Baked Chicken Casserole with Basil and Roasted Peppers
Make this easy baked chicken breast casserole recipe in under 45 minutes! Fresh basil, roasted red peppers, orange juice and lemon make this recipe a keeper. Jump to the Baked Chicken Casserole Recipe or read on to see our tips for making it.
We always have a jar of roasted red peppers in our pantry. We love how versatile, colorful and flavorful they are. We’ll often add them to salads, sandwiches, snacks, dips and even casserole recipes. One of those jars was the inspiration for this easy baked chicken recipe. The bright red color of the peppers make the casserole jump of the table.
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How to Make This Chicken Casserole with Roasted Red Peppers and Basil
This casserole is very simple to make and jumps off the table.
Along with the peppers, we add fresh basil, orange juice, lemon juice, and garlic. The casserole comes together in minutes and is perfect served with a side of rice, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower to soak up all the extra (and flavorful) cooking liquid.
To make it, line up sliced chicken breast, jarred roasted red peppers and fresh basil leaves. Then pour in a mixture of orange and lemon juice. The juice keeps the chicken incredibly moist and makes such a delicious cooking liquid.
Then bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. See how there is still lots of liquid? That’s why we always serve with something that will soak it up — that liquid is pure gold!
Recipe updated, originally posted October 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
Baked Chicken Casserole with Basil and Roasted Peppers
- PREP
This simple baked chicken recipe is perfect for busy nights. When you serve it think about serving with rice or mashed potatoes (vegetables work, too). The chicken is cooked in lots of cooking liquid made from orange juice, lemon juice and garlic, so when you serve the chicken you can spoon lots of that same cooking liquid over the chicken and any side dish. It’s delicious.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
You Will Need
1 1/2-pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers
1/2 cup (120 ml) orange juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch fresh basil
2 tablespoons butter
Directions
- Prepare Casserole
- To Finish
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice each chicken breast on an angle into 1-inch slices and season with salt and pepper.
Open jar of roasted red peppers, drain, and then cut the peppers into smaller chunks. (Try to make them the same size as the basil leaves).
Scatter garlic in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Pour half of the orange juice and half of the lemon juice mixture over garlic. Starting in one corner of the baking dish, alternate chicken slices with pieces of roasted red pepper and basil leaves then pour the remaining orange and lemon juice over chicken. Cut butter into small squares then scatter over chicken.
Bake the chicken until the chicken is thoroughly cooked (if you have a thermometer, when inserted into the chicken, it should read 165 degrees F); 20 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken over mashed potatoes, rice or vegetables. There will be lots of extra cooking liquid to spoon over the chicken.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- One 12-ounce jar of roasted red peppers usually contain 1 very large or 2 medium peppers.
Recipe updated, originally posted June 2016. Since posting this in 2016, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne
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This is my first time trying a recipe on this website and this chicken came out AMAZING!! Definitely a big hit with my boyfriend. The acidic taste wasn’t very overwhelming which was my concern but it was the perfect amount of orange juice and lemon juice!
Trying turkey meatballs tonight! 🙂
Wow! This was so incredibly fresh and delicious tasting! There werent any leftovers and lots of requests for a repeat performance very soon :). I sliced the breasts about and inch thick and marinated them in the juices and garlic for 15 minutes. I used two tablespoons of lemon juice, and tripled the basil. I drizzled about 1.5 tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil over the top before baking. I thought it would be tasty but it was exceptional. As we were eating, I noticed the bites with basil had an extra yum factor so I would definitely triple the basil again. Thank you for delighting us with this recipe. I will definitely try more from InspiredTaste!
This sounds wonderful! Do you think it would work just as well with cauliflower & carrots replacing the roast peppers? 🙂
Sure! Any veggie will work!
Delicious! I wish I would have marinated the chicken for a bit in the juice, because it was so tasty and would have loved the chicken to pick up a bit more of it. I did take advice from previous comments regarding sourness and used only about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, otherwise kept all other ingredients the same.
Served with the whipped potatoes recipe I found here too!
Hi Joanne…. I want to make this to serve six and would be roasting my own peppers rather than the store bought, jarred ones… any stab at about how many large fresh red peppers I should start with to roast to make this recipe for six people? (I make a roasted red pepper soup with an orange creme fraiche and basil topping – and I’ll make quinoa with asparagus and red pepper and so your recipe will nicely complete the red pepper themed meal! LoL!). Thanks in advance for your response! Warm regards, Rachel
Hi there — we’d guess 2 medium peppers.
A dry white wine or lighter red (like Pinot Noir) would be nice.
can i use other peppers too or just red?
Any roasted bell pepper will work well.
Can I do balsamic vinegar with the lemon instead of Orange juice?
That could be really tasty. We suggest tasting the lemon and balsamic together before adding to the chicken to see if it seems too acidic. You might want to compensate with a little honey/sugar/maple syrup.
This was way too sour! I added extra garlic to the bottom of the baking dish and marinated the chicken with the juices during cooking so the basil didn’t get crispy. I like the idea of layering the roasted peppers and basil, but next time will not add 1/4 cup lemon juice. I was just too much for my taste.
Hi Karin — Next time, try a little lemon zest and not juice. That should tone down the sourness of the lemon.
This looks delicious. I would really like to try this out. Would it still taste good w/out the orange juice? I’m on a sugar detox and Orange juice has too much sugar. Thank You!
Yes, leave it out completely or add a little fresh lemon juice — about half a lemon should do it.
Orange and lemon zest would also work nicely to add the citrus flavor without the sugar.
I made this recipe as written and loved it. 🙂
I dont have roasted pepper in my country. Do you have a substitute in mind?
You can roast your own peppers — to do this, turn your oven broiler to high then place regular bell peppers underneath it (it is helpful to place them onto a baking sheet to catch any juices). Roast the peppers for 3 to 5 minutes on all sides or until the skin has blistered and darkened. Then, transfer the peppers to a plastic bag or bowl that can be covered. Leave the peppers for 10 to 15 minutes. In this time, they will steam and then cool. From there, you can easily pull the skin away from the pepper flesh. Remove the seeds and you have homemade roasted peppers. We show you how to do this in our Roasted Pepper Hummus recipe.
What do you think about using 1-2T olive oil drizzled over the top instead of butter?
That would be fine 🙂
I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it a few times and my family always devours it. Thanks!
This recipe is incredible, thank you so much for posting it! The flavors blended together in pure perfection. We had it over egg noodles with a side of broccoli. I’m definitely adding this to my repertoire.
I tried this recipe the other day, after finding it at tastespotting.com. I thought it was a really great recipe! Brilliant in both being easy, quick to prepare and full of yummy flavors. Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
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