click here to Pin this recipeWell, I guess chicken and sun dried tomatoes with melty cheese with balsamic drizzle and fresh basil served with a mile-high stack of golden crispy little potato smashers is at least a step in the right direction, right?
These are trying times, and cooking dinner feels, well, maybe to you it feels easy? But to me it feels like it requires monumental effort, physically and mentally and dishes-ly. Easy, minimal, and delicious is the three-way target I’m looking to land on.
Let me give you a brain break. Let me show you a cheat code. Let me present an idea that feels about 10x more fancy than it actually is.
It is called caprese chicken with smashed potatoes.
Here’s how you make it:
You sauté chicken. You top it with sundried tomatoes and cheese and put it in the oven. You garnish it. The end.
For the overachievers among us, or honestly, the people who kind of cannot stop with golden crispy potatoes (PRESENT), I would like to suggest the second most trickster thing in this post after the fake-fancy chicken which is SMASHED POTATOES.
Ideally these work best with the tiny potatoes that can be contained once smashed. But I understand, these are weird times, you might not have tiny potatoes on hand.
In which case I would suggest the exact same method with regular potatoes – with just slightly slower expectations for how they will look. Larger potatoes just want to fall apart a bit more. But does a hungry, tired, semi-moody person care about “falling apart a little bit”, or do they only care about the golden brown salty crispy part? I will leave you to decide as I eat the falling apart remnants of my golden salty crispy potatoes off the baking sheet.
Round out the experience, please. Pour yourself a nice drink in a pretty glass – anything from sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon to a proper glass of red wine – because THE LITTLE THINGS ARE THE BIG THINGS. Always, and especially right now. Let’s make a moment out of this.
Caprese chicken and smashed potatoes and fake-fancy dinner… here you have it. A little pep for your step.
Check out our video for how to make Caprese Chicken:
This recipe was inspired by a super yummy recipe I made a few years ago from Local Crate, a Minnesota-based meal delivery service. ♡ This is my version of it!
Caprese Chicken with Smashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 2–4 (I’d suggest 1 chicken breast and 2 potatoes per person) 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Seriously good Caprese Chicken with Smashed Potatoes! Chicken and sun dried tomatoes with melty cheese, balsamic drizzle, and fresh basil served with a mile-high stack of golden crispy little potato smashers.
Ingredients
For the Smashed Potatoes:
- 10–12 small red or gold potatoes
- olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
- fresh parsley or chives
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb. chicken breasts (I like to cut 2 breasts lengthwise into thinner pieces to make a total of 4 pieces)
- olive oil, salt, and pepper
- 6-ish roasted or sun dried tomatoes
- 2 ounces havarti cheese, in small slices (any cheese works – be flexible)
- fresh basil
- balsamic reduction (see notes)
Instructions
- Cooking the Potatoes: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover potatoes with water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, set timer for 10 minutes. Remove, drain, and allow to cool slightly.
- Smashing the Potatoes: One at a time, cover the potatoes with a clean dish towel. Mash gently it with your hand, holding it together so it doesn’t fall apart completely. Transfer to a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Cooking the Chicken: In an oven-safe skillet, heat a little oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides (but it doesn’t have to be cooked through). Top with the sun dried tomatoes and cheese slices. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and cheese is nice and melty.
- Serve: Top the chicken with basil and balsamic reduction. Serve with potatoes. Don’t forget your fancy drink BECAUSE YOU JUST MADE A MOMENT. Yum!
Notes
The balsamic reduction can be made by simmering about a cup of balsamic vinegar over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the liquid has reduced significantly and coats the back of a spoon, you can remove it from the heat. Voila! Balsamic drizzle for ya.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caprese chicken, chicken and potatoes, smashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, chicken recipe
Pinterest
Does it matter if the potatoes are waxy or floury to make the smashed potatoes? Thank you for all the yummy and easy recipes!
Hi, Annelies! The smashed potatoes work best with waxy potatoes (like gold or red potatoes). If you only have russet potatoes on hand, you could make baked potatoes or cut your potatoes up and roast them instead to go alongside the chicken.
Hi! I love your recipes!! This is a strange question not rekSted to the actual recipe – but are you using a Swiss Diamond non-stick fry pan? If so, do you like it? I’ve been debating between a Swiss Diamond & aScan pan. I’d love your input. Thanks!
Dude – very nice recipe, love the clever smashed potatoes idea! Haven’t tried it yet, but eager to give it a go
Hi, Looks great could I use Mozeralla Cheese instead of Havarti and would roasted cherry tomatoes work also .
Cheers
★★★★★
Sure!
I’ve been slacking on preparing home meals. And sometimes, I run out of creative ideas. Thank you for always posting interesting and creative food blogs, Lindsay. Maysome someday, I’ll post a YouTube video review of a dish I prepared after viewing one of your blogs.
🙂
Great recipe! I made the chicken and potatoes for dinner. The chicken was cooked perfectly, which is always a struggle with chicken breasts. Used my cast iron skillet, making clean up easier. Any cheese would totally work, I had Jack cheese on hand. Husband is meh about sun dried tomatoes (I love them), but he said with the balsamic that it sweetend the tartness of the tomatoes and he loved it. 10/10 would recommend, totally hit the spot! Putting it into my regular dinner rotation.
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Glad you and your family enjoyed this, Kristin!
I just made the chicken with jarred sundried tomatoes and mozzarella (had to use dried basil and had no potatoes, and had to use store made balsamic glaze…these are tough times lol) WOW this was delicious and I cant wait try it as written! (I served mine with balsamic basmati rice)
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Balsamic basmati rice – yum!
Love the mini video for each step! What an awesome new feature!! This sounds delicious and simple. Can’t wait to try it! And oh, those smashed potatoes! Yum!
Enjoy!
This is maybe dumb question, but where does one find sun dried tomatoes at the store? Not a thing I have ever looked for but this sounds so yummy!
It depends on the grocery store, but we’ve usually found a jar in the canned vegetables aisle.
Making this for dinner tonight and going to use mozzarella cheese. Do you suggest soaking the sun-dried tomatoes first?
You should be okay without any soaking.
smashed potatoes 🙂 slurrppppppp. I love smashed potatoes but never tried at home before. I am going to try this for sure. and chicken looks awesome too.
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Enjoy!
What a Great Thought! This is a great option for some vegan company I’m having this weekend.
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Made this last night. Grocery store didn’t have any sundried tomatoes so I had to compromise with roasted peppers and the few sundried tomatoes we had left in the house. The whole meal was delicious! Loved the crispy potatoes too! I don’t think there is a recipe of yours I’ve tried and not loved! Thank you!!
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So glad you enjoyed this, Hilary!