Chicken Marinara. Healthy, delicious chicken simmered in lip-smacking marinara sauce. The cheesy mozzarella adds that final touch to this easy weeknight meal. Best served with a bowl of spaghetti!
No matter what you love about a good marinara sauce, trust me, chicken poached in delectable tomatoey sauce is incredibly easy to make and chances are you haven’t been giving it the best spot that it deserves on your menu.
If you want to introduce more taste and color to your everyday meals, chicken marinara is the right dish for you. The key is to cook the chicken perfectly in delectable marinara sauce or tomato pasta sauce. All you need to do is make your favorite marinara sauce and cook chicken in it. Don’t forget to top with mozzarella for that extra cheesy goodness.
How To Make Chicken Marinara
First, the marinara sauce. To be exact, homemade marinara sauce or tomato pasta sauce from scratch. If you have a favorite recipe, feel free to use it in this dish. Although store bought marinara sauce tastes good in this recipe, I highly recommend making it from scratch for that undeniably delicious sauce.
To make the marinara sauce, all you need to do is stir fry some garlic and add in canned tomatoes. Let this simmer for a few minutes before you stir in plenty of basil leaves. Don’t skimp on basil as it’s one of the key elements of this sauce used to make chicken marinara. Now that’s the basic sauce but feel free to customize the recipe your favorite way. For instance, you can add in mushrooms, roasted garlic etc to level up the flavor.
The chicken also needs to be browned in hot oil. For this, first season chicken generously with salt and pepper, place in a pan in a single layer and let these brown on all sides.
You’ll need to make the marinara sauce for this chicken marinara in the same pan. Fry some garlic in hot oil followed by canned tomatoes, water, oregano and Italian seasoning. Simmer this mixture for about 3 minutes before adding in chopped basil leaves.
Now, add chicken back to the sauce, top with mozzarella and transfer to the oven to bake for 7-10 minutes. Again, make sure you start the cooking process in an oven proof skillet.
And done! Delicious, cheesy, chicken marinara to serve with your favorite pasta.
More Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:
- Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff
- Green Peppercorn Chicken
- Pineapple Chicken
- Creamy White Wine Chicken
- Pineapple Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
Chicken Marinara | Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 large chicken breast or thigh fillets
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 400 g 1 can diced tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup chopped basil leaves
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Your favorite pasta to serve
Instructions
- Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium- high heat. Place chicken in the pan in a single layer. Cook 4-6 minutes on each side. Cook chicken in batches if needed. Remove from pan. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C.
- Add remaining oil to the same pan. Add garlic cloves. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add canned tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning and oregano. Season with salt.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add chicken back to the marinara sauce and top with mozzarella.
- Transfer the skillet to oven. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.
- Ideally, an instant-read thermometer should read 165 F or 75 C to ensure chicken is fully cooked.
Video
Notes
- You can use store bought marinara sauce or tomato pasta sauce in this recipe but I highly recommend making it from scratch for extra flavor.
Nutrition
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