Holly Nilsson has built a following by making everyday cooking easier, with budget-friendly recipes that rely on familiar ingredients and skip unnecessary steps. The Vancouver-based creator of Spend With Pennies brings that same approach to her cookbook, Everyday Comfort, including this easy Chicken Pomodoro Skillet.

“This is one of those dishes where a handful of the simplest of ingredients come together and create a beautiful, fresh-tasting meal that’s worthy of a great Italian restaurant,” writes Nilsson in her cookbook. “In just one skillet, tender chicken breasts are gently simmered in an easy homemade tomato sauce. This meal requires only a few minutes of prep, and it’s on the table in about a half hour.”

Made with chicken breasts, canned San Marzano tomatoes, garlic and herbs, it’s an easy weeknight dinner that can be served with pasta or polenta, or alongside roasted zucchini.

Chicken Pomodoro Skillet

Holly Nilsson

This easy Chicken Pomodoro Skillet recipe simmers tender chicken breasts in a simple San Marzano tomato sauce with garlic and basil.

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Ingredients

4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
1¼ tsp salt divided
¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper divided
1-3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup water
1 can (796 mL) San Marzano tomatoes
½ tsp granulated sugar
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp dried oregano
2 Roma tomatoes diced
8-10 basil leaves thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Place one chicken breast on cutting board. Holding knife blade parallel to board and starting at thickest long side, slice horizontally to make two thin cutlets. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Sandwich chicken between plastic wrap; using meat mallet or heavy-bottomed saucepan, pound to ½ in (1 cm) thickness. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of the salt and ½ tsp of the pepper.
In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; working in batches, cook chicken, flipping once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Chicken does not need to be cooked through.) Remove to a plate. Reduce heat to medium.
Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in water, scraping up any browned bits.
Add canned tomatoes with juices, breaking up tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Stir in sugar, basil and oregano. Return chicken to pan, flipping to coat with sauce.
Cover and cook over medium heat until chicken is cooked through, 11 to 14 minutes. Remove chicken from sauce and let rest for 5 minutes.
While chicken is resting, stir in Roma tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ tsp each salt and pepper or to taste. Serve the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with fresh basil. (See note #2.)

Keyword Chicken, chicken breast recipe, chicken pomodoro, chicken pomodoro skillet, one-pan dinner, skillet chicken, Skillet dinner

ELLE Gourmet Tips

Choose San Marzano tomatoes if you can.: hey’re less acidic and naturally sweeter than many other canned tomatoes. If you can’t find them, canned whole tomatoes work too; add a small pinch of sugar if the sauce tastes too tart.
Pound the chicken evenly.: Slice the chicken breasts into thin cutlets, then pound them to about ½-inch (1 cm) thick so they cook quickly and evenly.
Don’t cook the chicken through when browning.: Give the cutlets just 2 to 3 minutes per side to develop colour; they’ll finish cooking gently in the tomato sauce.
Make it a complete dinner.: Serve the Chicken Pomodoro over pasta or polenta, or pair it with roasted zucchini and crusty bread for soaking up the tomato sauce.