Chicken breast drenched in a dreamy creamy roasted tomato sauce!
This is one of those dinners that never gets old. It comes together really easily but tastes so delicious! Follow me…
Roasted Tomato Sauce for Chicken
There’s something about roasting tomatoes that really gets my tastebuds tingling. They turn so gorgeously sweet and leak out so much yummy juice. Roasting the tomatoes also creates the perfect base for a sauce, given then blend up so well.
Roasting the tomatoes
You’ll want to use cherry tomatoes, just because we’re going to scoop some of them out and add them to the sauce at the end. I love adding in a good amount of fresh garlic when roasting tomatoes. It’s protected by the juices from the tomatoes so it doesn’t burn. Alongside the garlic and tomatoes, we’re just going to mix in some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Blending the tomatoes
Once you’ve scooped out some of the tomatoes to save for serving, we’re going to blitz the tomatoes up with some chicken stock and fresh basil. Then you’ve done pretty much all the hard work and most of the sauce is done.
Can I use a different variety of tomatoes?
Cherry tomatoes work great because you can serve some on top at the end. You could sub baby plum tomatoes.
Process shots: combine tomatoes, garlic, oil and s&p (photo 1), roast (photo 2), add to blender with stock and basil (photo 3), blend until smooth (photo 4).
Preparing Chicken Breast
I recommend bringing the chicken close to room temp, just to help relax the meat. Frying the chicken straight from the fridge can sometimes cause it to seize up and go chewy.
Halving the chicken breast
From there, you’ll want to slice each chicken breast right through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts. This will not only double the portion size, but it also helps the chicken cook through quicker and more evenly.
Chicken Seasoning
I keep it simple with a mix of oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You don’t want anything too crazy or it’ll distract from the sauce!
Can I use chicken thighs?
If you’d prefer to use thigh you could sub boneless skinless chicken thighs. I recommend pounding them to even thickness beforehand. They’ll take a little longer to cook through the breast.
Process shots: slice and season chicken (photos 1&2), fry both sides then remove (photos 3&4).
Chicken with a Creamy Tomato Sauce
Most of the sauce is done, but there’s just a few more things to add:
- Tomato Puree – This deepens the tomato flavour. You’ll want to fry this to help sweeten it.
- Mascarpone – This adds a gorgeous creaminess to the dish.
- Resting Juices – I like to stir in any resting juices from the chicken for some bonus flavour.
Once you’ve made the sauce, just add the chicken back in and baste it in the sauce. Then you can serve with the extra tomatoes on top!
Process shots: fry tomato puree (photo 1), add tomato sauce and mascarpone (photo 2), stir to melt cheese (photo 3), add chicken (photo 4).
Serving Creamy Tomato Chicken
Here I’ve served with Garlic Bread and salad leaves. There will be plenty of sauce, so you could also serve with rice or potatoes to mop up all that deliciousness. Even some chunky buttered bread works great!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy tomato chicken shall we?!
How to make Creamy Tomato Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
Creamy Tomato Chicken
Equipment
- Large Baking Dish (for tomatoes)
- Blender (for making sauce)
- Large Pan & Tongs (for chicken)
- Wooden Spoon
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2x 9oz/250g Chicken Breasts, brought close to room temp
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Dried Oregano, Garlic Powder, Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
Sauce
- 500g / 1lb Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper, plus more to taste if desired
- 1/2 small bunch of Fresh Basil, plus some extra leaves to garnish (1/2 small bunch is 15g/0.5oz)
- 60ml / 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
- 100g / 3.5oz Mascarpone
Instructions
- In a large baking dish combine the halved cherry tomatoes with 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp salt & pepper. Bake in the oven at 180C/350F for 20-25mins, or until they soften and release their juices (they should be a little wrinkly).
- Scoop out 1/3 of the tomatoes and store to one side. Pour the rest into a blender, ensuring you scrape in all those lovely juices. Add chicken stock and basil, then blend until smooth.
- Horizontally slice each chicken breast right through the centre to create 4 even-sized chicken breasts. Coat all over in oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Add 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry both sides for a few mins, or until golden on the outside and just about cooked through the centre. Remove and place chicken to one side.
- Lower heat to medium and add 2 tbsp tomato puree. Fry for a minute or so, then pour in the tomato sauce. Add the mascarpone and give it all a good stir until everything is well blended.
- Stir in any resting juices from the chicken then add the chicken back in. Baste it in the sauce then top with the leftover tomatoes and some extra basil!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For another creamy tomato recipe check out my Creamy Tomato Pasta!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Creamy Chicken Recipes
- Creamy Garlic Mushroom Chicken
- Creamy Bacon Chicken
- Creamy Cajun Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
- Creamy Tarragon Chicken
- Chicken Marsala
Made this last night with some garlic cubed potatos. Added some sliced chorizo into the sauce also, turned out great. I’d never roasted cherry tomatos for the purpose of a sauce before – makes a huge flavour change in comparison to tinned/canned tomatoes. Superb!
Great to hear this went down well, Dazza! Thanks so much for the review 🙂 C.
This was absolutely sublime! The entire family loved it.
Thanks so much Karen! 🙂 C.