These juicy and tender Skillet Balsamic Chicken Breasts are made in one pan and done in 30 minutes. This will be your new go-to stovetop chicken recipe for busy weeknight dinners!

An Easy & Flavorful Chicken Breast Recipe
There isn’t much that cooks faster and is easier to make than stovetop skillet chicken breasts. I know all you busy mamas out there are with me.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken chicken out in the morning with no plan for what I’d actually do with it come dinnertime. Then I stood in front of my pantry scratching my head and just pulled something together.
Sometimes, when I do that, lightning strikes and something really magical is created. That’s what happened when I pulled together this recipe for my juicy skillet balsamic chicken breasts.

Recipe Ingredients
This simple skillet chicken breast recipe is elevated with intense sweet and tangy flavors that will leave you licking your lips.
Here’s the ingredients you’ll need:
- olive oil
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
- butter
- yellow onion
- garlic
- Italian Seasoning
- sugar
- balsamic vinegar
- chicken broth
- heavy cream
- chopped fresh parsley
How to Make Balsamic Chicken Breasts
- Prep: Heat your oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Using a meat mallet, pound down the chicken breasts to a 1-inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper
- Cook: Add the chicken breast to the heated oil and cook them for 5 minutes, undisturbed.
- Flip the chicken breasts oven and add 1 tablespoon of butter and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature should register at 165˚F.
- Rest: Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and set them aside. Keep them covered.
- Sauce: Add the remaining butter to the skillet. Stir in the diced onions and cook them for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until very soft. Stir frequently.
- Add: Stir in the garlic and continue to cook for another 20 seconds.
- Add the Italian seasoning, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 2 more minutes.
- Whisk in the chicken broth. Continue to whisk and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Increase the heat to High and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced a bit.
- Reduce: Lower heat to medium and whisk in the cream. Whisk for about 30 seconds so that the sauce doesn’t start to boil.
- Simmer: Let sauce come to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts back to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute, or just until the chicken is heated through.
- Serve: Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it stands.
- Garnish with basil ribbons and serve.

