Looking for a quick and easy dinner idea? This Tomato Basil Chicken is a 5-star meal that’s ready in under 20 minutes! Featuring juicy chicken breasts in a buttery, garlicky pan sauce with fresh tomatoes and basil ribbons. Serve over thin spaghetti with plenty of Parmesan cheese for the perfect weeknight meal!
I have a folder that I keep printed off recipes and recipes from newspaper clippings. It's a pretty thick folder, and I hope one day I will be able to work my way through each recipe. Some of these recipes I've had for years, and the recipe for The Best Tomato Basil Chicken is one of these that I come back to time and time again. Why?
Because it is a DIVINE combination.
I cannot remember where I got this recipe, but please know I assure you it is EASY. DELICIOUS. QUICK. 5 STAR. And PERFECT for busy weeknights!
Why You Will LOVE This Recipe!
You will LOVE this recipe because:
- This dish is fully of amazing flavor! The buttery garlicky pan sauce is absolutely incredible paired with the juicy chicken breasts over pasta!
- Tomato basil chicken is the perfect meal for when you need something quick and easy for dinner. This dish is ready in about 15-20 minutes!
- This recipe uses fresh ingredients that are easily found at your local grocery store.
So now allow me to show you what you will need to make this one-pan Tomato Basil Chicken!
🥘 INGREDIENTS
Here are the fresh and simple ingredients that you will need to make this one pan Tomato Basil Chicken:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Fresh basil leaves
- Tomatoes
- Fresh garlic
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Parmigiano Reggiano as a garnish
- Pasta - serve the tomato basil chicken over your pasta of choice (I used thin spaghetti)
I count 9 simple, basic ingredients to put together the most AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS meal. Served over pasta it is pure perfection.
So now let me show you how easy this simple dish is to make!
🔪 INSTRUCTIONS
Cook The Chicken Breasts And Start The Pasta
Season chicken breasts with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. If your chicken breasts are very thick, you may want to make them thinner. You can slice them horizontally like you would to make chicken cutlets.
Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet on a medium heat to a medium-high heat. This may seem like quite a bit of olive oil, but it will form the base for the sauce.
While waiting for the oil to heat up, go ahead and get your water going for the pasta and begin cooking the pasta according to the package directions.
When the oil is HOT, add the chicken breasts. After about 4-5 minutes, the chicken breasts will be golden brown and should be ready to turn. Lower the heat if necessary to keep the chicken from burning.
You'll want to cook them on the second side another 4-5 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you pierce them with a small sharp knife. Aim for an internal temperature of 165F when a meat thermometer is inserted in the thickest part of the breast.
You don't want to OVER cook them, or they will be dry and tough. If you cut your chicken breasts to make them thinner, then they should cook faster than this.
Add The Remaining Ingredients
After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, go ahead and add in the fresh tomatoes that you have chopped up. Next, add the fresh basil that you have chopped into ribbons, the cold butter, the minced garlic, and you will probably want to add some more salt and black pepper to season the sauce. Now give it all a good stir so all those flavors will marry together.
When your chicken is "done," turn the sauce down on the lowest setting to keep it all warm until the pasta is cooked, which should be any minute now.
Finish Off The Pasta And Get Ready To Enjoy!
At this point, if still waiting for the pasta, you can remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board, and after resting just a couple of minutes, cut the chicken into slices on the bias.
Divide the pasta among individual bowls or plates, and top each with half of a chicken breast, sliced into pieces, and equal portions of the tomato basil sauce. Top with more fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese!
SUGGESTIONS FOR SERVING
It's time to enjoy your 5 star meal! This Tomato Basil Chicken is perfect served over thin spaghetti or your favorite pasta of choice. White rice also makes a great partner for this dish.
Some great side dishes would be crusty bread, a simple side salad, or perhaps some Italian Broccoli With Garlic and Lemon.
I do not know the author of this recipe for The BEST Tomato Basil Chicken, but would love to give credit to the author! If anyone ever sees this and knows the author please please let me know who it is so I can give them full credit for this absolutely amazing dish!
Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
You may enjoy these other delicious recipes!
JOIN ME ON A FUN FOOD JOURNEY!
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Cheers!
Grace
The BEST Tomato Basil Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet cast iron skillet is preferred
Ingredients
Tomato Basil Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless; if your chicken breasts are very thick, you may want to make them thinner by slicing horizontally
- ¼ ts salt plus additional to taste
- ¼ ts pepper plus additional to taste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups tomatoes chopped fresh
- 2 ts garlic minced
- 4 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup fresh basil cut into ribbons; plus additional for garnishing the finished dish
Pasta
- 1 lb thin spaghetti or your pasta of choice
- parmesan grated, for garnish!
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to your skillet. This may seem like quite a bit, but it will form the base for the sauce.
- While waiting for the oil to heat up, go ahead and get your water going for the pasta and begin cooking the pasta according to the package directions.
- When the oil is HOT, add the chicken breasts. After about 4-5 minutes, the chicken breasts should be ready to turn. If you cut your chicken breasts to make them thinner, then they should cook faster than this. Lower the heat if necessary to keep the chicken from burning.
- You'll want to cook them on the second side another 4-5 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you pierce them with a small sharp knife. Aim for an internal temperature of 165F when a meat thermometer is inserted in the thickest part of the breast. You don't want to OVER cook them, or they will be dry and tough.
- After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, go ahead and add in the fresh tomatoes that you have chopped up. Next, add the fresh basil that you have chopped into ribbons, the cold butter, the minced garlic, and you will probably want to add some more salt and black pepper to season the sauce. Now give it all a good stir so all those flavors will marry together.
- When your chicken is "done," turn the sauce down on the lowest setting to keep it all warm until the pasta is cooked, which should be any minute now. At this point, if still waiting for the pasta, you can remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board, and after resting just a couple of minutes, cut the chicken into slices on the bias.
- Divide the pasta among individual bowls, and top each with half of a chicken breast, sliced into pieces, and equal portions of the tomato basil sauce. Top with more fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
April Lewis
This recipe is so delicious and one of my favorites! Also as I’m preparing this dish, it makes my house smell so good. My son always requests this dish cause he loves it so much!! 🤗
Grace
April, thank you so much for your comments! I'm so very happy that I was able to share this recipe with you and didn't expect Josh would like it so much but glad that he does! It's definitely a keeper. 🙂
Tiffany
So good! I used basil parmigiana pesto since I couldn’t find fresh basil. Next time I’ll add some capers. Thanks for the recipe!
Grace
Hi Tiffany! I'm super excited that you enjoyed this recipe! Love love the idea of adding some capers and happy that you will make this again! Thank you so much for trying it out and taking the time to comment. Take care and have a great day!! Grace
Debra Heard
Delicious and will definitely be making this one again! Just so happened to have some fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden which I’m sure added to the wonderful flavor.
Grace
Hi Debra! Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and taking the time to comment! I'm super delighted that you liked this dish and what a treat to be able to use your own tomatoes from your garden! Sounds heavenly. :-). Thanks again and have a beautiful day! Grace
Jackie
This is such a simple yet flavorful recipe!
We had 2 large tomatoes that needed to be used up and I came across Grace's recipe. I doubled the recipe, added zucchini and did white rice. This is one of our favorites, I sent it to most of my family saying they HAD to try it out.
Grace
Hi Jackie! You don't know how delighted I am that you loved this recipe! It's an absolute honor for me that you tried this recipe and took the time to comment here. I hope your family will love it as much as you do! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Have a beautiful day! Grace