I’m always looking for new ways to serve chicken and this stove-top Italian chicken recipe is a winner. Served over a bed of rice, it makes a scrumptious meal.
Do you look at recipes online and print them out or bookmark them to try later? Well that’s me. My recipe bookmarks folder must contain over 200 recipes. And they are not categorized like they should be so I have to scroll through them one by one.
Somewhere along the line I ran across a recipe by Giada de Laurentiis for a recipe that sounded pretty good. What really caught me was how simple the ingredients are and you can’t go wrong with chicken breasts.
Preparing the Italian chicken recipe
I used boneless skinless breasts here. If you prefer thighs or leg quarters, that would be fine too. (The chicken could be brined prior to browning using my Simple Chicken Brine for Grilling. If you do this, do not add any more salt to the chicken.)
Start out by salting and peppering both sides of the chicken then brown the breasts with a little olive oil. I used an enameled cast iron braiser pan. Once the chicken is browned, (about 3 minutes per side), remove them from the pan and set them aside.
I diced a couple of slices of good bacon and sauteed it in the pan until it started to brown, (5 minutes), then added sliced red and yellow peppers. When the vegetables had softened a bit, (4 to 5 minutes) I added the minced garlic and allowed it to get fragrant for a minute. Then the canned tomatoes, some white wine, and herbs were added and the fond from the browning process was scraped off the bottom of the pan.
The browned chicken and broth are then added and the sauce is brought to a simmer, covered and cooked for 20 to 30 minutes for the chicken to finish cooking. At 20 minutes, my instant read thermometer registered the chicken at 148° and I removed the pan from the heat. Just before serving I added the capers and sprinkled with chopped parsley.
While the chicken simmered, I got rice going in a pot on the stove and nuked the fresh spears of asparagus that caught my eye when I was shopping for groceries.
So after about 45 minutes, our easy dinner was ready. This made a really satisfying meal with lots of color and nutrition, in addition to great flavor.
As a bonus, this would be a beautiful dish to serve company and it tastes even better the next day. So you could make it one day, let it cool completely and refrigerate it overnight, then reheat it while you and your lucky guests relax over a glass of wine.
Give stove-top Italian chicken recipe a try…or at least put this one on the back burner in your recipes bookmarks file.
Stove-top Italian Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 8 oz chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped to 1/2" pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced lengthwise
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp capers, rinsed
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup white rice, uncooked
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, *optional
Instructions
- Use a large, heavy, lidded casserole pan or skillet on medium heat and add the olive oil. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and brown each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the breasts to a plate.
- Next add the bacon pieces to the skillet and cook until browned, 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper and lightly salt and pepper. Cook 4 minutes to soften then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the white wine and the diced tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the skillet and bring to a boil. Add the thyme and oregano and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and place the chicken breasts back in the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cover to completely cook the chicken, 20 to 30 minutes. Check the temperature of the breasts using an instant read thermometer. (FDA recommends 165° internal temperature. For chicken breasts I prefer 145° to keep them tender.)
- While the chicken simmers, cook the white rice according to package directions and keep warm.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the capers and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning. Serve hot over rice.
Notes
- You can make this dish a day ahead, just don't add the capers and parsley until it is reheated. Cook the dish per the instructions then allow to cool, then refrigerate. Reheat in a skillet and add a bit more chicken broth if desired.
- Add red pepper flakes for extra heat if desired.
- The nutrition information is based on 4 servings, (4 breasts and ingredient amounts per the recipe), with a 3/4 cup bed of cooked white rice. I only cooked 2 chicken breasts...one for me and one for MaryJo. (We always have way too many leftovers.)
- Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis.
This is a definite “book mark to try later recipe” that I will put in the Italian section.
So Good!