This Easy Chicken Puttanesca recipe is loaded with flavor. Soak up all of the delicious puttanesca sauce with bread or pasta for the perfect meal.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: The pan-searing technique for juicy chicken with golden edges
Worth It: Roasting delivers deeper, sweeter flavor than quick stovetop versions
Bonus: Simple swaps to match what’s in your pantry
Make this flavorful chicken dish all in one skillet
I love a one pan meal for easy weeknight dinners. This chicken puttanesca recipe may only require one dish, but it still packs tons of flavor.
You make it by searing the chicken in a dried spice blend. Then, simmer tomatoes, olives, capers, and lemon juice together to make the delicious puttanesca sauce.
There is plenty of extra sauce to soak up with pasta and crusty bread or to serve over roasted potatoes. The flavor is simply addicting! I promise this simple recipe will become a family favorite.
Kitchen tools
- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Measuring spoons, measuring cups and liquid measuring cup
- Tongs and a wooden spoon
- Oven safe skillet
Serving Suggestions
This chicken puttanesca is delicious on its own, but I prefer to serve it over pasta. You can also serve it over rice or with roasted potatoes.
For a low carb meal you can serve it with zucchini noodles or roasted cauliflower. I also like to serve it with an Italian chopped salad.
What is a puttanesca sauce?
A classic puttanesca sauce originated in Italy in the mid 20th century. It is traditionally made with tomatoes, olive oil, olives, anchovies, chili peppers, capers and garlic. It is usually served over spagthetti.
This easy chicken puttanesca is a twist on the classic recipe. It incorporates many of the traditional flavors, but omits the anchovies and chili peppers.
Not a fan of olives? Try this bruchetta chicken bake instead! It is made with simple ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, parmesan and chicken and it is bursting with flavor.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic cloves
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes
- Castellano olives
- Capers
- Lemon
Ingredient substitutions
You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Just make sure you cook the chicken thighs to an internal temperature of 165F to ensure they are cooked through.
Instead of using the dried seasoning blend listed above you could use a premade Italian seasoning blend to season the chicken.
I love the flavor of castellano olives, but you could really use any type of olives like black olives or kalamata olives. It is easiest to buy the olives with the pits removed already so you can easily crush them with the back of your knife.
Instead of canned diced tomatoes you could use fresh diced tomatoes to make the tomato sauce. To add some spice to this pasta puttanesca mix some red pepper flakes in with the sauce.
How to make chicken puttanesca
Step 1: Season and sear chicken
To begin, Preheat oven to 400F. Mix salt, parsley, oregano and basil together and season chicken breasts with the mixture on both sides.
Then, heat 1 tbsp of oil in an oven safe skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, place chicken breasts in the skillet and cook on 3 minutes each side to brown it.
Step 2: Prepare puttanesca sauce
Next, remove chicken from skillet and reduce heat to low. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and pour in the minced garlic.
Let the garlic cook for just a minute and then add the tomato paste to the skillet.
Then, cook tomato paste and garlic together for another minute then add the diced tomatoes, olives, capers, lemon juice and water to the pan. Mix to combine and increase the heat to medium-high
Allow the ingredients to simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 3: bake chicken in sauce
Turn off the heat and nestle the chicken back into the pan and top each piece with a few spoonfuls of sauce.
Then, bake in the preheated oven at 400F for 15-20 minutes checking for the internal temperature of the chicken to reach 165F.
Top with black pepper and parmesan cheese. Serve on its own, over rice or over pasta.
Storage and reheating
Allow the chicken and puttanesca sauce to cool completely. Then, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
This dish is best enjoyed immediately. If you need to reheat it, I recommend slicing down the chicken and reheating in the sauce on the stove top until it is all warmed through.
Check out these other chicken Dinner recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Easy Chicken Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil – separated
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup pitted and crushed castellano olives
- 2 tbsp capers
- Juice from ½ a lemon
- ½ cup water
- Fresh cracked black pepper and parm for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Mix salt, parsley, oregano and basil together and season chicken breasts with the mixture on both sides.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in an oven safe skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, place chicken breasts in the skillet and cook on 3 minutes each side to brown it.
- Remove chicken from skillet and reduce heat to low. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and pour in the minced garlic. Let the garlic cook for just a minute and then add the tomato paste to the skillet.
- Cook tomato paste and garlic together for another minute then add the diced tomatoes, olives, capers, lemon juice and water to the pan. Mix to combine and increase the heat to medium-high
- Allow the ingredients to simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and nestle the chicken back into the pan and top each piece with a few spoonfuls of sauce.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 400F for 15-20 minutes checking for the internal temperature of the chicken to reach 165F.
- Top with black pepper and parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
- You can substitute chicken thighs for chicken breasts
- Serve on its own, over rice or over pasta.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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