My favorite way to prepare chicken, this easy Balsamic Chicken has only a few ingredients. Try balsamic glazed chicken breasts sliced over salads, rice, or with potatoes. Here, I’ve served it over a low carb cauliflower mash with broccoli, and prepared some for my meal prep. This is a delicious Whole30 or low carb meal prep!
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Easy Balsamic Glazed Chicken Breasts
Once you’ve tried this recipe, it will be one you come back to again and again. To make it even better, you won’t even need to save the “recipe.” It’s so crazy simple, you’ll remember how to make them.
Cooking chicken breasts in balsamic vinegar is an easy preparation. First, brown the chicken breasts in olive oil and season them with salt and pepper. Optionally season them with herbs like thyme and oregano or Italian seasoning. Once the first side is browned, flip and add lots of delicious balsamic vinegar!
No need to marinate the chicken first – it will cook into a super tender chicken without any prior preparation!
The vinegar cooks down and loses its bite. It becomes a sticky sweet sauce and results in chicken so incredibly moist and flavorful.
This is the perfect method for weeknight meals or cooking chicken for meal prep because the chicken breasts do not dry out. They will stay moist and flavorful for days.
The whole process takes about 30 minutes, because you’ll be cooking the chicken breasts on low, but about 80% of that time is hands-off!
Ingredients for Balsamic Chicken
- Chicken Breasts (you can also make these with chicken thighs, but reduce cooking time!)
- Olive oil (or avocado oil)
- Salt and Pepper
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Optional: Thyme or Italian Seasoning
Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Recipes:
- Watermelon Balsamic Chicken Salad (so good and perfect for summer!)
- Balsamic Chicken with Strawberry Cucumber Salad (super fun twist on “salad”)
- Balsamic Glazed Chicken with a Millet Greek Salad (great for higher carb needs!)
- Balsamic Chicken Salad
How to Make Balsamic Chicken
Step 1: Into a large frying pan, add olive or avocado oil, and chicken breasts. Heat over medium high heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and thyme. You can use Italian seasoning, if that’s what you have on hand, or skip the dried herbs entirely.
Step 2: After about 7 minutes, flip the chicken, and season the other side with salt, pepper, and thyme. Add the balsamic vinegar, and reduce the heat slightly below medium heat. We want to cook the chicken long and slow so the balsamic vinegar reduces at the same rate as the chicken cooks. I often put a lid on my frying pan for about 10 minutes if my chicken breast are thick, but then take the lid off so the vinegar can work it’s reduction magic.
Step 3: Flip the chicken breasts a few times while they are cooking. When the balsamic vinegar is a thick, sticky glaze, the chicken should be cooked through. Chicken needs to cook to 165º F, so if you don’t cook chicken breasts often, you can use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
Step 4: Leave the balsamic vinegar chicken breasts as is, and just slice them and add to your salad or whatever you’re eating, or dress it up with some delicious additions. I used sun dried tomatoes, olives, and fresh basil, and they were great flavor additions to this sticky-sweet chicken dish.
How to Serve Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Keep this meal low carb by serving it on a simple cauliflower mash along with some veggies or a salad. Use this post to make flavorful Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes to serve with a variety of low carb meals!
It’s great right after making it, but also stays fresh-tasting for days, so it’s perfect for meal prep and packable lunches.
Go ahead and serve it on your favorite grain — quinoa, millet, or wild rice are healthy options! Or, keep it veggie-heavy so your meal stays low in carbs and Whole30 compliant.
Whole30 sides to serve with balsamic vinegar chicken:
Other Easy Chicken Dinner Recipes:
- Artichoke Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Almond and Herb Crusted Chicken, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Loaded Whole30 Chicken Caesar Salad, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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Tuscan Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt more or less, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- semi dried tomatoes optional, garnish (or sun dried)
- black olives optional, garnish
- fresh basil optional, garnish
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat, and add chicken breasts. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Brown chicken on one side for about 5 minutes, and then flip.
- Lower the heat to medium low, and add balsamic vinegar. Allow chicken to simmer in the vinegar, flipping the chicken a couple times to coat in the glaze. Once the vinegar has thickened and is a sticky glaze, about 20 minutes, the chicken is ready.
