Balsamic Glazed Chicken is a delicious and EASY chicken recipe that the whole family will love.
My family actually digs spinach, so I chose to take advantage of that and serve this chicken over some simply sauteéd spinach. The chicken is the star of the show here though. It’s cooked in a skillet, then the sauce is cooked in the same skillet (one pan- yay!), and then they meet briefly in the skillet together, and then the drizzle action happens once plated. The spinach is completely optional, but I recommend you try it because it’s really good!
Chicken Tip:
Chicken will cook best and most evenly when all of your chicken breasts are about the same thickness. This is easy to do. Just place your chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound until they are all an even thickness. Then you won’t have to be frustrated when one chicken breast is still raw when the rest of them are done!
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
If you are not into spinach, that’s totally okay! You can serve this balsamic glazed chicken with anything you want. It would be great with rice, steamed veggies or even a baked potato.
The sauce is wonderful, so if it happens to sneak into your side dishes on the plate… you won’t be too disappointed.
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you will find a link to WW Points on the recipe card at the end of this post.
The chicken itself? It turns out very tender. Since you’re quickly skillet-cooking it, it doesn’t get dried out in the oven. Perfect.
It’s our new favorite chicken recipe to make for dinner. That’s a good thing since my husband often says, “Um, we’re having chicken… again?” And my son pretty much just wants to add barbecue sauce to his chicken. They both like this one without complaints. Enjoy!
Here are a few more chicken recipes you might enjoy:
- Asian Barbecue Chicken
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Marsala
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Beer- Braised Chicken
- Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce
- Carolina Style Barbecue Chicken
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- Four 6-ounce (or larger) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1½ teaspoons dried thyme (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
- spinach, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Mix thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pat both sides of the chicken breasts with the spice mixture. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken, cook for 2 to 3 minutes (or until browned). Turn and cook the other side until browned. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add water, vinegar, and honey to the skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes or until slightly syrupy and reduced by half. Add the butter and stir until melted. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes in the glaze, then turn the chicken over and cook for an additional 3 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through). Serve drizzled with glaze.
Notes
- If you'd like to serve this over spinach (as the photo shows), place one bag of spinach in a large skillet and sprinkle a few sprinkles of water on top. Place the lid on top and cook over medium-heat until spinach is wilted. It doesn't really need any (or little) seasoning since the chicken will be served on top with the sauce drizzled over all.
This is honestly one of my go-to recipes! I love it so much. Everything about it is perfect! I cut my chicken up into bite size pieces because I tend to undercook the chicken breast when it’s whole but other than that, followed the recipe exactly and it’s just amazing.
So juicy and delicious! I added some minced garlic as well
Could I use chicken thighs?
Sure!
I have a store bought balsamic glaze and was trying to find a good recipe to use it with Chicken. Could I follow this recipe starting the glaze portion at heating up the store bought glaze and then adding the butter before the chicken? Thanks!
I think that might work!
Great flavor and easy to prepare! Be sure to let the glaze cook down and turn dark. Easy, quick week night dinner!
Is the two teaspoons of olive oil correct or should it be two tablespoons?
That’s correct. Use a nonstick skillet and two teaspoons should be just fine.
I just saved this recipe so I can try it next week. Thank you for sharing and the helpful comments.
Omg!!! Made this tonight was delish!! It was so easy fast and yummy. I did chop 2 small apples and put them in the mix after I turned the chicken while cooking and added sautéed onions before browning chicken. It’s a keeper!!
I love the idea of adding apples!
Worked out very well and even my picky eater ate every piece!
I would say calm the thyme down a bit but other than that awesome. If you aren’t big on spinach, put it on a bed of mash potatoes, caramelized onions, and baby field greens!
Can’t wait to try. Worried that this isn’t enough time for the chicken to cook thoroughly. Did anyone pound out their chicken to make it thinner?
If your breasts are all the same thickness, it should work just fine (if they’re not super thick). I do tend to pound them out to the same thickness if they’re overly thick. Hope it works out for you- we love this recipe!
Fixed this chicken with brown rice & steamed broccoli. Excellent recipe~recommend trying!
Just made this and it was fantastic! Was a light and easy meal! Very tender and juicy too! Family friendly. The longer it sits after cooking the better the flavor 😀
I just tried this recipe tonight…
One word….DELICIOUS!!
Thanks for Sharing!!
i made the balsamic honey glazed chicken tonight with polenta and spinach. Absolutely delicious. My husband enjoyed the meal tremendously!!!
hubby loved thi – I wasn’t wild about it the firist night, but sliced and warmed leftovers for lunch and had on Kaiser roll. Delicious!
It’s on the menu! All I’m missing is the spinach. Easy enough to remedy. Since hubby is not a huge fan of a lot of thyme, I’m going to sub Herbs de Provence which has the thyme blended with other herbs.
I love cooking with Balsamic vinegar and fresh thyme – great combination!
We are big chicken eaters and make meals like this all the time! There’s just so many ways to cook it and with balsamic is one of my favorites.
This looks so flavorful and I love that it’s on a bed of spinach. Perfect light, summer dinner!
Loving this glazed chicken! Perfect dinner idea for summer! Pinned!
It’s always great to have another delicious and easy chicken recipe!
This chicken looks so incredibly moist and delicious! Has tons of flavor!!
This will easily become a summer standard! SO good!
I love chicken! And love any new way I can find it. I’m the same way – always making chicken and my husband is like …again?! Definitely need to try this one and love that it can be so tender and not dried out by skillet cooking. Pinned 🙂
This is EXACTLY the kind of dinner that I like to eat on a regular basis. Quick, easy and healthy…..and, one pan doesn’t hurt either! 😉 LOVE the combo of honey and balsamic. Pinned!