Baked Fig Balsamic Vinegarette Chicken Breast
I love going into an olive oil store and searching for olive oil and balsamic vinegar combos that can bring a meal to life. This particular recipe uses fig balsamic vinegar and traditional olive oil, creating a sweet and tangy chicken dish. Also, I have to give a shout out to my fellow nutritionist and soon to be RDN, Lauren Hayden, for helping me develop this recipe!
Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Step One: Gather the Ingredients:
The following ingredients were used to create this dish:
16 oz of raw, skinless chicken breast
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 of a large red onion, or 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
4 Tablespoons of fig balsamic vinegarette
2 Teaspoons of Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Step Two: Preparing the Ingredients.
Go ahead and preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Once lined, spray with a pan spray. You’ll then want to prepare your ingredients by thinly slicing the onion, halving the cherry tomatoes, finely mincing the garlic, and then setting them aside to prepare the chicken.
Minced Garlic - Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Sugar Bombs by Sunset are one of my favorite brands of Cherry tomatoes to buy! They’re so sweet and delicious! Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Step Three: Prepare the Chicken
Measure each slice of chicken breast to be ~4 oz each. I also like to remove any fat that may have been left on them to avoid any tough or chewy pieces of chicken.
You’ll first want to pat chicken breasts with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Doing this will help better brown the chicken.
Next, you will season the chicken on both sides with Italian seasoning and salt & pepper to taste.
Lastly, place the seasoned chicken breast in baking dish.
Lauren told me about this seasoning from Kinder’s and let me tell you it’s definitely worth getting! It takes my chicken to another level of flavor! Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Step Four: Putting it Together
Add sliced onions, garlic, and tomatoes to baking dish with the chicken. Ensure the vegetables are surrounding the chicken and not completely covering the chicken breast. Then drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and vegetables and lastly drizzle the fig balsamic vinegarette over the chicken and vegetables.
Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Step Five: Time to Bake!
Now that it’s ready, you can place the baking dish into the pre-heated oven.
You’ll first want to bake the chicken for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, spoon the fig balsamic vinegarette back over the chicken in order to get more flavor on top of the chicken.
Place the baking dish back in the oven until fully cooked to 165 degrees F. Depending on how thick your chicken is, this could be anywhere from 5-15 more minutes, so watch carefully to not overcook or under cook your chicken. I always will recommend purchasing a meat thermometer if you don’t already have one!
What this meal may look like meal prepped. Original photos owned by Healthy You by Maura
Additional Tips:
If you don't have fig balsamic vinegarette, you can replace this recipe with a traditional balsamic vinegarette or other flavor of choice.
Recommended pairing: Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasoned Green Beans
Recommended toppings: Feta Cheese
If you make this recipe, please post on your socials and tag @healthyyoubymaura! I would love to see how you meal prepped or what sides you added to complete the dish! Enjoy!
- Maura Fowler, MPH, RDN, CPH
Baked Fig Balsamic Vinegarette Chicken Breast
This flavorful dish is made with a Fig Balsamic Vinegarette that was found at one of my local olive oil stores. The flavor is sweet and slightly acidic. It balances well with a grain and additional vegetables.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Once lined, spray with a pan spray.
- Prepare the onions by slicing them thin.
- Prepare the cherry tomatoes by halving them.
- Prepare the garlic cloves by finely mincing them.
- Set vegetables to side.
- Measure each slice of chicken breast to be ~4 oz each. Remove any fat that may still be on the chicken breasts.
- Pat chicken breast with a paper towel to remove any moisture.
- Season chicken on both sides with Italian seasoning and salt & pepper to taste.
- Place seasoned chicken breast in baking dish.
- Add sliced onions, garlic, and tomatoes to baking dish with the chicken. Ensure the vegetables are surrounding the chicken and not completely covering the chicken breast.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and vegetables.
- Drizzle the fig balsamic vinegarette over the chicken and vegetables.
- Place the baking dish into the pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, spoon the fig balsamic vinegarette back over the chicken.
- Place the baking dish back in the oven until fully cooked to 165 degrees F. (Depending on how thick your chicken is, this could be anywhere from 5-15 more minutes, so watch carefully to not overcook or under cook your chicken.)
Notes
Note: if you don't have fig balsamic vinegarette, you can replace this recipe with a traditional balsamic vinegarette or other flavor of choice.
Recommended pairing: Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasoned Green Beans
Recommended toppings: Feta Cheese
Nutrition Facts
Calories
221Fat
9 gSat. Fat
1.3 gCarbs
8.7 gFiber
1.1 gSugar
5.4 gProtein
26.4 gCalories for exact serving sizes and ingredients listed. Calories may change depending on ingredients/brands used. Note that nutrition listed are estimates.