Garlic Basil Baked Chicken Breast Recipe with Tomatoes

Garlic basil marinated chicken breasts baked alongside fresh tomatoes and finished with mozzarella cheese. This garlic basil baked chicken breast recipe is easy to make and comes together quickly. Jump to the Garlic Basil Baked Chicken Breast recipe or read on to see how we make it.

Garlic Basil Baked Chicken Breast Recipe with Tomatoes

This baked chicken breast recipe with tomatoes has quickly moved up to one of my favorite ways to cook chicken!

When it comes to skinless, boneless chicken breasts, there are three secrets for making sure they come out juicy, tender and full of flavor. We shared our best tips for baking chicken breasts in the oven a few days ago.

It really comes down to three things: marinate, bake loosely covered, and use a meat thermometer. If you’re on the lookout for more chicken breast recipes, take a look at these: Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken, Lemony Chicken with Cucumber Feta Salad, and Baked Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers.

Making Garlic Basil Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes in the Oven

This is a simple recipe, but it is packed with flavor. Chicken breasts are marinated in a simple, yet magical marinade and then baked alongside lots of tomatoes and basil. Just before serving, we add a few pieces of torn fresh mozzarella cheese.

Garlic Basil Baked Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes

We start with the marinade — it’s a simple combination of red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and basil. Fresh basil is key — dried just won’t do it, here. We only marinate chicken breasts 1 to 2 hours — you really don’t need to go longer than that. After the chicken has marinated, move on to the tomatoes.

Garlic basil marinade

Use a variety of cut tomatoes and whole small tomatoes. The cut tomatoes give up their juices quickly and the cherry tomatoes stay intact. Add the tomatoes to a baking dish with basil stalks — we used the leaves to make the marinade. You won’t end up eating them, but they are really fragrant so use them. We use basil stalks often — especially when making tomato sauces. We add basil stalks to this slow cooker tomato sauce. It’s delicious!

Time for the chicken — just nestle it in to the dish. The tomatoes will build up the sides — that’s perfect. Then we bake — bake loosely covered and get your meat thermometer ready. We’re looking for 165 degrees F, no more than that.

Cover with parchment paper before baking.

After 35 to 40 minutes the chicken should be done and it’s time to add a little mozzarella — because let’s be honest. Basil + tomatoes + mozzarella is amazing. Oh, and that juice at the bottom of the baking dish? It’s pure gold! I would happily spoon it into my mouth everyday. A big piece of focaccia bread to sop it all up would be a nice idea, too.

Garlic Basil Baked Chicken with Tomatoes

As I mentioned above, this baked chicken breast recipe has quickly moved up to one of my favorite ways to cook chicken and I’m betting it will for you, too.

Recipe updated, originally posted April 2016. Since posting this in 2016, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne

Garlic Basil Baked Chicken Breast Recipe with Tomatoes

  • PREP
  • COOK
  • TOTAL

For juicy, tender chicken breasts remember these three things: marinate first, bake loosely covered, and use a meat thermometer. In our photos, we show baking 2 chicken breasts, but the marinade shared below is enough for 4 chicken breasts. The chicken does not need to be completely immersed in the marinade, just coated by it. If you plan to double the recipe, simply double the amount of chicken, tomatoes, and the mozzarella. We marinate the chicken breasts in a magical mixture of red wine vinegar, garlic, and basil before baking in the oven. If you’re short on time, marinate as close to an hour as you can. If you’re flexible, go for a whole two hours. The flavors will intensify. And since we want to keep things safe, it’s best to marinate the chicken in the refrigerator (no matter how long you do it for).

Makes 4 servings

You Will Need

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)

1 bunch fresh basil

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like things

3 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a large knife or minced

2 cups tomatoes, cut to rough 1-inch chunks (leave cherry tomatoes whole)

1/4 cup torn fresh mozzarella cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  • Prepare Chicken
  • 1Remove basil leaves from stalks and set the stalks aside. Roughly chop the basil leaves so that you have about 1/4 cup. Whisk 2 tablespoons of olive oil, red wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper together until the salt has dissolved. Stir in the garlic and basil. Refrigerate and use within 1 to 2 hours.

    2Add chicken breasts to the marinade and marinate for 1 hour and up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

  • To Finish
  • 1Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil one side of a sheet of parchment paper that is large enough to cover the baking dish. (Aluminum foil can also be used).

