This 1-pan bruschetta chicken with zucchini noodles is healthy, delicious, and so easy to make—it’s sure to earn a spot in your weeknight dinner rotation, especially in the summertime. Combining a fresh basil, tomato, and garlic bruschetta mixture, zucchini noodles, and chicken marinated in Italian dressing, this dish is positively packed with flavor. Leftovers reheat easily!
. I’ve also made some improvements to the recipe, which you can read about in the post below.
Updated and better than ever! Today I’m re-sharing one of my very favorite dinner recipes with a few simple updates that vastly improve the flavor and texture of the dish. If there’s a way to make a recipe better, you can be sure that my team and I will test it. I’m fiercely dedicated to bringing you the best tested recipes I can. And sometimes that means we need to revisit and retest old favorites. (See blueberry pie as an example!)
Which brings us to today’s massively flavorful, yet simple dinner recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Bruschetta Chicken
- This all-in-one meal is light and healthy, yet satisfying.
- Cook everything in 1 skillet.
- Prep ahead of time and cook later.
- It’s naturally gluten free, and can be made dairy free, if using dairy-free Italian dressing.
- The recipe uses simple, fresh, and healthy ingredients.
Do These 2 Steps in Advance
Grab These 2 Kitchen Tools
- Skillet: Make the bruschetta chicken entirely on the stovetop in a big skillet. The skillet won’t go into the oven, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be oven-safe. This is the cast iron skillet I own and love. I use it for skillet turkey pot pie, my frittata recipe and Dutch baby pancake recipe, sea salt and herb rolls, honey skillet cornbread, cornmeal cake, biscuits, and more
- Spiralizer: When I prepare this dinner as well as this peanut chicken zucchini noodles dish, I usually spiralize zucchini myself at home. But if you don’t have a spiralizer, zucchini noodles are pretty easy to find these days in most grocery stores in the produce department, or you can use frozen. You can also simply slice the fresh zucchini into thin strips—see recipe Notes.
Can I Use Regular Pasta? If you prefer pasta instead of zucchini noodles, I recommend using 1 pound of angel hair pasta. Cook and drain it according to package directions. Toss the cooked and drained pasta with a scant 1/2 cup of your favorite tomato sauce before adding to the skillet in step 5, for added flavor. The zucchini noodles absorb a lot of flavor from the pan, but regular pasta doesn’t.
Now Let’s Get Cooking!
Make this dinner entirely in 1 pan, just like this lemon thyme chicken and cornbread chili casserole. (Have more zucchini than you can fit in one pan? Try zucchini bread, these zucchini muffins, or hide it in this chocolate zucchini cake.)
Slicing the chicken, instead of serving whole, was another suggestion from a reader. Sliced chicken absorbs more flavor and the finished dish is easier to eat. I’ve also made this dish with baked chicken meatballs instead of the chicken breasts.
Piping hot zucchini noodles before adding the sliced chicken:
And dinner is ready! Top the chicken and zucchini noodles with freshly grated parmesan cheese and some more fresh basil to serve. This dish is great on its own, but you could also serve it alongside some fresh bread, like dinner rolls, homemade breadsticks, cornbread muffins, olive bread, asiago-crusted skillet bread, homemade artisan bread, or homemade garlic bread. Or even these savory zucchini biscuits, especially if you have leftover zucchini!
Bruschetta Chicken Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts into a large zipper food storage bag or shallow dish/container. Mix 1 cup (240ml) of dressing and Italian seasoning, if using, together and pour on top of chicken. Turn chicken to coat. Seal the bag/cover the dish and refrigerate for 2—24 hours.
- Combine the chopped tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, minced garlic, and the remaining 2 Tablespoons of Italian dressing. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. You should end up with about 2 and 1/2 cups (475g) of the bruschetta mixture. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2—24 hours.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken (discard marinade), cover, and cook for 10–15 minutes, turning a few times. You want the chicken nice and golden-brown on the outside while fully cooked inside. (Chicken is considered done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the thickest part as at least 165°F (74°C).) Remove the chicken to a cutting board; do not clean out skillet. Slice the chicken.
- Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, followed by the zucchini noodles (see Notes if using frozen zucchini noodles) and about 1 cup of the bruschetta topping. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The noodles will cook down, absorbing the flavors. Remove from heat and carefully drain off most of the liquid.
- Return the skillet to the stovetop, and add the sliced cooked chicken and the remaining bruschetta mixture. Cook, stirring, for about a minute, until warmed through. Serve immediately, topped with grated parmesan cheese and more fresh basil, if desired.
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat in the microwave or covered on the stove over low heat until warmed.
