Oven Roasted Tomato Pasta with Chicken Caprese
One of the first meals my husband made for me was pasta with tomato sauce, roasted veggies, and chicken. I was fresh of my yearlong stint as a vegan so he was breaking me in slowly with the roasted veggies. I mostly ignored the chicken, but it’s a meal we’ve continued to make throughout our marriage. Fifteen years later, we still eat some version of that dish once a week. In the summertime, we up the ante with slow roasted cherry tomatoes from the garden and garlic to concentrate the sweetness. I load up on the chicken nowadays, especially when it’s smothered in the delicious sauce and melty cheese. Some things change, while some stay wonderfully the same!
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
Roasted Tomato Sauce:
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 pints cherry tomatoes (about 4 cups), halved
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Chicken Caprese Assembly:
1 tablespoon roasted tomato sauce per chicken breast
8 ounces cheese, grated
For serving:
8 servings cooked pasta
Directions:
If you can marinate the chicken for a few hours or even up to 24 hours I highly recommend it! It always yields a more tender and flavorful chicken breast. Just pop the chicken breasts in a large bowl with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder, Give it good mix to make sure it’s evenly coated. Cover it and pop it in the fridge until an hour before cooking. If you can’t marinate it, that’s totally fine! Just cook it right after seasoning. Just grill the chicken on medium heat with the lid closed, for about 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side. You’ll want some nice grill marks and the juices to run clear.
For the tomato sauce, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a baking dish, toss the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper together. Pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes. The tomatoes will break down and your house will smell like the best Italian restaurant in the world. Start cooking your pasta. Then get your chicken and scoop about a tablespoon of the sauce over top and sprinkle a bit of the cheese over top. Pop it in the 375 oven while the pasta cooks to melt the cheese. Toss the pasta with the rest of the sauce and serve with the chicken. Enjoy!