    2Add the basil stalks set aside from earlier to a baking dish large enough to fit the chicken breasts arranged in one layer. Add the tomatoes then toss with 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

    3Nestle the chicken breasts down into the tomatoes, allowing the tomatoes to gather up the sides of each chicken breast. Throw the garlic cloves from the marinade into the baking dish then cover the dish with parchment paper. Loosely tuck the parchment paper around the chicken.

    4Bake until the chicken is opaque all the way through and an internal thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast. Check for doneness around 25 minutes then go from there. Most chicken breasts will take 35 to 40 minutes.

    5Scatter mozzarella on top of each breast then broil on high for about a minute or until the cheese melts. Serve the chicken with the baked tomatoes, juices from the bottom of the baking dish, and more torn basil leaves.

Adam and Joanne's Tips

  • Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA Supertracker recipe calculator to calculate approximate values.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste

Nutrition Per Serving Calories 240 / Protein 28 g / Carbohydrate 4 g / Dietary Fiber 1 g / Total Sugars 2 g / Total Fat 12 g / Saturated Fat 3 g / Cholesterol 89 mg
AUTHOR:  Adam and Joanne Gallagher
Inspired Taste Newsletter Signup
10 comments… Leave a Review
  • Rose September 20, 2022, 9:54 pm

    I had a plethora of tomatoes, basil and garlic from our garden so searched for a recipe using those items together with chicken. This fit the bill! Put it together in the midst of canning tomatoes. Quick and easy, flavourful and juicy! Didn’t use any red pepper flakes but otherwise followed the recipe closely. Over a bed of rice. Save the drippings and it’s great the next day too. Still moist. Thanks and I’ve shared this with a few people now. It’s a keeper.

    Reply
  • amorcito April 26, 2022, 6:07 pm

    made this with spaghetti squash, it was AAHHMMMAAZZZIIINNNGGG!!!

    Reply
  • Marit DiRado August 26, 2020, 1:38 pm

    Sounds delish! I only have bone in chicken breasts, think it’ll work? How long to bake and what temp would you recommend?

    Reply
  • Basak Örs Tuncak December 17, 2019, 2:43 pm

    I have used your Garlic, Lemon and Mustard recipe many many times for any and every occasion with a confidence. Each time I received huge amount of awes and compliments when I made it. Today, I am excited and looking forward to try your baked chicken with tomatoes recipe. Thank you for your delicious recipes.

    Reply
  • Larissa March 18, 2019, 7:13 pm

    You guys are amazing. I have never had a recipe from this website go wrong. I’ve been wanting to try this chicken for a few weeks now (my boyfriend was already tired of hearing about it). I finally got to it today. It was absolutely delicious. I only had about 45 minutes to marinade it, but still it was full of flavor. Next time, will go for the full 2 hours of marinade. I also forgot to double the amount of tomatoes, since I used 5 pieces of chicken breast. My boyfriend loved it. Said it was perfect and even better than the other recipe (I made the one with lemon, garlic and mustard a few times). Thanks for sharing these amazing whole foods.

    Reply
  • Kim W. June 10, 2018, 8:49 pm

    We loved it. I served it over an arugula salad lightly dressed with olive oil,lemon juice, salt & pepper and shaved parmesan. To do it again I may try topping the chicken with parm instead of fresh mozzarella.

    Reply
  • Karen October 4, 2017, 1:45 pm

    I made this recipe last night without the cheese and only marinated the chicken for an hour. Even so, my husband loved it! The juice in the bottom of the pan was so good that I didn’t want to stop eating it, after my two pieces of bread were gone. I will definitely cook this one regularly, and I’m excited about trying more of the recipes!

    Reply
  • Darlene August 17, 2017, 6:44 pm

    It’s in the oven now. Smells delicious. Made with all the flavors I love to cook with, how can it go wrong…?

    Reply
  • Maria Sklar May 15, 2017, 10:24 pm

    Delicious! Everyone loved it. Super easy too. Great recipe when you need to use lots of tomatoes. Followed the recipe exactly. Just used 2 tbsp ready minced garlic instead of cloves. Cut up regular tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. Thank you!

    Reply
  • Sommer @aspicyperspective April 7, 2016, 9:07 pm

    This chicken breast is bursting with flavor. I want it right now!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Leave a Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe!

 

All comments are moderated before appearing on the site. Thank you so much for waiting. First time commenting? Please review our comment guidelines. You must be at least 16 years old to post a comment. All comments are governed by our Privacy Policy & Terms.

Previous Post: Next Post: