Top chicken with the fresh, juicy flavors of bruschetta plus Parmesan and fresh basil for a healthy dinner.
No matter how hard I try, I do not like chicken unless it has some sort of sauce with itโBBQ sauce, sweet chili sauce, cheese, mustard, ranch, etc. I just need some sort of juiciness to balance out the often drier texture of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I’ve been trying to branch out more, though, by adding items like juicy fruits and veggies as a side to chicken. It’s actually surprising how well it works (and how tasty it can be) when you get the right mixture going.
I’ve seen a variety of fresh salsa recipes used as the topping for marinated chicken, and I’m excited to try more recipes to find new ways to spruce up the typical bland chicken dinner. After playing around with some recipes recently, I realized a theme that couldn’t not be good: bruschetta chicken!
Bruschetta is always such a treat because I rarely have it. The sweet and often tangy tomato-basil mixture on a piece of toasted bread? YUM. I wanted to transfer that marriage of glorious flavors to create a colorful and delicious topping for chicken breasts.
It worked out just as I had hoped, if not better. I was debating whether to actually cook the bruschetta topping or not, and ultimately decided to do it, which I think adds a nice warmth to the dish (literally, and also with the cooked tomato flavor).
If you’re looking for a way to make chicken breasts more exciting, you’ve got to try bruschetta as a simple topping! It definitely satisfies my need for something juicy to balance out the chicken dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1.5 Tbs fresh basil, cut into ribbons*
- 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut in half to create 4 thin pieces
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- Garnish: shredded Parmesan, fresh basil, coarse black pepper
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes, basil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the 4 chicken breast pieces (add salt and pepper to taste), and top each with a quarter of the bruschetta mixture (pour the remaining balsamic over the tops as well).
- Cook uncovered for about 3-5 minutes per side, then flip over (cooking the bruschetta next to the chicken at this point).
- Once the center of the chicken is no longer pink, spoon the bruschetta over the tops of each chicken piece. Sprinkle Parmesan and pepper and add fresh basil for the garnish.
Notes:
*To cut basil into ribbons, stack your basil leaves, roll them all together, and then slice down the "cigar" of basil. It's an easy way to chop several leaves and get that pretty ribbon look.
Are you a bruschetta fan?
How do you balance the naturally bland flavor and texture of chicken?
This sounds delicious! We are trying it this week. What do eat as a side? I’m awful at planning sides.
That’s a great question hahaha. I’m also terrible at planning sides. You could always serve this over a bed of spaghetti noodles for more of a one-bowl meal. Or some ideas for actual sides: crusty bread, pretty much any roasted vegetable (maybe asparagus or zucchini?), side salad, etc. Oh, and I totally chopped some of the leftovers up and sprinkled it on top of a homemade pizza, and it did NOT disappoint.
We ate this last night over noodles. It was delicious!! We had to use dried basil because we couldn’t find fresh at two different grocery stores #smalltown, but still delicious.