Mozzarella chicken is an easy-to-make one-pan low-carb dinner recipe that is ready in less than 30 minutes. Pan-seared chicken smothered in a rich homemade tomato-based sauce and molten melted mozzarella cheese. A meal that the entire family would love!
For a healthy, low-carb, light meal try zucchini pizza bites.
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This is one of those recipes where you take a few simple ingredients and use them in a way that makes chicken breast so much more interesting than it is. Give those chicken breasts all the seasoning help they need to make it better. Because nothing is sadder in this life than bland boring chicken.
Also try salsa chicken, bacon wrapped chicken, lemon pepper chicken and this chicken breast that are all packed with loads of flavors.
Why you’ll love this easy chicken dish
Ingredients
- Chicken: boneless chicken breasts are best, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: feel free to use any of these crushed tomatoes, tomato passata, fire roasted tomatoes diced.
- Onion: yellow Italian onion or white onion or shallots are great choices.
- Garlic: use more if you like garlic flavors.
- Seasoning for chicken: you can use any seasoning of your choice. Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder.
- Red pepper flakes: a big fat pinch of pepper flakes adds nice subtle heat to the sauce. It’s a flavor bomb!
- Cheese: I love the meltiness of mozzarella cheese. You can vary the type of cheese with anything that melts like gruyere, Emmental, or soft goat cheese.
How to make it
- Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Rub the spices to spread evenly. Season on both sides.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken on medium heat until browned on both sides and cooked through (about 3-5 minutes on each side). Transfer seared chicken to a plate, and set aside.
- To the same skillet add about 2 teaspoons more olive oil if it’s too dry. Cook diced onion in the same pan until translucent scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan while cooking.
- Add minced garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant. Pour all the juices oozed by browned chicken in the plate into the skillet, it’s a flavor bomb!
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and red chili flakes, and stir to combine. Simmer and cook until tomato sauce is thickened (about 5 minutes).
- Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Nestle seared chicken breast into the thickened tomato sauce.
- Cover chicken breasts with a spoonful of tomato sauce.
- Top each chicken breast with 2 to 3 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese (you can use mozzarella cheese slices instead of grated cheese).
- Transfer skillet to preheat oven set to broiler settings. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is molten, browned, hot and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately with spaghetti or with crusty bread and a salad.
💭Tips to make best chicken mozzarella
- Season chicken well on both sides before searing. A well-seasoned chicken makes this dish more tasty.
- Sear chicken on medium heat so it cooks slowly and evenly. Avoid high heat as it might brown the chicken on the outside fast, but the inside will still be raw.
- Slow simmered tomato sauce is everything. Add more rich flavors to the sauce by cooking it slow on low.
- Don’t skip broiling to get nice crispy golden browned mozzarella cheese. Those crispy melted cheeses are hard to resist!
Variations
You can add spinach when the sauce is ready and thickened. Once spinach is added, give it a quick stir, add seared chicken breasts, and follow the recipe as mentioned.
Feel free to use mushrooms of any variety like button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, or oyster mushrooms to the sauce.
What to serve with it
This perfect sauce and melted cheesy dish pairs well with pasta! Use any pasta of your choice. Spaghetti is what I prefer.
My second go-to choice to serve this chicken is with crusty bread and a salad on the side.
To keep it low-carb serve with zucchini noodles.
Quinoa is delicious! How about cauliflower rice? Try it with cauliflower rice for a hearty meal.
Storage
If you have leftovers you can separate into serving portions and store in air tight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
If you want to store longer, freeze portioned chicken into freezer bags and store in freezer for up to a month.
Leftover ideas
You can also repurpose leftover chicken into a new dish.
Chicken mozzarella pizza – Use the leftovers to make a pizza. Spread the sauce from the chicken dish over the pizza base or pita bread, shred the cooked chicken, and spread it over the bread evenly. Add additional toppings like olive slices, chopped bell peppers, and more shredded mozzarella cheese and bake at 425F for 5-8 minutes until cheese is melted.
Chicken mozzarella sandwich – slice leftover chicken breast and top it over toast that is spread with butter and garlic. Add cheese on top, close the sandwich with another slice of bread, and bake in the oven at 425F for 5-8 minutes until the sandwich is heated through.
Mozzarella chicken pasta bake – take leftover chicken along with the sauce, and shred chicken breast. Add it to the baking dish along with cooked pasta. Pour all the sauce over it, top it with extra mozzarella cheese, and bake in the oven at 425F for 8-12 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
FAQS
Yes, you can. Use boneless chicken thighs.
Yes, you can use store-bought marinara sauce. Or you can make your homemade marinara sauce and store it away. Use it whenever ready to this recipe.
I love the meltiness of mozzarella cheese. You can vary the type of cheese with anything that melts like gruyere, Emmental , or soft goat cheese.
Most OTG ovens come with broiler settings. Check your oven for it. If you don’t have broiler settings or don’t want to use a broiler, you can melt cheese on the stove top itself.
Cover the skillet with a lid, turn on to simmer heat, and cook until cheese is melted. If you are melting cheese on a stove top, remember you won’t get crispy golden molten melted cheese.
Yes, chicken mozzarella bake keeps and reheats well. If you have leftovers, separate them into meal portion sizes and store them in air-tight containers.
It stays well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
For longer storage, you can freeze it. Use tightly sealed boxes or freezer bags. Push out as much air as possible before sealing. You can keep frozen for up to 2 months.
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📋 Mozzarella Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¾ cup mozzarella cheese
- Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder, smoked paprika. Rub the spices to spread evenly. Season on both sides.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Cook chicken breasts on medium heat until browned and cooked through on both sides (about 3-5 minutes each side). Transfer seared chicken to a plate, set aside.
- To the same skillet add about 2 teaspoon more olive oil if it’s too dry. Cook diced onion in the same pan until translucent scrapping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan while cooking.
- Add minced garlic and cook till garlic is fragrant. Pour the juices oozed by browned chicken in the plate.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and red chilies flakes, stir to combine. Simmer and cook until tomato sauce is thickened (about 5 minutes).
- Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Nestle seared chicken breast into the thickened tomato sauce.
- You can cover chicken breasts with a spoonful of tomato sauce.
- Top each chicken breast with 2 to 3 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese (you can use mozzarella cheese slices instead of grated cheese).
- Transfer skillet to pre heat oven set to broiler settings. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is molten, browned, hot and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately with spaghetti or with crusty bread and a salad.
Video
Notes
- Boneless chicken breasts are best, but you can use boneless chicken thighs if you prefer. Season chicken well on both sides before searing. A well-seasoned chicken makes this dish more tasty.
- Sear chicken on medium heat so it cooks slowly and evenly. Avoid high heat as it might brown the chicken on the outside fast, but the inside will still be raw.
- Slow simmered tomato sauce is everything. Add more rich flavors to the sauce by cooking it slow on low.
- Don’t skip broiling to get nice crispy golden browned mozzarella cheese. Those crispy melted cheeses are hard to resist!
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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