Mediterranean Chicken Sauté
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Who says chicken has to be boring and bland?!? If you love capers, olives, garlic, and herbs, then you’ll love this tangy, briny Mediterranean Chicken Sauté! Chicken is baked and then drizzled with a tomato-olive sauce that complements its neutral flavor! Chicken is fabulous – sometimes it just needs a BIG FLAVOR sauce to go with it! {Paleo}
Spiriteds, it’s exciting to bring new foods home to try. New ingredients shake up a mundane dinner routine. But, I remember telling K-Hubs one time we didn’t necessarily need new, fancy ingredients. Rather, we needed to reimagine how we could cook the ingredients we already had, trying new combos not yet considered. It was time to shop our pantry with new perspective.
Truthfully, I had wanted to create a simple Mediterranean recipe for ages. However, I could never find a way to combine my favorite elements in a recipe that didn’t also involve elaborate baking and several pans. But this Mediterranean Chicken Sauté utilized what I already had (if you LOVE olives, then this is your dish), and it’s a BIG FLAVOR™️ recipe.
Well, that, and I had a little help from Wilson Phillips. Yes, the band. I got inspiration from the Food Network for how to throw everything in my pantry together. But I didn’t even see at first who wrote the Mediterranean Chicken recipe I was perusing. Turns out we have Wendy Wilson and Carnie Wilson to thank for the initial spark! Hold on for one more daaaaaaay!!!!!!! This recipe, I do believe, WILL go your way.
And that’s how this Mediterranean Chicken Sauté came about. If your mouth is watering with thoughts of olives, capers, garlic, and lemon, then grab your sauté pan and let’s get cooking!
Mediterranean Chicken Sauté is
- Gluten-free and paleo-friendly
- Herbaceous, briny, and tangy
- A delicious combination of buttery and piquant flavors
- Easy to customize for different palates
Side note: While we are typically cautious about overdoing the flavors when we make Mediterranean Shrimp Sauté, because the shrimp are smaller and have a district flavor themselves, we aren’t as worried when we make this version. Chicken has such a neutral flavor that the added salty, tangy flavors are the perfect complement.
Mediterranean Chicken Sauté ingredients
- Chicken breasts. Slice two large chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then drizzle with your cooking oil of choice and top with pinches of sea salt.
- Coconut oil or olive oil. Enough to cover the bottom of the pan and to drizzle over the chicken breasts.
- Juice of one lemon. A small-to-medium lemon will do. If it’s on the larger side, then juice away and measure about two tablespoons.
- Grape tomatoes. Leave them whole and let them simmer. They’ll gradually soften, and as you press on them and sauté the ingredients, they’ll release their juices and create the sauce that will hold the recipe flavors together. PLEASE NOTE: the tomato juice swill be VERY HOT. Work with then carefully as the sauté heats up. When I press on them, I make sure to wear an apron and stand a ways away so if any renegade juices fly, they won’t hit me.
- Black olives. Sliced into halves or thirds.
- Green olives. I go with large green olives because they hold their shape and size throughout the cooking process, and I slice them into thirds.
- Fresh garlic. Pressed garlic is perfect here because it’s easily distributed throughout the recipe. You can also mince the garlic or slice them into tiny slivers.
- Dried oregano, dried basil, and sea salt. These dried herbs and mineral enhance the flavor of the dish and complement the brininess. If the olives and capers are particularly salty, then you might back off the sea salt amount and only gradually add more as needed once the sauté is done and ready to serve.
- Capers. This briny addition packs a punch, so add in small increments to get the desired flavor.
- Coarse black pepper and dried parsley. For garnishing.
How to make Mediterranean Chicken Sauté
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Place chicken breasts on a large baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bake until internal temperature reaches 165℉.
- To a large skillet, add olive oil, lemon juice, tomatoes, olives, garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook on a MEDIUM-HIGH temperature, stirring regularly until the tomatoes begin to soften and release their juices, about 15-20 minutes.
- Then add the capers. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, during which time the tomato juices will form a sauce.
- Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes to let the tomato sauce thicken even more. Place the chicken breasts on a serving plate and serve the tomato-olive sauce on top of or around the chicken breasts.