- Garnish with semi dried tomatoes, olives, and basil, if desired.
This recipe looks tasty and simple to make! Can’t wait to try.
It is so simple! And so delicious.
i prep all my weekly lunches in batches and try to be healthy so I can indulge on the weekends. this chicken is absolutely perfect for that! It sounds incredible and easy to make.
It is perfect for that! I have it in my fridge right now with cauliflower mash and broccoli 🙂
This dish sounds so delicious and flavourful! We love trying new chicken dishes in our house.
It’s always good to have ways to dress up chicken!
this chicken looks finger licking good for sure I love that sheen on it and balsamic is a favorite here!
Balsamic has my heart!
Such a great family dinner idea! Love all of the flavor and that this one is so easy to throw together!
I adore it — and yes, so so easy. It’s my go-to when I need protein prepped because the chicken cooks so moist it’s wonderful for days and I don’t get tired of it!
This is absolutely fabulous! Its crazy the way the balsamic vinegar thickens into a wonderful glaze. My husband is a thigh man, so I made this with skinless thighs and a bone in breast for me (so they would be done at the same time) I browned them on both sides, then added the balsamic vinegar and COVERED it for 15 minutes (due to the longer cooking time) Then uncovered and followed the recipe for the last 20 minutes Delicious and definitely a regular in our house! Thank you so much for a easy, low calorie, low FODMAP and healthy recipe!
I am so glad you tried this recipe Linda! One of my very favorites. It’s a great “back pocket” recipe to have because it’s super easy, I always have the ingredients on hand, and it just tastes so wonderful. Plus, the leftovers taste wonderful for days, so keep a few extra pieces for quick meals!
I love this chicken dish. I had company twice this week and prepared this both times. So good…
OMG! I accidently came across your blog from another site/blog I frequent & make recipes from (like a lot)!! And, so I clicked on your site, took a look around & am totally in love with LOTS of your recipes!! I have a friend who eats gluten free due to health reasons so I am passing your site/blog/link on to her as well – will also share with a few other friends who I think will appreciate, too!!
I plan on making the Tuscan Balsamic Chicken soon as it has everything I’m looking for – and it helps to have all the ingredients, too! I’m excited to look further into your beautiful site for more recipes to make & try! I am sooo happy I decided to click on your link to look around. Thank you for cooking healthy!! You have a BEAUTIFUL blog… BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS & again… excited to have found you. Your site will be next to my favorite go to blog where I have made lots of delicious, healthy dishes.
Thank you again, Michelle.
P.S. I will rate once I make it. However, I’m positive it’s going to be good.
Oh, you’ve chosen a good recipe to start with! I adore that chicken and have been making it for years. Thank you so much for leaving this message! I am glad these recipes are helpful to you and your friend. Be sure to signup for the mailing list and follow me over on IG @sunkissedkitch for updates on new recipes! We have some great giveaways planned for the summer. Have a wonderful week, Tricia.
Made this tonight. Wish I could say I loved it but all we could taste was the balsamic vinegar. Once the sauce glazed it wasn’t enough to coat the noodles/broccoli we made with it I tried adding some honey and that did help minimize the vinegar taste but we ultimately ended up added soy sauce to hind the taste 🙁
If you taste the vinegar, you didn’t cook it long enough. When it’s done, it’s a very sweet sauce!
I added a couple tbs of Dijon mustard.
That sounds delicious!
So easy and flavorful! This is a great cook once eat twice recipe. We used the leftovers in wraps and salads for lunch.
Thank you for letting me know! I’ve been making this a lot lately.
Ever made with bone in chicken breast?
I haven’t — I am not sure how the skin would cook. I do sometimes marinate my chicken in balsamic and then grill it — like in this recipe: https://sunkissedkitchen.com/grilled-balsamic-chicken-strawberry-cucumber-salad-summer-grilling-series/
Maybe that method would work better for bone-in chicken?
the sauce didnt turned sweet. my husband didnt like how sour it is. but i didnt mind.
I am sorry your sauce didn’t sweeten! I imagine you just needed to give it a couple more minutes. I have never had mine not sweeten and I’ve made it with many brands of vinegar.
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