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Baked Caprese Chicken Thighs cooked right in a sweet, garlic balsamic glaze with juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and topped with melted mozzarella cheese!
Caprese Chicken made over with juicy baked chicken thighs! Many Caprese Chicken recipes I have found over the last few months call for searing chicken with salt and pepper and adding vinegar right at the end. But, why? This recipe is different.
Baked Chicken Thighs
I love the amazing flavour of baked chicken thighs in a sweet balsamic gaze… it has to be the best of all baked chicken recipes. PLUS, adding mozzarella and basil into that mix? Well.
What is Caprese
A traditional simple and flavourful Italian appetiser, a Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese) consists of ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and basil, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt. With this recipe, we are adding baked chicken thighs and a tonne of flavour.
I hope you’re not getting sick of seeing Caprese around here. The Caprese Deep Dish Mini Pizzas and Caprese Frittata were so good. Not to mention those Caprese Stuffed Garlic Butter Portobellos. But it was time for chicken, and this Caprese recipe is SO EASY. One of the EASIEST and TASTIEST recipes on this whole entire blog.
How To Make Chicken Caprese
First, we sear our chicken in oregano and basil (or you can use Italian seasoning), salt and pepper, until golden on both sides. (It won’t be cooked through, but we finish cooking them in the oven).
Next, fry the garlic until fragrant. Mmmmm, garlic smells.
Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Sugar
This is where all the flavour comes from. The sauce gets absorbed into the chicken as it cooks and creates the most amazing flavour. Stir both to combine well and allow to simmer until thickened. Don’t get your face close to the pan though. The strong smell can burn your eyes.
Add the chicken back into the pan, rotating to coat in the glaze and place into the oven and continue baking in the oven until cooked through and succulent. Place your mozzarella slices on each thigh and bake in the oven for a further 5 minutes.
So good you’ll want it straight out of the pan. And that SAUCE is extremely addicting! You have been warned. Top with shredded basil and a few fresh tomatoes and don’t forget to share it with whoever you’re cooking for.
WATCH US MAKE Balsamic Glazed Caprese Chicken RIGHT HERE!
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Balsamic Glazed Caprese Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or a light spray of cooking oil spray
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, divided
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese or Bocconcini, cut into 6x 1/2-inch slices
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chiffonade
Balsamic Glaze: (Optional To Serve)
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210°C | 410°F.
- Season each chicken thigh with the oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil (or cooking spray) in a large oven-proof pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to a plate; drain most of the excess oil, leaving about a teaspoon worth.
- Return the skillet back to the stove; fry garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the vinegar and brown sugar; stirring to combine while heating through. Bring to a simmer, while stirring occasionally, until glaze has thickened (about 5-6 minutes).
- Return the chicken to the pan, turning in the glaze to evenly coat. Add 1 cup of the tomatoes, whole, around the chicken and place the chicken into the oven. Bake until the chicken is completely cooked through (about 30 minutes). Top each chicken with a slice of mozzarella cheese; return back into the oven for a further 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Slice the remaining 1/2 cup tomatoes in half; place them on top of the cheese; pour over some of the balsamic sauce from the pan and garnish with basil. Serve immediately.
Optional:
- If wanting to serve with extra balsamic glaze (as pictured above), make your glaze while the chicken is in the oven. Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, allowing to simmer while stirring occasionally, until the glaze is thickened and reduced by half (about 5-6 minutes). Drizzle over the chicken when ready to serve.
Notes
*For my Australian followers, I find fresh Bocconcini in the deli section in Woolworths. I used 2 large balls, both 125 g each. You can use the smaller ones if that's all you can find.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I did a test taste with my cousin because I am considering making this for my daughter’s 40th birthday party. Although my daughter and I both love thighs most of our friends and family prefer breasts, so I tried this recipe substituting 1/4 breast (1/2 chicken cutlet) for each thigh and cut the oven cooking time down to 20 minutes . . . OMG!!! I am expecting 25 people for the party, and It’s a great feature that this website offers the recipe conversion for any number of servings so I don’t have to do the math for each ingredient. THIS RECIPE IS DEFINITELY A KEEPER!
I had this using chicken quarters. It was amazing. So easy to make, and very cheap. My BF and 18 year son said it was really good and “Fancy” lol. It was even amazing for lunch the next day. Next time I’ll use boneless thighs though and some real basil (I didn’t have the real basil on hand).
I follow the recipe to a T but it always seems to come out of the oven watery. Any advice?
This is one of my favorite recipes. I make it exactly as described and its always a hit. The one difference I guess I do make is that I dont add the tomatoes on top after. I just add them all in when I bake it so that they are all caramelized and delicious.
I add my raves to others’ above- this was lick-the-platter-clean delicious. I used boneless thighs, so reduced the cooking time to about 6 minutes browning and 15 minutes oven time.I served it over egg noodles, great in the sauce. Definitely recommend.
This is phenomenal. Will be making this again soon!!!
I don’t have mozz cheese but I have goat cheese. do you think that’ll be a good substitute?
This is delicious! It is a little sweet, so I’d suggest an acidic side dish to balance. Like lemon orzo or something.
OMG YUMMMMMM! I used boneless skinless chicken breast, cut thin so I didn’t change the cooking time and it was perfect. I served it with parmesan risotto. SO DELICIOUS! I wish I had doubled it to have more leftovers!!!
Oh M to the G!!! This was amazing!!! My family loved it so much that they requested it again for dinner tonight. So ready for dinner time!!
This recipe is amazing!!! I love balsamic but this takes it to a whole new level.
This recipe rocks made it for the 2nd time in 2 weeks tonight! This time added more tomatoes and doubled the balsamic sauce – sooooooo good and fancy enough for company too
This dish is absolutely delicious. Our family favorite chicken recipe. Easy to make and tastes divine!