This recipe was made to impress! Juicy chicken packed with tons of flavor makes this great for entertaining, or just to serve when you are feeling a little fancy! We like to serve this with pasta salad on the side.
The Chicken
For this recipe, I like to use a whole chicken cut in pieces. Using bone in chicken gives the recipe a lot more flavor, and also helps the meat stay moist. If you don’t know how to break a whole chicken down, you can check out the video below for a how to!
If you don’t want to use a whole chicken, any bone in pieces you have will work nicely. The cooking time may need to be adjusted though. Make sure the internal temperature of your chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving.
The Flavor
The flavor for this recipe is in the delicious marinade. Balsamic vinegar pairs nicely with the stone ground mustard, garlic, and other seasonings. Mix up your marinade and pour it over your chicken. The longer you let it marinate, the more flavorful your chicken will be. I let mine sit at least 3 hours. The acid in the vinegar also helps to tenderize the meat even more.
Cooking
This is a great chicken recipe to bake. I bake it at 400 degrees, so it still gets a nice crisp skin, but since the juices collect at the bottom of the pan, it stays very moist. I like to use a cast iron pan like this one. Feel free to grill this recipe if you want! You can reserve the marinade for basting throughout the grilling process.
The addition of cherry tomatoes during the baking process gives a pop of fresh flavor to the finished dish. We enjoy pulling out the tomatoes after they’ve baked and adding them to a pasta salad that we serve on the side of this dish. YUM!
If we are feeling really fancy, we throw in chunks of cheese as soon as the chicken is done. Not only is it delicious, but it really gives a wow factor when you serve it.
Balsamic Baked Chicken
This chicken recipe is juicy, tender, and packed with flavor!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 2 TBSP of EVOO
- 1 TBSP of honey
- 5-7 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
- 1 TBSP stone ground or Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons of dried basil
- cherry tomatoes
- cubed cheese, mozarella or white cheddar
- 1 whole chicken, in pieces, bone in
Instructions
- Add the first seven ingredients to a bowl or jar and mix well. Pour the marinade all over your chicken pieces and cover. Let this sit in the refrigerator at least 3 hours. Rotate your chicken pieces around periodically to get all sides nicely coated.
- To cook, line a 13 inch round cast iron skillet (a 9x13 will work fine if your don't have a large cast iron) with parchment paper. Arrange your chicken pieces in the cast iron. I like to tuck the smallest parts of the wings under another piece of chicken, so they don't burn. Add cherry tomatoes if you choose.
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, or until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Toss in the cubed cheese, and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
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