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Get a delicious and easy dinner on the table fast! This Dump-and-Bake Maple Balsamic Chicken is an easy dinner recipe with just 10 minutes of prep! Trust me — your family will love this easy meal on your next busy weeknight!
This post is sponsored by Alexia Foods.
Not only is this balsamic chicken one of my favorite dinners OF ALL TIME, but it’s also one of the quickest. I can’t wait for you to give it a try!
How to make Maple Balsamic Chicken:
These baked chicken breasts come to the rescue on your busiest nights. You can whip up the sweet-and-savory sauce in about 5 minutes, with ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen!
What You Need To Make Maple Balsamic Chicken:
- Chicken breasts
- Balsamic vinegar
- Maple syrup
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh rosemary
First, whisk together the sauce until smooth.
Pour it over the chicken breasts, add a few sprigs of fresh herbs, and your job is done! That’s the beauty of a dump-and-bake dinner like this — you don’t have to stand at the stove stirring, flipping, or frying.
Bake the chicken in a 425 degree F oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
What to serve with the Balsamic Chicken:
I’ve shown the chicken here with Alexia’s Mashed Cauliflower, but the chicken also goes well with any of the following options:
- Rice, egg noodles, crusty French bread, or Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- 3-Ingredient Homemade Breadsticks
- Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
- Fall Harvest Salad with Apple Butter Vinaigrette
- Southern Fried Apples
- Crispy Seasoned Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Southern Collard Greens
- Easy Broccoli Casserole
- Oven Roasted Asparagus
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Total cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken. The type of baking dish that you use can also impact the cooking time (dark, nonstick metal pans or a cast iron pan will cook the meat faster than a ceramic or glass dish, for instance). As a result, a meat thermometer is the best way to know when your chicken is done. The meat is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, substitute with about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Nutrition information provided is based on all of the sauce in the pan. If you do not consume all of the sauce, nutrition facts will vary.
- I love the flavor of rosemary and thyme with the maple sauce, but you can substitute with other fresh herbs if you prefer. Just don’t skip the herbs — they make the dish!
- Cooking Just for Two? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake the chicken in an 8-inch square (or smaller) dish.
More easy chicken recipes that you might enjoy:
- Dump-and-Bake Cranberry Chicken
- 5-Minute Honey French Baked Chicken Breasts
- “No Work” Baked Chicken
- Southern Baked Chicken Parmesan
Dump-and-Bake Maple Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ - 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C).
- In a bowl, whisk together maple syrup, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Place chicken in a medium baking dish (about 11-inch by 7-inch, or any size that comfortably holds your chicken) that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper, to taste.
- Pour sauce over chicken and toss to make sure that each piece of chicken is well coated.
- Tuck sprigs of fresh herbs into the dish (placed alongside the chicken).
- Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Be sure to spoon plenty of the delicious pan sauce over the chicken before serving!
Notes
- Total cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken. The type of baking dish that you use can also impact the cooking time (dark, nonstick metal pans or a cast iron pan will cook the meat faster than a ceramic or glass dish, for instance). As a result, a meat thermometer is the best way to know when your chicken is done. The meat is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, substitute with about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Nutrition information provided is based on all of the sauce in the pan. If you do not consume all of the sauce, nutrition facts will vary.
- I love the flavor of rosemary and thyme with the maple sauce, but you can substitute with other fresh herbs if you prefer. Just don't skip the herbs -- they make the dish!
- Cooking Just for Two? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake the chicken in an 8-inch square (or smaller) dish.
Yum! This sounds so delicious….and easy! Can’t wait to try it.
Wonderful! I hope that you love it too, Carolyn!
Blair, I never have fresh herbs on hand. How much dried rosemary and thyme would you suggest? 1/4 teaspoon of each maybe? Or what amount would you suggest?
Hi, Joanie! Yes, I would start with about 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of each. You can always add more at the end if you want a stronger herb taste, so I would start with a small amount and then go from there. Enjoy! 🙂
Thank you so so much. My family was getting bored with the same old recipes I make…lol. It was delicious!!!
Yay! So glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I made it last night; super easy and SO yummy. I changed it just a tiny bit because my family doesn’t like mustard nearly as much as I do–I flipped the mustard and the vinegar, using 1/2 cup balsamic and 1/4 cup mustard. This recipe was such a success, I’m trying your beef stroganoff recipe tonight.
Hey, Laura! I’m so glad that you found this recipe! It’s definitely one of my favorites, and I hope that you enjoy the beef stroganoff, too. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! And so, so easy!! Thank you sooooo much!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m checking now for something to make tonight. I have THE pickiest four year old and I made this last night, went very light on the herbs because if he sees something green he won’t eat it! But guess what? He loved it last night for dinner and is eating it again at lunch now!! Thank you so much!!
That’s wonderful! Thanks for letting me know, Kim! I’m so happy to hear that your little one loves it, too. 🙂
Covered or uncovered? You commented About using skinless boneless chicken thighs and mentioned uncovering after 15-20 minutes, but in the main recipe it says that the dish is to be baked uncovered.
Hi, Sherri! Bake uncovered for the entire time. I’ll fix that typo up above! 🙂
Just reminding you to fix the recipe above. When you talk about substituting thighs you say
Instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, substitute with about 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The thighs will cook faster than the breasts, so remove the cover after about 15-20 minutes before continuing to bake for the final 15 minutes.
Your original recipe and you response above says to cook uncovered. The contradiction is confusing..
You’re right! Fixing that typo now! Thanks, Ms. Lynn! 🙂
I made it last night and served it with couscous and green beans. Definitely a keeper in our rotating recipes.
Next time I think I’ll use apple cider vinegar instead of the basalmic, to make it a little less sweet.
Thank you for putting this out there!
Perfect! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Raylene!
This recipe is easy and yummy. So hot in Nm right now; may try to adapt it to a foil dinner on the grill.
In the oven right now. A decent recipe as is. We felt the sauce was lacking in something so added garlic. It was a bit sweet without the complexity of flavor we were hoping for. The garlic was a game changer for us. Also should be noted that we were using a maple horseradish dijon mustard, so already enhanced in the flavor department. Excited for dinner to come out of the oven!
Thanks, Ali! Hope you enjoyed it!
Fantastic recipe! So easy and quick to put together and the ingredients are always on hand. Used boneless skinless thighs as we prefer dark meat; next time I may use skinless bone-in thighs. The sauce is so yummy and I love how “tucking” the herbs in gives a lovely, subtle flavor! My husband said it was “outstanding”!
Yay! I’m glad that you found a winner, Norma. Thanks for the reminder — I need to make this again soon! 🙂