This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you).
Bright and budget-friendly, this Balsamic Chicken Recipe is one of the best weeknight meal ideas around. This easy chicken dinner is made with plenty of fresh tomatoes and rosemary and is ready in 30 minutes or less.
Meggan’s notes
Although chicken breasts are an American weeknight dinner staple, I adore quick-cooking, flavorful, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in this easy Balsamic Chicken Recipe. Since thigh meat is slightly higher in fat, it’s moist and less likely to get dry when you cook it.
The balsamic chicken marinade is made with a balanced blend of whole grain mustard, balsamic vinaigrette, and honey. Toss some grape tomatoes and fresh rosemary in the pan to round out this delicious, wholesome meal. If you love these flavors, you’ll find yourself making this simple chicken dinner recipe again and again.
Table of Contents
Balsamic Chicken Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Balsamic vinegar: Aceto balsamico, or balsamic vinegar, is a versatile pantry staple. Although balsamic vinegar is made from Trebbiano grapes and grape must, it’s not technically a wine vinegar. This concentrated liquid is slightly sweet and dreamy in everything from homemade vinaigrettes and glazes to soups and marinades and pan sauces like this.
- Whole grain mustard: Grab a bottle at the supermarket or stir together a batch of homemade mustard (it’s easy!). Or, substitute Dijon mustard.
- Chicken thighs: Or substitute bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. The skin gets golden brown and crisps up beautifully.
How to Make Balsamic Chicken
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour.
- Remove from marinade (reserve marinade) and pat chicken dry with paper towels. In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, heat extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add chicken in a single layer, skin-side down. Cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip chicken and add tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes have started to pop and release their juices, about 5 minutes.
- Add reserved marinade and rosemary sprigs. Bring to boil, then transfer uncovered to the oven.
- Bake until the chicken is tender and reaches 165 degrees on an instant-read digital meat thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove rosemary stems.
Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Variations
- Yield: This Balsamic Chicken Recipe creates four dinner-sized servings that include 6 ounces of chicken each.
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes (a pinch or a spoonful, depending on your taste) to the skillet with the tomatoes in step 4.
- Herbs: I love the fresh rosemary with the tomatoes and balsamic glaze, but fresh thyme or chives would also be delicious. You need an herb with a strong enough flavor to stand up to the balsamic vinegar.
- Chicken breasts: To make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breast, butterfly the chicken and then pound out to an even thickness with a meat mallet between two sheets of plastic wrap before marinading.
What to Serve With Balsamic Glazed Chicken
I prefer to pair this 30-minute chicken dinner with my best, biggest leafy green salad and a loaf of crusty bread to soak up every last drop of the sauce. Alternatively, skip the bread and serve this Balsamic Chicken Recipe over a bed of buttery mashed potatoes, baked rice, zucchini noodles, or grits.
Storing Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
No rosemary handy? Try thyme instead. Or add fresh basil or chives as a garnish rather than cooking with the sauce.
Sure! Shrimp, steak, or pork would also taste incredible soaked in this marinade and cooked alongside the tomato-spiked sauce. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly to cook your desired choice to a safe temperature. (Reference the USDA’s safe cooking temperature guide and use your digital thermometer.)
If you don’t have a skillet that can go in the oven, don’t worry! After boiling the mixture in step 3, transfer everything to a baking dish and pop it in the oven. You may need to increase the baking time to accommodate the cold baking dish compared to a hot cast-iron skillet, but it can work.
More weeknight dinner ideas
Fish and Seafood Recipes
Baked Cod
30 Minute Meals
The Best Turkey Tacos
Chicken and Turkey Recipes
Caprese Chicken
30 Minute Meals
Grilled Pork Chops
Join Us
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 ½ pounds, see note 1)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
- 2 sprigs rosemary broken in half
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour. Remove from marinade (reserve marinade) and pat chicken dry with paper towels.
- In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Add chicken in a single layer, skin-side down. Cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Flip chicken and add tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes have started to pop release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add reserved marinade and rosemary sprigs. Bring to boil, then transfer uncovered to the oven.
