This super easy, Grilled Chicken Margherita is incredibly tasty and is ready in less than 30 minutes! Start with savory herb chicken and top it with with melty mozzarella cheese, pesto, and tomato basil garnish for a rave-worthy, quick and simple weeknight dinner.
In the mood to grill? Try Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce, the BEST 15-minute Steak Marinade, and Caribbean Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Salsa.
I first made this chicken during our second kitchen remodel because, well, the oven was in the basement, so outside to the grill we went โ every single day! This grilled chicken margherita is perfectly juicy and seasoned, topped with gooey, melty mozzarella cheese, 5-minute pesto (the BEST EVER!) and tomato basil relish.
This is one of the dishes that saved us then, and saves us time and time again when life gets busy or the kitchen is torn apart or I just need an easy, 30-minute, summery meal!
Why this Recipe Works
- Easy, fresh ingredients: made with chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and pesto (homemade or store bought), you can find all these ingredients year-round (though, admittedly, they are best in the summer).
- Great leftovers: grill once, eat again and again! Just leave the toppings off any extra chicken and add later, when you’re ready to eat!
- Easy substitutions: Use marinara if you don’t like pesto, or use store-bought pesto if you don’t want to make your own.
- Stays moist: The mozzarella cheese helps seal in the Italian seasonings and keeps the chicken from drying out, too!
Here’s How you Make it
- First, combine chicken, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Toss with tongs or your hands to combine. (photo 1)
- Grill the chicken over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until it’s cooked all the way through. (photos 2-3)
- Top with a slice of mozzarella cheese on each piece of chicken, and cook for another minute or so until it’s melted over the top of the chicken breast.ย (photo 4)
- In a clean bowl, toss together the tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil.ย (not pictured)
- Top each chicken breast with about 3 tablespoons of pesto, a scoop of tomatoes, and some freshly cracked black pepper and serve. (photos 5-6)
What is Margherita Chicken?
This chicken dish is a popular one that features cheese, cherry tomatoes, and basil pesto. Think of a margherita pizza: you have pesto sauce (or marinara), topped with mozzarella hunks, and basil. So it’s like pizza on top of the chicken, except minus the crust, of course.
Is it Margherita or Margarita?
It’s very easy to confuse these two words. Kind of like marsala (as in, Instant Pot Chicken Marsala,) and masala (such as my Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala.) (What is it with these similar-sounding “m” words, anyway?)
But “margherita” refers to the aforementioned pizza typically, while “margarita” refers to an alcoholic cocktail made with tequila and lime juice.
What Do You Eat Pesto With?
I personally love pesto on everything! In addition to a topping for chicken, you can also use it in:
- As a sauce for pasta.
- As a dip for veggies.
- Swirled into a savory bread.
- As a topping for sandwiches instead of the usual mustard, mayo, etc.
- Used as a salad dressing.
- As a substitute sauce for marinara in lasagna.
- Scrambled into your eggs.
- As a dip for roasted potatoes.
- Instead of pizza sauce on a pizza.
- As a garnish to finish off a hot, steaming bowl of Italian soup.
Expert Tips
- You can totally use store-bought pesto sauce in this recipe, but if you have five extra minutes, that’s all it takes to make my super easy, homemade basil pesto sauce. If you don’t have or don’t like pine nuts, you can use walnuts or cashews as well!
- I almost always use fresh-squeezed lemon juice in my tomato topping, because I think it has the best flavor. But, you might not have a fresh lemon laying around. If that’s the case, feel free to use bottled lemon juice or even lime.
- After placing the cheese on top of the chicken, I always close the grill lid to help the cheese melt faster and keep the chicken from drying out.
- I also like to use cherry tomatoes for the garnish because they are small and easy to cut. Plus, they taste so good and are in season right now. But you can use any kind of tomato you like, just be sure to dice it small enough to be able to top the chicken with.
- To make your own Italian seasoning for this chicken, simply combine 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and sprinkle all over the chicken.
- Swap out Italian seasoning for Herbs de Provence (one of my most favorite cooking tricks!).
More Quick and Easy Chicken Recipes
- Healthy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas,
- Easy Healthy Baked Lemon Chicken
- Mango Salsa Chicken
- Fiesta Lime Chicken and Rice Foil Packs
- Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken
Did you make this recipe? I’d be thrilled if you would give it a rating!
Grilled Chicken Margherita
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - pounded to less than 1 inch thickness
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning - (OR ยฝ teaspoon dried oregano + ยผ teaspoon dried basil + ยผ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- ยฝ cup basil pesto - (try my Easy 5 Minute Pesto Recipe – it’s the best!!) https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/easy-5-minute-pesto-15-ways-to-use-it/
- ยฝ cup cherry tomatoes - halved
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ยฝ cup packed basil leaves - very thinly sliced
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine chicken, salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic power, and Italian seasoning. Toss to combine.
- Grill chicken over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked through. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of mozzarella cheese and cook another minute or so until melted.
- Toss tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil together. Top each chicken breast with about 3 tablespoons pesto, a scoop of tomatoes, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can absolutely use store-bought pesto sauce in this recipe, but if you have five extra minutes (you do!) I highly recommend my super easy homemade basil pesto. You can easily sub out the pine nuts for another nut like cashews or walnuts too!
- I almost always use fresh-squeezed lemon juice in my tomato topping, because I think it has the best flavor. But, you might not have a fresh lemon laying around. If that’s the case, feel free to use bottled lemon juice or even lime.
- After placing the cheese on top of the chicken, I always close the grill lid to help the cheese melt faster and keep the chicken from drying out.
- To make your own Italian seasoning for this chicken, simply combine 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and sprinkle all over the chicken OR swap out Italian seasoning for Herbs de Provence (one of my favorite cooking tricks for boosting flavor!).
This recipe turned-out phenomenally and Iโve tried several different Margherita, Caprese & Pesto styled chicken dishes. And the linked Pesto recipe is equally good. I made 8 breasts and figured my wife & picky teenager would be sick of the dish. Nope, from the first bite, they asked I make it again. Bravo!
This was the second time I made this recipe, and it turned out just amazing. We don’t have a grill so I just browned the chicken for a few mins on each side and then tossed it in the oven. Made roasted veggies at the same time and served it with a salad. Perfection!
This is absolutely wonderful! It is easy and everyone in my family, even the picky individuals, loved it! It is printed and in my recipe book. Thank you for posting it!
This recipe was very delicious! We served with fresh green beans. The only thing I would change isโฆ double the recipe!! Even our picky son ate it!
What are good side dishes to serve with this?
I have quite a few recipes that would go well with this recipe. Roasted honey garlic glazed carrots, honey brown sugar roasted carrots, parmesan roasted cauliflower, or my easy garlic mashed potatoes to name a few. You can go into my sides section on the website and find any side that you think you will like.