Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken Is Calling Your Name
Dairy is the hero of this weeknight recipe. Covering plain, previously frozen chicken breasts in a thick layer of garlicky cream cheese makes sure the chicken stays moist and tender, even after an hour in the oven. A layer of diced tomatoes turns the cream cheese into a sweet tomato-cream sauce, and some mozzarella and fresh basil turns it into pure comfort food. Win!
Instead of plain cream cheese, the author used a pre-made “Savory Garlic Cooking Creme” from Philadelphia, but you can make your own garlic cream cheese by mixing regular cream cheese with fresh garlic and some milk.
Mix the garlic cream cheese in a bowl with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to give it a bit of sweetness, and whisk it together until it’s smooth.
Coat each chicken breast with Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil leaves. Arrange the chicken in a baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray, then pour the balsamic-garlic-cream combination over the chicken.
Cover everything in the pan with diced tomatoes, and bake the dish with a cover for about 30 minutes, then uncovered for 20 more. The chicken should be cooked all the way through and fork-tender. Put a slice of mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast, and cook it for about five minutes more so the cheese gets good and melty.
Serve the chicken over spaghetti, or any pasta or rice you like. With all the cheese and tomatoes on the chicken, there’ll be plenty of liquid in the pan, so you won’t need to worry about a sauce for the noodles. You could even skip the starch and serve the chicken with some roasted vegetables.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Bruschetta Chicken from The Cookie Rookie
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