Tips for the Best Stovetop Chicken
Follow these simple tips to make sure your skillet balsamic chicken breasts are out of this world:
- When you first add your chicken to the skillet, suppress the urge to touch it. Let it stay in the pan for 5 minutes completely undisturbed.
- Instead of making sauce at the same time as you cook the chicken, I like to use the same pan, that way, you don’t lose out on any of the flavor. Make sure you use your whisk to scrape up the little brown bits. That is what really adds to the sauce.
- Make sure to whisk continually after adding your cream. You don’t want the sauce to boil at this point.
- You can garnish with fresh chopped basil, but you could also use fresh chopped parsley if you’re out of basil. Basil has a powerful aroma and it goes nicely with balsamic.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve my balsamic chicken breasts with mashed potatoes, rice, or over noodles. The sauce is so creamy and delish that you really want sides that will serve as a vessel for that yumminess. Of course you can opt for a lighter alternative and go with zoodles or riced cauliflower or mash. I also love these zucchini fries with chicken!
Even lighter still, throw together a mix of steamed veggies to serve on the side of your chicken breasts.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Let your chicken breasts come to room temperature. Then, place them in an airtight container and spoon the sauce over them.
- This will help to keep them from drying out. Then, you can store them in the fridge for 3-5 days or in your freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, simply return the chicken breasts and the sauce to a skillet over low heat until the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- If the sauce has gotten too thick, you can add a little chicken broth until it reaches your desired consistency.
Skillet Balsamic Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1-inch thickness
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Pound chicken breasts down to 1-inch thickness; season chicken with salt and pepper; add to the heated oil and cook for 5 minutes, undisturbed.
- Flip chicken breasts over; add 1 tablespoon butter and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, or until cooked through. Internal temperature should register at 165˚F.
- Remove chicken breasts from skillet and set aside; keep them covered.
- Add remaining butter to the skillet.
- Stir in diced onions and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until very soft. Stir frequently. If they start to burn, lower the heat.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir in Italian seasoning, sugar, and balsamic vinegar; cook for 2 minutes.
- Whisk in the chicken broth; continue to whisk and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Increase the heat to High and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced a bit.
- Lower heat to medium and whisk in the cream; whisk continually for about 30 seconds so that the sauce doesn’t start to boil.
- Let sauce come to a simmer; add the chicken breasts back to the skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or just until chicken is heated through.
- Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it stands.
- Garnish with basil and serve.
30 Comments
Jen
June 1, 2020 at 9:41 pmThis recipe is a keeper! Every other time that I’ve attempted to make chicken in a skillet it’s been dry and not very flavorful. This was anything but! Thank you so much!
Katerina Petrovska
June 2, 2020 at 5:00 pmI’m very glad you enjoyed it!! Thank YOU! 🙂
Beth
June 1, 2020 at 9:46 pmI love this! Definitely a new dinner item for us! I can’t wait to make this!
Katerina Petrovska
June 2, 2020 at 4:59 pmThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Suzy
June 2, 2020 at 7:56 pmThe flavor the balsamic gives the chicken is incredible! Loved it!
Katerina Petrovska
June 3, 2020 at 8:52 pmI’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Sara Welch
June 2, 2020 at 8:25 pmLoved the balance of flavors in one dish! Looking forward to leftovers again this evening!
Katerina Petrovska
June 3, 2020 at 8:51 pmThank you so much, Sara! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Jacque Hastert
June 4, 2020 at 7:28 pmLove the simplicity of this dinner! Packed with flavor and made in minutes. Can’t beat an easy dinner like this.
Katerina Petrovska
June 4, 2020 at 8:49 pmThank you so much, Jacque! 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!
Kevin
June 8, 2020 at 3:52 pmThis chicken dish has all the right flavors! Love it!
Katerina Petrovska
June 9, 2020 at 6:33 pmThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Stephanie
July 8, 2020 at 1:58 amSo excited to use this recipe! Are the calories and nutritional information based on one chicken breast or on 4 servings? Thank you!
Katerina
July 8, 2020 at 2:59 pmHi!
Yep, the nutritional info is already divided into 4 servings; so 1 serving is 350 calories, 6 carbs, 25 g protein, and so on.
Suzanne
July 20, 2020 at 7:16 pmThis look so good! I love that it is so simple and could be served with a variety of side dishes!
Katerina Petrovska
July 21, 2020 at 6:58 pmI am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Vanessa
July 20, 2020 at 7:17 pmThanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Debbie
July 20, 2020 at 9:52 pmDo you think I could make this without the heavy cream? The sauce could be more like an au jus? (Don’t want to make a store trip for one item)
Katerina
July 21, 2020 at 1:14 amHi! Yep, you can make it without the heavy cream.. it won’t be creamy, but it will still taste great. 😊
Daniela
August 28, 2020 at 10:38 amHy, i’m Daniela…greetings from Romania and biiiig fan of you… 🙂
i’ve submitted for Diethood from the mom i discovered your site 4, 5 yars…
every post of you i’ve pinned and shared because you have an amazing ALL, recipes , photos , site
so now i hava question : where do i submitt for this site of you?
thank you,
truly big fan of you , Daniela
and keep going to be bigger than now!
Jill
September 28, 2020 at 9:49 pmOMG this is absolutely delicious. I used light cream because that’s what I had, it’s amazing!
Katerina Petrovska
September 29, 2020 at 4:23 pmThat’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Delia
November 25, 2020 at 1:12 amThis recipe was so good!! Our only complaint was we wanted more delicious sauce! Definitely going to double the sauce recipe next time so I can slather it on everything 😂
Katerina Petrovska
December 1, 2020 at 6:07 pmI am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Darl Kiernan
January 9, 2021 at 3:09 amThank you for this recipe!! My husband LOVED it. He said it’s the best skillet chicken I’ve ever made thanks to your cooking tips.
Katerina Petrovska
January 12, 2021 at 4:04 pmThat’s great to hear! I am very glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Connie
January 21, 2021 at 11:15 pmIt’s a keeper. Thank you!! Easy and delicious.
Katerina Petrovska
January 22, 2021 at 3:36 pmThank YOU! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Tasha
January 25, 2021 at 7:50 pmCan I use beefs broth instead if that’s all I have? Will it ruin the flavor of the chicken dish?
Katerina
January 25, 2021 at 9:09 pmHi!
It will definitely add a bit of a different flavor, but I don’t think it will ruin the dish.