Balsamic Chicken Thighs
Published 1/28/2024 • Updated 3/17/2024
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These balsamic chicken thighs are an easy and flavorful one pot meal! You’ll love the rich flavors of our homemade balsamic chicken marinade paired with pearl mozzarella and fresh basil. Serve with pasta or a salad!
You’re going to absolutely love these balsamic chicken thighs — we’re making them completely in a cast iron (on the stove top and then finish in the oven), and they’re doused in a bath of our amazing balsamic chicken marinade.
I love prepping the balsamic chicken marinade the night before so that when it comes time to making the dish, it’s a breeze. We loved eating these thighs over pasta with a salad, but they’d be delicious paired with a grain and a green as well.
What You Need for Balsamic Chicken Thighs
For the balsamic chicken marinadE
- Balsamic Vinegar: Infuses a rich, tangy-sweet flavor and helps tenderize the chicken.
- Olive Oil: Provides a rich texture and enhances the overall richness of the dish.
- Dijon Mustard: Adds a zesty kick and helps emulsify the marinade.
- Brown Sugar: Balances the acidity of the balsamic with a bit of sweetness.
- Dried Thyme: Adds a warm herby flavor to the marinade.
For the Chicken
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: Serves as the protein base and soaks up the flavorful marinade.
- Olive Oil (again): Used for cooking the chicken and enhancing its flavor.
- Dry White Wine: Deglazes the pan, and adds depth to the sauce.
- Tomato Paste: Introduces a rich, tomato-y flavor to the sauce.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Provide bursts of juicy sweetness and vibrant color.
- Mozzarella Pearls: Adds creamy, cheesy goodness. Don’t skip these!
Easy Ingredient Swaps
Chicken: We’ve tested this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs as well as breasts. Bone-in chicken thighs will work, too, but they will need a longer time to sear and cook.
Mozzarella: You can use large mozzarella pearls or chunks of mozzarella in place of the small pearls.
For a thicker sauce: Start by removing the chicken from the pan. Then, remove ½ cup of the liquid in the pan and whisk 3 teaspoons of cornstarch into the sauce. Add the cornstarch sauce back into the pan and bring to a light simmer until it thickens, and then add the chicken back into the pan.
Great Jones
Cast Iron Pan
The Great Jones King Sear is our favorite cast iron pan. It’s definitely worth the splurge to add to your kitchen collection!
Top Tips
Avoid placing the chicken thighs on the pan cold: This may cause the chicken to stick to the hot pan.
Season the chicken thighs well: Don’t skip on the marinating time for this chicken recipe! Allowing enough time for the meat to marinade will yield a much more flavorful chicken in the end.
Allow for the mozzarella to melt: Remember to top this dish with mozzarella when there is 5-10 minutes of bake time left. This will give the cheese enough time to melt — and who doesn’t love gooey mozzarella 😀
try it!
Balsamic Chicken Marinade
Our go-to balsamic chicken marinade is what gives these balsamic chicken thighs their amazing flavor. Bookmark this marinade to use over and over again!
Storage
Store any leftover chicken thighs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. Note that the sauce will thicken as the chicken sits.
To reheat, place in the oven at 350°F and bake until heated through or when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
How to Serve this Dish
We recommend serving the chicken over pappardelle pasta, but any pasta will do. Looking for something on the greener side? We love serving this with our caprese quinoa salad, The Cheese Knees’ classic caprese salad, roasted broccoli, or our balsamic sea salt roasted brussels sprouts.
Balsamic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Other
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup of dry white wine or broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 10 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 oz. mozzarella pearls
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade to a large pan and whisk together until combined. Submerge the chicken thighs into the marinade and cover. Transfer to the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let the marinade drip from the chicken. Set the chicken aside to come to room temperature. Keep the marinade for later.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the olive oil is fragrant, add the chicken thighs to the olive oil and sear for 3-4 minutes until one side is browned, remove from the pan.
- Deglaze the pan with wine and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade to the pan and add tomato paste, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together and bring the marinade to a boil over high heat.
- Add the tomatoes to the sauce and toss. Place the chicken thighs, seared-side up to the sauce.
- Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Top with mozzarella pearls and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the chicken has an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- Remove from the oven. Top with fresh basil and serve over pasta or with toasted bread.
Tips & Notes
- Bone-in chicken thighs can be used in place of boneless thighs. Sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side rather than just one side.
- You can use large mozzarella pearls or chunks of mozzarella in place of the small pearls.
- We recommend serving the chicken over pappardelle pasta, but any pasta will do.
- If you would like a thicker sauce, remove the chicken from the pan. Remove ½ cup of the liquid in the pan and whisk 3 teaspoons of cornstarch into the sauce. Add the cornstarch sauce back into the pan and bring to a light simmer until it thickens. Add the chicken back into the pan.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.
