Caprese Chicken - A light, lemony dish

This is a lovely, lighter version of traditional chicken parmesan.  It's got a bright lemony flavor and is a nice, light chicken dish for those warm summer evenings.  I love the fact that you can mix and bake it all in one big pan!  I love it with rice, but you can serve it over pasta as well.  Enjoy!

Caprese Chicken

Makes 3-4 servings
 

Preheat oven to 375F.

 

Slice 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, so you have 5-6 thin, flat pieces of chicken, sometimes called chicken cutlets. (I prefer just slicing my chicken rather than hammering to make it super thin)

 

In a 9x13 pan, place and then mix together the following:

Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

Lemon, garlic, spices and oil mixed in the 9x13 pan

 

Place the chicken in the pan and coat thoroughly. I find placing it in the pan, then flipping each piece once works well.  Let sit 5 minutes.

I put the chicken in the pan, then flipped over one time to coat.

On top of each chicken cutlet place:

2-3 Tbsp spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico OR extra sauce from my spaghetti sauce w/ veggies recipe)

2-3 Tbsp shredded or thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

1 tsp fresh basil (optional, can add before cooking or after cooking)

You can add fresh basil before cooking (shown here) or after cooking, if desired.  

Bake 20-25 minutes at 375F, until chicken is 170F. 

 

Serve with rice, and spoon the pan drippings over top your rice before serving.

OR

Serve with pasta, and toss the pasta in the pan drippings before serving.

 

Of course, in-season veggies on the side are also perfect with this light dish!

Enjoy!

Caprese Chicken fresh out of the oven.