Dear Dinner Therapist: I desperately need new dinner ideas! Specifically, I need an easy, delicious dinner recipe where the main ingredient is chicken. – Annette
Annette: You’ve come to the right place! Chicken — be it lean chicken breasts or meaty chicken thighs — has a regular role in the dinner rotation for so many of us for good reason: it’s incredibly versatile, delicious, and relatively budget-friendly. But it can be easy to fall into a rut of cooking the same chicken recipe week after week.
Whenever I start to get bored of chicken, my strategy is to stick with a simple recipe and put the effort into making a really great sauce instead because it adds so much flavor and really perks up the chicken. This balsamic chicken, carrots, and potatoes recipe checks both boxes but also includes veggies too. Juicy boneless chicken thighs are seared to perfection, partnered with crisp-tender veggies, and finished with the best balsamic glaze. Plus, it all comes together in a single skillet.
Why You’ll Love It
- The glaze is everything. This savory-sweet balsamic glaze thickens as it cooks and expertly coats the chicken and veggies.
- It’s an easy one-pan meal. One of the best things about this recipe is that your whole meal comes together with just six basic ingredients, a single skillet, and no more than 15 minutes of prep.
Key Ingredients in Balsamic Chicken
- Chicken: Chicken thighs are great because they’re more flavorful and less expensive than lean chicken breast, and aren’t as likely to dry out. You’ll need six for this recipe, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds total.
- Firm vegetables: There’s a wide variety of vegetables that work here, with the caveat being that they should be fairly firm. Try baby carrots, peeled and sliced carrots, thinly sliced baby Yukon potatoes, halved peewee potatoes, trimmed and halved Brussels sprouts, bite-size broccoli florets, or a combination. I encourage you to use what you like best or what you have on hand.
- Balsamic vinegar: After using both this fancy balsamic vinegar and a budget-friendly grocery store buy, I recommend saving the good stuff for balsamic vinaigrette. Since the vinegar is cooked and mixed with a few other ingredients, its acidic tang mellows and the natural sweetness concentrates.
How to Make Balsamic Chicken
- Cook the vegetables. A 12-inch (or larger) cast iron or nonstick skillet is the ideal size to accommodate all the chicken pieces and vegetables. Spread the vegetables in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp-tender. Timing will vary slightly depending on the vegetables used. Transfer the vegetables to a plate.
- Sear the chicken. Pat the chicken dry, and season all over with salt and pepper. Sear until golden brown and the chicken releases easily from the pan.
- Flip the chicken and add the glaze. After flipping the chicken, pour in the glaze. Cook, spooning the glaze over the meat, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in the vegetables. Return the vegetables to the skillet and stir to coat with the glaze and mix with the chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
Dinner Therapist is my column dedicated to solving your dilemmas around the most important — but let’s be honest, sometimes most dreaded — meal of the day. Prepping dinner night after night can be so hard. Here, I deliver practical and hopefully fun advice to make cooking less complicated and more enjoyable. Follow along for all the recipes. Got your own dinner struggles? We want to hear from you! Fill out this super-quick form for your chance to be featured in an upcoming column.
Balsamic Glazed Chicken Recipe
Prep time 10 minutes to 15 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
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1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
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2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
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2 teaspoons honey
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
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3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
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1 pound (~450g) firm vegetables (such as baby carrots, thinly sliced baby Yukon potatoes, halved peewee potatoes, halved Brussels sprouts, or broccoli florets)
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1.5 to 2 pounds (700–900g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
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Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
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Stir 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 2 teaspoons honey, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large 12-inch cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add 1 pound firm vegetables and 1/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Spread in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and crisp-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.
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Meanwhile, pat 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season all over with remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
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Transfer the vegetables to a plate. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet until shimmering. Add the chicken and sear until golden brown on the bottom and the chicken releases easily from the pan, 6 to 8 minutes.
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Flip the chicken and pour the balsamic glaze over the chicken. Cook, spooning the sauce over the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and and registers at least 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer and the sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved vegetables. Garnish with chopped freshly parsley leaves if desired.