Sheet Pan Caprese Hen – Slender Kitchen

Making Hen Caprese on a sheet pan is the cheat code for a easy dinner. I like sheet pan dinners as a result of they’re the epitome of a no-fuss meal. Simply toss the whole lot on a sheet pan and bake! It is that straightforward.

This Sheet Pan Caprese Hen is the whole lot you like about Caprese salad in sheet pan dinner type! First, you may pound the rooster breasts barely, you then’ll add the whole lot to the sheet pan and bake. Lastly, you may broil the mozzarella for a melty end and prime with a balsamic discount and recent basil!

Serve it together with your favourite sides, we love some creamy polenta or a mattress of greens, for a comfortable meal.

What’s in Sheet Pan Caprese Hen?

You solely want a couple of fundamental elements to make this recipe:

• Boneless, skinless rooster breast: We nearly at all times make this with rooster breasts, however you might additionally use boneless, skinless rooster thighs or pork chops. Simply modify the cooking time relying on the thickness.
• Cherry tomatoes: These candy and juicy tomatoes burst within the oven, creating a light-weight, recent sauce that coats the whole lot. If you cannot discover cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped Roma, heirloom, or vine tomatoes can be scrumptious. 
• Zucchini: A light veggie that roasts fantastically, absorbing all of the flavors from the seasoning and olive oil. Swap in eggplant, inexperienced beans, summer time squash, mushrooms, kale, or another veggies you want. Or ski it for a extra conventional Caprese taste. 
• Contemporary mozzarella: For the very best texture, remember to seize the recent form, normally present in water or vacuum-sealed. If you do not have recent mozzarella, simply use shredded. You should utilize mozzarella, Italian cheese mix, or Parmesan–no matter you have got. If you do not have cheese, simply depart it off. The dish remains to be scrumptious.
• Contemporary basil: This provides a pop of vibrant, recent taste on the finish. Should you can, use recent basil. If you do not have recent basil, simply exchange it with dried basil. You’ll want to use about 1-2 teaspoons dried.
• Balsamic glaze: A thick, barely candy drizzle that provides richness and ties all of the flavors collectively. Learn to make it your self under!

How do you Make Sheet Pan Hen Caprese?

This is a easy breakdown of learn how to make this straightforward dinner:

1. Prep the Hen

Calmly pound the rooster so it cooks evenly, then brush it with olive oil and season it with garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. This step retains the rooster juicy and filled with taste!

2. Add the Veggies

Toss the cherry tomatoes and zucchini with olive oil, recent garlic, salt, and pepper, then unfold them across the rooster on the baking sheet. Should you desire your zucchini tender-crisp, add it within the final 5-7 minutes of cooking. 

Professional Tip: Slicing the veggies evenly helps them prepare dinner on the identical time. Should you like additional caramelized edges, give them slightly area on the pan!

3. Bake Till Juicy

Pop the whole lot within the oven and bake till the rooster is cooked and the tomatoes burst. This usualyl takes between 15-18 minutes, relying on the thickness of the rooster. The veggies can be completely tender, and the flavors will begin mixing collectively.

4. Soften the Mozzarella

Swap the oven to broil, and prime each bit of rooster with recent mozzarella. Let it broil for a minute or two, simply till the cheese is melted and gooey.

Professional Tip: Regulate the cheese! It melts quick below the broiler, so do not stroll away.

5. Add the Ending Touches

Drizzle the entire dish with balsamic glaze and sprinkle on some recent basil.

Serving This Sheet Pan Dinner

This Caprese Hen Sheet Pan Dinner goes with absolutely anything, however listed here are some critically good sides to make it a full meal.

• Potatoes: You may’t go fallacious with Easy Roasted Potatoes or Grilled Red Potatoes. They’re crispy on the skin, tender on the within, and ideal for absorbing all that balsamic goodness.
• Low-Carb: Need to preserve it gentle? Roasted Vegetables are a no-fail aspect that provides coloration and taste with out weighing issues down. Or go for the Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. They’re buttery and creamy, and you will not even miss the true factor.
• Polenta: Should you love a wealthy, tacky aspect, Basil Parmesan Polenta is the place it is at. It is clean and comforting and pairs completely with the recent, daring flavors of the rooster.
• Pasta: You may by no means have sufficient caprese, proper? Serve the rooster and veggies over a mattress of One Pot Caprese Pasta for a filling dinner.
• Garlic Bread: Pair it with heat, crusty garlic bread to absorb all these scrumptious juices from the roasted veggies and balsamic glaze.
• Salad: Slice the rooster and layer it over a mattress of combined greens with the roasted veggies, recent basil, and a drizzle of Healthy Balsamic Vinaigrette for a light-weight, recent meal!
• Sandwich: Flip it right into a Caprese-style sandwich by layering the rooster, melted mozzarella, and roasted tomatoes on a toasted ciabatta or baguette.
• Zucchini boats: Bake the rooster as directed, and as an alternative of reducing up zucchini, make zucchini boats. Add cooked, sliced rooster and tomatoes to the within of the zucchini.
• Spaghetti squash: For a lighter possibility, add the rooster, tomatoes, and zucchini to the within of the cooked spaghetti squash.

Recipe Concepts and Pantry/Freezer Swaps

If you would like to combine this dish up a bit, listed here are my suggestions:

• Greens: Swap out the zucchini and exchange it with bell peppers, eggplant, yellow squash, asparagus, and even inexperienced beans. Should you go for frozen greens, I like to recommend cooking them on the aspect (this is how to roast frozen vegetables) after which including them proper earlier than serving. Frozen greens launch quite a lot of liquid after they prepare dinner and can make the sauce watery.
• Beans: To make this dish heartier and stretch the protein, toss in a can of drained white beans like cannellini or Northern beans. Chickpeas would work as effectively.
• Balsamic: If you do not have a balsamic glaze, you have got two choices. First, you can also make it with the directions included under. Should you do not wish to make the glaze, simply drizzle slightly little bit of the balsamic vinegar on prime earlier than serving, only a drizzle. If you haven’t any balsamic vinegar, you may mix crimson wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar with a contact of sugar to imitate the flavour. Mix 1 tablespoon of the alternate vinegar with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
• Spicy: Make it spicy by including drained fire-roasted tomatoes as an alternative of cherry tomatoes, crushed crimson peppers, spicy marinara sauce, or sizzling sauce on prime.

How do you make a balsamic vinegar discount?

Whereas drizzling balsamic on prime of this dish is completely scrumptious and really useful, you can too scale back the balsamic to a thicker, syrupy consistency and pour it over.

Once you scale back the balsamic, you’re taking out quite a lot of the vinegar style, and what you are left with is a candy sauce. Decreasing the vinegar evaporates the water and makes the sugars within the vinegar extra concentrated, thus making it sweeter and fewer bitter.

To make a balsamic vinegar discount, add a cup of balsamic to a small, metallic pot. Deliver the vinegar to a boil, then scale back the temperature to low and let it simmer for about quarter-hour. Scale back it as a lot as you want. Clearly, the extra water that evaporates, the thicker the discount can be. It’s going to proceed to thicken because it cools as effectively, so preserve that in thoughts.

And please, don’t attempt to scent the vinegar as it’s cooking. I’ve made that mistake earlier than and can burn!

Then you should use this straightforward sauce so as to add taste to all types of dishes – salads, pasta, greens, proteins, and extra. It is a straightforward solution to elevate nearly any meal.