This is an extremely easy dinner to whip up! Whether you spread the Mozzarella Chicken Marinara over pasta or if you are low carb-ing it then pair with a salad like i do, its delicious and can all be prepared in an oven safe pan in 15 minutes!
I rub the chicken fillets with the dry seasonings and pan fry until golden and cooked throughly. Then, its as simple as adding minced garlic and pour a whole jar of marinara sauce in to the skillet (I love a lot of sauce), then top them with shredded mozzarella. The last step is broiling them in the oven for 2-3 minutes to get that nice bubbly cheese to appear, and dinner is ready!
Sprinkle with fresh basil from your garden and some shaved parmesan cheese. You can choose to serve over pasta, rice or with a side salad and veggies.
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved to make 4 fillets
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp parsley, dried
- 1/2 tsp oregano, dried
- 1 tbs fresh basil leaves, chopped
- salt & ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 jar marinara sauce
- Heat a large heavy oven-proof skillet over high heat.
- Combine the herbs (except the fresh basil) in a shallow bowl with salt and pepper. Coat both sides of each chicken fillet with the oil. Spread herbs over fillets.
- Add the fillets and pan fry on each side until golden (about 3 minutes on each side). Coat other side of fillet with herbs.
- Add the garlic to the same pan and allow to fry until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Pour the marinara sauce over and around the chicken. Then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella over each chicken fillet; transfer to the oven and broil until the cheese has melted and the chicken is cooked through (about 3 to 5 minutes).
- Garnish with freshly chopped parmesan cheese and serve over pasta with a side salad.
If you don't have an oven safe pan to broil the mozzarella: Before you add the marinara, transfer the chicken to the toaster oven, set to broil, for 3 minutes. Then transfer back to pan to add sauce.
I am trying this right now. I’m not a great cook but I’m also not an idiot. Or so I thought. My chicken coated with Italian herbs burned in the high heat pan in under the three minutes before turning. No golden crust. Broiled for time given. Undercooked per meat thermometer. Cooking in oven now – maybe this is salvageable.
The herbs shouldn’t be burnt – even if they look like it, it won’t effect the flavor. As for the chicken, it’s all dependent on the size of the breast. I’ve had that issue too with recipes stating a cooking time on the skillet only to take longer than expected, especially with chicken breasts. Always side with your meat thermometer. When this happens, pull out the chx breasts as close to the safe temp as possible and cover loosely with foil and let sit for a few minutes. It will continue to heat through and keep rechecking the internal temp.