just made this for dinner last night! It was so simple and quick and tasted lovely. I may try making it over a bed of salad next time. I also didn’t have fresh mozz, so I substituted fontina and it was fantastic!
Dying from the goodness!
This does look wonderful. I’m making it for dinner tonight! I have a question though (there are not stupid questions, right?) The recipe calls for 1 cup of balsamic vinegar, divided. You use have a cup to marinate the chicken and half a cup to reduce for drizzling on top of the chicken. My question is, where it says to place the chicken in a baking dish and pour remaining balsamic on top of the chicken before baking, does that mean the vinegar left in the bag you marinated the chicken in? Thanks for the info and for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it!