Bruschetta Chicken

Bruschetta chicken is the reliable summer chicken recipe, grilled chicken with a tomato basil topping! Browse all the adaptations to make it your own.

At a glance

What stands out: The fresh tomato and basil topping elevates plain grilled chicken.

How long it takes: 40 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, small bowl, grill pan or grill, meat thermometer
Servings: 5

We know we say this all the time but we're going to do it again….

We like all our recipes. We do! Sometimes we put things in them that we know would complement the flavors well even if we don’t personally like them (we're looking at you, olives in our tortellini salad). And we'll straight up tell you guys, we don’t like olives and we pick them out!

But then there are the recipes that our family ends up eating time and time again because we love them so much. This bruschetta chicken recipe is one of those recipes.

If you want to take the bruschetta-ness to the next level, serve this chicken with our bruschetta pasta salad (a reader favorite!). We also love it with Caprese pasta salad with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil. It goes well with panzanella salad or a summer pasta salad.

About this bruschetta chicken

This chicken is straightforward to prepare and you can also adapt it slightly (as always!). We’ll talk more about that in a minute. It’s also naturally gluten-free (keto, too!).

What You’ll Need

• Tomatoes: Find the ripest, tastiest tomatoes you can. Maybe you even have some in your garden. Tomatoes are the foundation of the topping so the better the tomatoes are, the better your recipe will turn out.
• Onion: We like red onion but other types of onion are fine, too. Keep reading for tips to temper the strong flavor of onions.
• Garlic: Start with one clove of fresh garlic. Add more if you like garlic or leave it out if you aren’t a garlic fan. To add a milder garlic flavor, substitute a half teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
• White Balsamic Vinegar: This flavorful vinegar adds both tartness and sweetness. It’s so good!
• Parmesan Cheese: Choose shredded cheese, not grated. You want to see the cheese bits in the topping.
• Fresh Basil: Yum, don’t you just love fresh basil? There’s no substitute for it.
• Chicken: The recipe is written for boneless skinless chicken breasts. Chicken thighs can be substituted easily.
• Oregano, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper: The chicken is simply seasoned with this quartet of seasonings.

How it comes together

Begin by making a flavorful and zesty bruschetta topping. It starts with lots of ripe tomatoes (ours weren’t ripe on the day we shot these photos, but you gotta work with what you have). We squeeze the seeds out but if you’re in a rush, skip that step. Your topping will be slightly juicier.

To the tomatoes, add diced red onion, minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil, salt, and pepper. Combine this mixture and let all the flavors marinate a little bit before you cook the chicken.

Here’s a few suggestions that you can ignore if you like. Leave the basil out so it stays nice and green, and maybe even the cheese so it maintains its white color. Use white balsamic vinegar so that the colors stay bright and vibrant. Taste-wise, none of this makes a difference but visually, it does.

Preheat the grill pan (or grill). Season the chicken and grill it. When using a grill pan on the stove, we like to sear both sides of the chicken and put the chicken (and grill pan) in the oven to finish cooking it.

Before you start

Make It Your Own

• Pump up the flavor: Try marinating the chicken in balsamic marinade for 2-24 hours before cooking.
• No grill pan? No problem, you can make this in any oven-safe skillet or frying pan. We just have a thing for grill marks.
• Take it outside: This would be fantastic grilled on any type of grill!
• To make dairy-free: Just leave out the Parmesan cheese!
• To make Whole30 compliant and Paleo: Again, just leave out the cheese.
• To take it up a notch: Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Honestly, we 100% meant to when we shot these photos, but forgot. Thankfully, it’s great both ways.
• Make it extra cheesy: Try adding small pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese instead of, or in addition to, the Parmesan cheese.
• Want to use chicken thighs? GO FOR IT. This topping is also tasty on pork chops…or even tofu, we bet!
• Don’t like raw onions? You have a couple of options here. First, keep in mind that while they sit and mingle with the olive oil and vinegar, they do lose their bite a little and become much more mild. You could also soak them in ice water for 10 minutes before adding them. This also takes out some of their bite. Or, of course, you could leave them out.

What to serve with bruschetta chicken

The options are endless, as usual. We already mentioned a few ideas but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It is fantastic with warm, crusty bread and this irresistible bread dipping oil. You can’t go wrong with a fresh, crisp green salad with from-scratch lighter ranch dressing, or roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil. It goes great with a simple pasta like this cacio e pepe or angel hair pasta with fresh tomato cream sauce (aka pink pasta).

Keeping leftovers

Store the chicken and topping separately in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat the chicken in a grill pan, frying pan, or microwave. Add the topping to serve.

Leftover Love

Cook up some pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Chop the leftover chicken into small pieces, and combine the chicken and bruschetta mixture, along with a handful of shredded mozzarella or fresh mozzarella cut into small pieces. Add a bit of the cooking water as needed to make a sauce. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, if desired.

• Yield: 5
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For Bruschetta Topping:

• 5 roma tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped (see note)
• ¼ cup finely diced red onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (we like to use white balsamic for appearance)
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup minced fresh basil

For Chicken:

• 1.5 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. (See note for grilling instructions.)
2. In a small bowl, prepare bruschetta topping by mixing together tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. (If you're not planning to cook the chicken right away, wait to add the basil and Parmesan until right before serving.)
3. Prepare chicken by sprinkling both sides with oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Heat an oven-safe grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown. The chicken will not be cooked through.
5. Carefully put the pan into preheated oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. If the chicken pieces are very thick, it may take a bit longer.
6. Serve chicken topped with bruschetta mixture (don't forget to add basil and Parmesan if you haven't yet!).

Notes

Choosing tomatoes: we like to use Roma, plum, or Italian tomatoes because they are meatier and less juicy. However, by all means, choose a standby vine-ripened tomatoes you can find. The better tasting the tomato, the better your recipe will turn out!

Grilling instructions: If you prefer, the chicken can be grilled outside. Preheat the grill and grill chicken over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping once, until cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of meat and exact grill temperature.

Marinate the chicken. If you want to add even more flavor to this recipe, marinate the chicken in balsamic marinade for two to twenty-four hours before cooking.

Take it up a notch. Drizzle the chicken and bruschetta with balsamic glaze before serving it.