This dinner couldn't be easier. With hardly any prep time and easy ingredients, this Bruschetta Chicken Bake can be on the table in about 30 minutes.
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A Quick Chat About Ingredients
Chicken - I've used both boneless chicken breasts and thighs and both work well. You choose.
Tomatoes - Either grape or cherry work in this recipe. I've halved them and kept them whole and enjoy it both ways. Again, you choose.
Onion - Red onions or white onions work in this recipe. Also, it's up to you how you prep them; sliced, diced or roughly chopped.
Cheese - Shredding cheese yourself is always best as it melts better, however, bagged will work in a pinch, just use a good quality. I'd steer clear of the store brand in this case.
Spices - I use dry Italian seasoning. It's a blend of basil, oregano, marjoram, sage, thyme and garlic. If you don't have this blend on hand, using a combination of dry basil, oregano, thyme and garlic powder should do the trick.
Topping - You can used bagged croutons if you want but I like to make my own. Homemade are easy and delicious and a great way to use up bread. I toss all my bread ends in a bag in the freezer and when I want croutons, I just pull those out and use them up. Here's the link to my homemade croutons.
Pop Quiz: Do you know what bruschetta actually is?
By dictionary definition, bruschetta is: "toasted Italian bread drenched in olive oil and served typically with garlic or tomatoes".
So, when I was searching for a recipe of bruschetta chicken, I was surprised that most of them didn't include the bread. What? How can a recipe that by definition is bread, not include bread? I do bread. Let's do bread together. Yum.
How To Prepare Bruschetta Chicken
Chop your chicken into bite sized pieces. Toss it in a pan with chopped onion, spices, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and vinegar. Stir it all together and pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, pull pan out of oven and top with croutons and cheese and pop back in oven for another 10 minutes. Cheese should be melty and chicken should be cooked through.
It's always best to check the internal temperature of chicken with an Italian seasoning
Just before serving, top with fresh basil, balsamic glaze and if you want, toss a little parmesan cheese on there. Why not, right?
Printable Recipe Card
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 lb boneless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces (breasts, tenders or thighs)
- 1 C roughly chopped onion (white or red)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (can halve them if desired or leave whole)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced or chopped)
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
- 2 T balsamic vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 C croutons
- 3 leaves fresh basil leaves, torn or chiffonade
Optional Toppings
- balsamic glaze
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 F.
- Place chopped chicken in 8x8 baking dish. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, vinegar and olive oil. Stir to make sure it's all coated. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove from oven, top with mozzarella cheese and croutons. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melty and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil. If desired, add a drizzle of balsamic glaze and/or shredded parmesan cheese.
- Serve over pasta if desired.
Notes
recipe adapted from Clean Food Crush
Pin this bruschetta chicken and then be sure to check out my Chicken Recipe Board & my Casserole Board
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