Grilled Chicken Caprese

Juicy grilled chicken coated in a garlic basil vinaigrette, topped with grilled tomatoes and marinated fresh mozzarella- what’s not to love. This is one of my favorite ways to have grilled chicken, especially when I have an abundance of ripe tomatoes and fresh fragrant basil in the garden. And this year, I may even be guilty of standing in the snow grilling chicken to have this in the winter just like I do for these amazing pork chops every year!! It’s all worth it to me and the heat from the grill keeps me warm. But enough about winter, it’s still pretty warm and summery in these parts and I am enjoying the great weather and time with my family.

I only changed the recipe a bit- I used chicken breasts that I fillet myself instead of chicken cutlets and I increased the dressing a bit. This is a pretty simple recipe and much of the prep can be done in advance to make dinnertime a breeze and it’s still quick even without prepping ahead of time. You really just make a quick vinaigrette which is used to marinate the mozzarella and the cooked chicken, slice some tomatoes and mozzarella and season and cook up some chicken. Pretty simple for a pretty and impressive dish.  

Grilled Chicken Caprese

Note**The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds of chicken cutlets (a very thin piece of chicken breast meant to cook quickly). Instead, I use about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken breasts that are much larger than cutlets, so I remove the fat and fillet each breast into two cutlets. I hold the chicken steady with one hand, and with the knife parallel to the cutting board, slice it horizontally into two pieces starting from the thick end. You just want 4 to 6 thinner pieces of chicken breast. I usually use 2 or 3 large chicken breasts and get this amount.

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Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 4 Tbsp of fresh basil chopped
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• Salt and pepper
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/4-inch slices, halved, and patted dry
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast trimmed- you will most likely have to fillet each breast into 2 thinner pieces- see note above.
• 2 large firm tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices ( i usually use vine ripe)

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, mix together the basil, vinegar, garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until combined. Place the sliced mozzarella cheese into another bowl or container and toss with 3 Tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette to use on the cooked chicken.
• Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper (and garlic powder if you want). On a prepared hot charcoal grill or preheated hot gas grill, grill the chicken and sliced tomatoes until chicken is browned and cooked through and the tomatoes have lightly charred, about 2 to 4 min per side depending on how thick your chicken is cut.
• Place the chicken on a plate or platter, top with the grilled tomatoes and drizzle the reserved dressing on top. Evenly layer mozzarella on top and tent plate with foil. Allow to rest 5-10 min and enjoy!

Notes

Adapted from Cooks Country