Description
You can have both that delicious homemade mozzarella chicken AND spare time, because this will only take 35 minutes! Sweet homemade tomato sauce with a sun-dried kick and creamy, melted mozzarella, what's not to love?
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 slices fresh mozzarella (1 ball, 100 grams)
- 1 squash, cut in small cubes
- 1/3 cup white wine (80 milliliters)
- 2 shallot onions, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup water (80 milliliters)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream (80 milliliters)
- 5 ounces cream cheese (150 grams)
- 1 cup sun-dried tomato red pesto (130 grams)
- 8 ounces of pasta (230 grams, e.g., bow tie pasta)
- Pasta water, to thicken (optional)
- 2 cups baby spinach (65 grams)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (175 grams)
- 1 tablespoon pickle brine (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1/2 teaspoon sugar)
- 2 tablespoons shredded high quality parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 ℉ (200 ℃).
- Add olive oil to a skillet to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and paprika powder. Sear the chicken for 2 minutes on each side or until they’ve got a nice sear. Place in a baking pan.
- Sprinkle the chicken with dried (or fresh) basil and slices of mozzarella. Bake in the oven until the chicken is finished cooking and the mozzarella has melted, about 13-14 minutes).
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. In the pan you cooked the chicken, add the cubed squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the squash from the pan and add the finely chopped shallots. Cook until the shallot is translucent, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with a dash of the white wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the flavors.
- Once evaporated, add the rest of the wine, the water and then the heavy cream and cream cheese. Stir in the sun-dried tomato pesto.
- Meanwhile, boil pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain but reserve some pasta water.
- Add fresh spinach, basil and grape tomatoes to the sauce and let them wilt and soften for a few minutes. Add the zucchini back into the skillet to rehat.
- Then you can add the pasta water to reach the desired consistency. however I didn't add anything on these photos.
- Finish it off with a little pickle brine and a generous helping of shredded parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust accordingly.
- Add in the pasta and nestle the mozzarella chicken on top. Sprinkle with more fresh basil if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Inactive Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4
- Calories: 632
- Sugar: 2.8
- Sodium: 747
- Fat: 38
- Saturated Fat: 17
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 41.7
- Fiber: 1.7
- Protein: 30.5
- Cholesterol: 162