Cheesy Baked Chicken Breast Peppers (Print)
Tender chicken baked with colorful peppers and golden melted cheese for a satisfying family dinner.
# What You Need:
→ Meats
01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
→ Vegetables
02 - 2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into strips
03 - 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and sliced into strips
04 - 1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced into strips
05 - 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
06 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
→ Cheeses
07 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
08 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
→ Seasonings & Oils
09 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
11 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
12 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
13 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, coating the bottom and sides evenly.
02 - Arrange the sliced red, yellow, and green bell peppers along with the red onion in an even layer across the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with half of the salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika. Toss the vegetables gently to coat evenly.
03 - Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides of each breast with the remaining salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika, pressing the spices gently into the meat.
04 - Place the seasoned chicken breasts on top of the vegetable bed in the baking dish. Scatter the minced garlic evenly over the chicken and surrounding vegetables.
05 - Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, allowing the chicken to cook gently in the steam from the vegetables.
06 - Remove the foil and sprinkle the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses evenly over each chicken breast. Return the dish to the oven uncovered and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and the cheese is melted and golden brown.
07 - Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute for more tender, flavorful meat. Serve the chicken and vegetables together, spooning any pan juices over the top.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Everything cooks in one pan, which means you get all the credit with almost none of the cleanup.
- The peppers roast underneath the chicken and soak up every bit of seasoned juice, becoming arguably better than the chicken itself.
- It is genuinely difficult to mess up, even if your oven runs a little hot or your chicken breasts are different sizes.
02 -
- Do not skip the foil for the first 20 minutes or the chicken will dry out before the peppers have a chance to soften into their best selves.
- An instant read thermometer pulled from the thickest breast reading 165 degrees Fahrenheit is the only reliable way to know the chicken is done without cutting into it.
03 -
- If your chicken breasts are very thick on one end, place them between plastic wrap and pound them gently to an even thickness so everything finishes cooking at the same time.
- Broiling for the last two minutes gives the cheese an irresistible blistered top, but watch it like a hawk because the line between golden and charred is vanishingly thin.