Balsamic Chicken Breasts

A simple 20-minute balsamic marinade turns your chicken breasts into a delicious dinner everyone will devour!

Juicy Pan-Seared Balsamic Chicken Breasts 

When I want to give juicy chicken breasts a kick of extra flavor, I make this quick balsamic marinade. Simple marinades are my favorite cooking trick for infusing chicken with tons of flavor and minimal effort!

Once the chicken is cooked, you’ll use the marinade to create a drool-worthy sauce. The acidity of balsamic vinegar, combined with the sweetness of honey and the chicken tidbits from the pan, makes a flavorful combo to die for.

How to Make Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breasts

1. Marinate the chicken in a zip bag with the marinade ingredients for 20 minutes or overnight.
2. Cook the chicken in a pan for 7 minutes on one side, then 5 minutes on the other side. Chicken breasts are ready when the internal temperature in the thickest part reaches 165F.
3. To make the sauce, remove the chicken from the pan, and combine the tidbits with the marinade and the chicken broth. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Tips for The Best Marinated Chicken 

This recipe is a breeze to make and, with these simple tips, your balsamic chicken breasts will turn out deliciously perfect every time:

Pound chicken breasts
Pound down the thickest side of the chicken breasts to 1 inch to ensure even and quick cooking.

Let it marinate
Chicken breasts can be marinated as long as overnight and as short as 20 minutes. That’s up to you!

Don’t move the meat
Once you place the balsamic chicken breasts in the hot pan, let them cook for 7 minutes without disturbing them. This will seal the meat and lock in the juices.

Scrap the tidbits
You’ll use the same pan to cook the chicken and make the sauce, so scraping the tidbits will add a lot of flavor to your balsamic sauce!

How to Serve Balsamic Chicken

Balsamic chicken breasts pair amazingly well with all kinds of sides, from this delish cilantro lime rice to this fresh carrot raisin salad and these lemon roasted asparagus. Want more easy and tasty ideas? Check out my favorite side dishes for chicken breasts.

Balsamic Chicken Breasts (in a Pan)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Marinate: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Flavorful and perfectly cooked, these marinated balsamic chicken breasts make the perfect midweek protein.

5 from 6 votes

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts
• ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or oregano
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Olive oil, for cooking
• 1 cup chicken broth

Instructions

Prep:

• Pound the chicken breasts down to 1-inch thick. This ensures they cook evenly.
• Place the chicken breasts, balsamic vinegar, honey, Italian seasoning or oregano, and garlic cloves in a zip bag. Marinate the chicken for 20 to 30 minutes. This can be marinated overnight.

Cook:

• Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and cook the first side for 7 minutes, flip them over, and cook them for another 5 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Cook them in batches if necessary, moving them off the pan onto a covered plate.

Make the sauce:

• Once the chicken breasts are cooked and out of the pan, add the chicken broth and the marinade from the bag into the pan. Bring it to a simmer, while scraping the tidbits left from the chicken in the pan, cooking it for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce. Turn off the heat.

Serve:

• Serve the cooked balsamic chicken breasts with the sauce.

Equipment

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Meat Thermometer

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 435mg | Potassium: 685mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg