All you need is 6 ingredients, 1 skillet, and 30 minutes to make this one pan chicken topped with sautéed grape tomatoes, garlic, and balsamic vinegar (240 calories or 3 WW points).

I set about making this meal and I was all, “I’m going to use five ingredients, max!” Mind you, I said this to exactly no one but still.
Chicken. Grape tomatoes. Garlic. Balsamic Vinegar. Basil. SIX ingredients.
In one pan, I seared thin chicken breast cutlets, then transferred them to a plate while I sautéed a pint of grape tomatoes with minced garlic and a few splashes of sweet balsamic vinegar. The balsamic deglazed the pan, lifting all the crispy bits left behind from cooking the chicken, and reduced slightly to form a syrup. As the tomatoes simmered, they concentrated in flavor, bursting and blending with the olive oil, garlic, and balsamic to make a chunky Italian salsa of sorts. I topped my one pan chicken with a handful of chopped fresh basil and some sharp Parmesan and…fantastic.

Weeknights call for easy chicken recipes like this one pan chicken—6 ingredients, 1 skillet, and minimal clean up.
One Pan Chicken with Garlic Balsamic Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (or boneless, skinless breasts that have been pounded thin)
- .5 tsp salt
- .25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pint pint cherry or grape tomatoes
- .3333 c balsamic vinegar
- .3333 c packed fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with the salt and pepper.
- In a large frying pan, heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken cutlets and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip the cutlets and cook for 3 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add 2 more teaspoons of the olive oil to the now-empty pan and cook the remaining cutlets. Transfer them to the plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and balsamic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar has thickened slightly and the tomatoes have begun to burst, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the tomatoes stand while you plate the chicken.Serve with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.
You’re being too hard on yourself! Salt, pepper, and oil don’t count in my book, so I say that you met your challenge. Anyways, this is exactly my kind of recipe. Tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar? They can do no wrong, and together I’m sure they make an amazing sauce! I’m excited to try this for sure. :)
I agree, oil to cook with and table seasonings never count! It looks delicious and I can not wait to try it! This sounds like it could be a keeper meal for our family!
I most of the time faces the same problem. When i try to make the dish with limited ingredients it usually gets increased. But the outcome is always a success with delicious foods.
mhhmmm yumm! Hey, who cares if you failed the “challenge,” when you succeeded at making such a beautiful recipe :)
I’m with Diane: salt and pepper never count, and oil’s a gimme too, so you’re home free with the five-ingredient restriction. This is a feast for all the senses.
This looks amazing! :)) I enjoy anything with balsamic vinegar !
This sounds amazing and I cannot wait to eat it. It’s one of those super easy, amazingly tasty dishes I have no doubt I will cook over and over again. Plus it’s healthy too! Thanks for the inspiration!
Add some quinoa, or mashed/baked patato and I am all in. What a beautiful dish and in my opinion 8 ingredients are still pretty great for such a fancy looking dish!
I agree that salt, pepper, and olive oil don’t count. A lot of my 5 ingredient recipes begin by stating that they are pantry staples and really, garlic is too. So you succeeded!
This looks great! Healthy, quick, and super tasty!
YES! This looks so healthy & pretty. I put balsamic vinegar in everything and those tomatoes… Ah. I think you have inspired me to roast a chicken tonight (even though that’s not exactly what this was, lol)
Some Snapshots Blog
Jess
Having recently lost 130# myself and going from a size 24 to a size 4, I can’t tell you how excited it makes me to see someone else who’s passion for cooking and love of food didn’t die just because their former fat self did. I’m always looking for new recipes to try that fall within my new body’s caloric budget and this is DEFINITELY one I’ll be trying… Like, tonight.
Can’t wait to see what you post today!
Lisa, 130 pounds?! You’re AMAZING!! Major congratulations are in order.
Thanks very much for your kind comment. I’m so glad to have you here.
Andie
This looks delicious! I’ve been making something very similar (your dish plus baby spinach, essentially) that I saw on food network (from Ellie Krieger) for years: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/balsamic-chicken-with-baby-spinach-recipe/index.html
That Ellie Krieger recipe sounds awesome! Thanks Chelsea!
Psh, salt, pepper, and oil are staples, and therefore don’t count. You win! And you came out with a completely incredibly sounding meal! Definitely need to try making this ASAP. Pinned!
1. This looks amazing and I want it in my face.
b). My stupid google reader hasn’t been sending me updates from you! WAAAHHH! I was wondering where you went! Should’ve known better.
Made this tonight… Amazing! Added some broccoli because it was calling out to me when I opened the fridge, and then I didn’t even need a side dish :)
Hey Andie
I made this for dinner this evening…. omg it was gorgeous.. i added mushrooms and grilled the chicken but it was still lovely.. the beautiful aroma that filled the house was amazballs lol
thank you for this great receipe that i will no doubt be using again :)
I will totally be making this; I love your simplicity in your meals while adding so much flavor! Also, like the new navigation/layout here, much easier for me. :)
I guess this is probably a moot point with google reader going away in a couple of months, but your posts have not been showing up in my google reader. Figured you were on hiatus, so I swung by to check and lo and behold! I’ve got some posts to catch up on!
Andy,
Been away for a while and just came back to your sight. Boy, what I have missed. Everything changed (for the better by the way!) Your recipes look great and this latest one sounds and looks very inviting. I’m so glad I decided to come back and check your sight out. :) How is the book coming? Can’t wait to read it. Will stick around this time because I missed your style and you!
Hi Johnny! Been wondering where you have been – noticed you had not left any messages for Andie. Hope all is well.
This is going to be dinner. Wish me luck! lol
It was super delicious too!!
LOVE the new look!
Hi Andie,
I came across your blog while looking for a particular recipe and couldn’t stop reading all your past posts!
I love everything from your style of writing, the layout, ease of navigation, great photos and wonderful recipes.
I have now subscribed to the regular emails and even mentioned you on my own blog which I have recently started up again after a long break from writing regular posts. I am looking forward to being adventurous in the kitchen :)
Hazel,
You are so kind. Wow. Thank you!!
Andie
Salt and pepper totally don’t count, so I’d say you ended up with 6 ingredients :)
Regardless of the number of ingredients, this looks great. Makes me want to start dinner right now!
We just made something like this with bone in pork the other night and it was delicious! I can’t wait to try this version.
Yum yum yum! I just made this with a chocolate maple balsamic vinegar.. Yum!!! Thanks Andie for another amazing recipe.
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Andie,
My husband and I LOVE this recipe! I made it for dinner last night, and when I asked if he’d mind if I ate the leftovers for lunch today, he said that was ok as long as I made it again soon. Thank you so much for creating and posting!
Erin
This recipe is a bomb! First time I was kinda afraid of balsamic vinegar since it’s awfuly abused in local restaurants and we already grew a hate against it so I used the port wine (try it). The second attempt now with the balsamic vinegar, was also superb. My whole family was in awe (yeah, I am trying to learn them how to stop eat garbage and start to eat some real food). Thanks for the recipe, 5 out of 5 stars!
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I made this as well and it was super delicious! I forget how simple food can taste so wonderful. I made this twice already.
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I just made this for dinner, tasted great, I added it to my recipe box!
http://momslistit.com/recipedetails.php?reid=51
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Made this for dinner tonight and it was great! Directions were perfect! Thank you
This looks delicious. I am always looking for new and healthy recipes and I cannot wait to try it. Thank you!
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Hi Andie, tried this recipe last night for dinner and OH MY GOD it was so delicious! Very surprised on how good this was because I struggle with low carb/ healthy alternative meals, but I have to keep up with your recopies.
I tried this recipe and it was awesome! Very easy to prepare.
This is one fantastic looking meal and is a wonderful healthy choice for anyone.
Made this for dinner once a week
Made this tonight with broccoli and it was AMAZING!!
Can someone please clarify the amount of balsamic vinegar and basil? The recipe reads .3333 c balsamic vinegar and .3333 c basil. I’m guessing it’s 1/3 cup of each but is that correct? I can’t wait to try this.