- Bake until the chicken reaches 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and discard rosemary stems.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chicken thighs: Or substitute bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. The skin gets golden brown and crisps up beautifully.
- Yield: This Balsamic Chicken Recipe creates four dinner-sized servings that including 6 oz. of chicken each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Excellent and so easy. I don’t transfer to the oven. I keep it on the stove in a nonstick pan. When the directions say to put it on the oven, I just put a lid on it and finish off on the stove. I use boneless, skinless breasts. Have made with basil and rosemary. Both are fabulous. One of the best recipes I’ve discovered in 2020!
Hi is the calorie count for all 4 servings, or does each individual serving have 521 cals?
Hi Christina, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. The 521 calories if for one serving, not all. It’s assuming 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs about 6 ounces each, and that you are eating the skin. If you didn’t eat the skin, the calories drop to 358. I also think the true calorie count is slightly less, because here the 6 ounces would include the bone, which you don’t eat, but I can’t find the information on how much chicken you’re left with if you remove the bone. I need to get a pack of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and remove the bone and weigh them to know. I hope I haven’t confused you. Anyway, if you are concerned about calories, don’t eat the skin and that will help a lot! You could also make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken breast. It’s still really good. Thanks! -Meggan
Easy recipe on a weekday evening and the flavors (tangy, sweet) are wonderful. I did forget the rosemary, so need to remember to snip some next time. I used fresh diced Roma tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand. I also sautéed mushrooms in a different pan with some of the marinade (simultaneously while chicken was in the big pan), then combined it all together before placing in the oven. I served it over a bed of fresh spinach (for healthier meal), but also served white rice as another option). Excellent dinner!
I made this in our quarantine time and my whole family loved it! From my parents to my kids! It’s such a simple yet packed with lovely flavors recipe ! Thanks so much for sharing it, keep up the good work!
This is one of the yummiest and easiest recipes I have made in a very long time. I added oregano as well and made 1.5 times the sauce recipe. Never transferred to oven. Hubby says it’s in the top three of what I cook. Even picky child liked the chicken…his I didn’t serve with any of the tomatoes. Served with bread and steamed asparagus. Leftovers made amazing chicken sandwiches. I wish I had a skillet big enough to hold 6 chicken breasts. Have sent this recipe url to so many folks. Hope you get more traffic on your site because your recipes rock!
Hi Cheryl, this makes my day! The recipe is super simple so all the credit goes to you for cooking it perfectly. I am so happy to hear all of this. If you send me your address, I’ll send you a skillet big enough to hold 6 chicken breasts (there is one at Williams-Sonoma I love that I will ship to you). My email is meggan@culinaryhill.com, just mail me your address if you want to! Thanks again and take care. Happy Cooking. -Meggan
Dishes like this are perfect easy healthy meals after heavy eating over the holidays! Great recipe!
Thank you Elizabeth! I think so too, it’s all about keeping it simple so we might actually cook the food! Happy new year! -Meggan
I made this for dinner, I’m no cook but it was amazing. I used chicken breasts, which stayed juicy and I did reduce the sauce after leaving the chicken to rest and it made it thicker. I ate half a baguette mopping up the sauce in the pan.
Am dying to try this but tomatoes are seasonal in the tropics so won’t see any for many months and grape or cherry tomatoes make an appearance every 2 years or so. If push comes to shove, can I use well-drained tinned tomatoes?
Hi Taylor, YES OF COURSE! It should still be delicious. I hope you try it, and I hope you love it! Where in the tropics? Thank you for visiting the site! Take care.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have made this over five times now. Everyone loved it! ??? this has become my favourite recipe now! Gonna make it again tonight, with mashed potato. ?
Hey Anoosha, thank you so much! It’s one of my favorites and I make it ALL THE TIME too! Serving it with mashed potatoes sounds like the best idea ever. 🙂 Thank you for sharing! Have a great weekend!
Just made this and added mushrooms to the mixture, it’s fantastic! Will definitely be making again 😀
Mushrooms! Brilliant! I love it. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!