- Garnish with coarse black pepper and dried parsley.
- For tastiest results, consume within 1-2 days
Recipe notes and best practices
- Chicken bake times will vary, depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. According to the internetwebs, 400℉ is an ideal temperature. And typically the bake times are about 20-26 minutes. But it’s important to always go by the internal temperature of the chicken, as measured by a meat thermometer, rather than the clock. If you want to learn more, then check out Stephanie A. Ganz’s article, The Best Temperature for Baking Chicken, According to 4 Chefs, for Simply Recipes.
- Sometimes capers are packed in super-salty brine, which can overpower the dish, even if you try to adjust the other flavorings. Although less likely to be an issue when baking with chicken, it’s still a good idea to be aware of the possibility. Taste-test the capers first, and if they seem excessively salty, then not only drain the juice from the 1-2 tablespoons needed for this dish but also lightly rinse the capers, too. This should reduce the salt without losing the flavor.
- SAFETY NOTE: the tomato juice swill be VERY HOT. Work with them carefully as the sauté heats up. When I press on them, I make sure to wear an apron and stand a ways away so if any renegade juices fly, they won’t hit me. You can also wait out the tomatoes and see if they break apart on their own. We don’t slice them ahead of time because they’ll turn to mush during the sautéing process.
More briny flavors!
Below are three of our favorite briny dinners that are anything but bland or boring! And they are easy to make, too.
Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. Jump into the fun when you can, and always remember I’m glad you’re here. ❤️
Mediterranean Chicken Sauté
Who says chicken has to be boring and bland?!? If you love capers, olives, garlic, and herbs, then you’ll love this tangy, briny Mediterranean Chicken Sauté! Chicken is baked and then drizzled with a tomato-olive sauce that complements its neutral flavor! Chicken is fabulous – sometimes it just needs a BIG FLAVOR sauce to go with it! {Paleo}
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Sauté
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, filleted lengthwise to make them thinner
- Olive oil or coconut oil (enough to drizzle over the chicken breast and to cover the bottom of the sauté pan)
- 1–2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
- Juice of one lemon
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounce) can black olives, sliced
- 1 cup large green olives, sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Fresh or dried parsley and coarse black pepper for garnishing
Helpful equipment:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Place chicken breasts on a large baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bake until internal temperature reaches 165℉.
- To a large skillet, add olive oil, lemon juice, tomatoes, olives, garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook on a MEDIUM-HIGH temperature, stirring regularly until the tomatoes begin to soften and release their juices, about 15-20 minutes.
- Then add the capers. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, during which time the tomato juices will form a sauce.
- Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes to let the tomato sauce thicken even more. Place the chicken breasts on a serving plate and serve the tomato-olive sauce on top of or around the chicken breasts.
- Garnish with coarse black pepper and dried parsley.
- For tastiest results, consume within 1-2 days
Notes
- Chicken bake times will vary, depending on how thick the chicken breasts are. According to the internetwebs, 400℉ is an ideal temperature. And typically the bake times are about 20-26 minutes. But it’s important to always go by the internal temperature of the chicken, as measured by a meat thermometer, rather than the clock. If you want to learn more, then check out Stephanie A. Ganz’s article, The Best Temperature for Baking Chicken, According to 4 Chefs, for Simply Recipes.
- Sometimes capers are packed in super-salty brine, which can overpower the dish, even if you try to adjust the other flavorings. Although less likely to be an issue when baking with chicken, it’s still a good idea to be aware of the possibility. Taste-test the capers first, and if they seem excessively salty, then not only drain the juice from the 1-2 tablespoons needed for this dish but also lightly rinse the capers, too. This should reduce the salt without losing the flavor.
- SAFETY NOTE: the tomato juice swill be VERY HOT. Work with them carefully as the sauté heats up. When I press on them, I make sure to wear an apron and stand a ways away so if any renegade juices fly, they won’t hit me. You can also wait out the tomatoes and see if they break apart on their own. We don’t slice them ahead of time because they’ll turn to mush during the sautéing process.
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