Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Baked Feta Chicken
Tomatoes and feta give this chicken a creamy sauce with a pleasant salty tang. The golden chicken catches plenty of it, and the softened tomatoes add little bursts of sweetness. If feta is a cheese you enjoy, there's a generous helping of its flavor in this dinner.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 10 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- American
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
A few quick notes
1. Brown the chicken first
The quick sear is worth doing. It gives the chicken color before it goes into the oven, where the tomatoes, garlic, and feta finish cooking around it.
2. Use a pan that can go in the oven
The chicken starts in a skillet and the same pan goes straight into the oven with the tomatoes and feta. Pick one that's large enough to hold everything without crowding.
3. Check the center of the chicken
The bake time ends when the chicken reaches 165˚F inside. That matters more than the clock, especially if the chicken breasts aren't all the same thickness.
Get to know the ingredients
Chicken breast
Use the listed boneless, skinless chicken breasts and season both sides before searing.
Grape tomatoes
Add the tomatoes whole with the feta and garlic. After baking, they're soft enough to smash into the cheese and make the base of the sauce.
Feta cheese
The feta bakes in the pan, then gets mashed with the tomatoes after the chicken comes out. Stir it before adding the cream so the sauce comes together smoothly.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 7 steps completeMake room for Baked Feta Chicken
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Smash the sauce, then coat the chicken
Take the chicken out before stirring so you can really mash the softened feta and tomatoes together. Mix in the cream, crushed red pepper if you're using it, and seasoning to taste, then return the chicken and spoon the sauce over top.
A little more help as you go
The red pepper is optional
Add the crushed red pepper at the end with the cream if you want a little heat. Leaving it out won't change the rest of the sauce.
Fresh basil goes on last
Basil is a garnish here, so add it after the chicken is sauced and ready to serve. It stays fresh that way instead of wilting into the pan.
A few questions you might have
Do I need to cook the chicken all the way through in the skillet?
No. The skillet step is just to brown both sides for 1-2 minutes. The chicken finishes in the oven and should reach 165˚F in the center.
When do I add the heavy cream?
Add it after baking, once the chicken is out of the pan and you've started smashing the feta and tomatoes into a sauce.
Should the feta be crumbled before baking?
The recipe just says to add the feta to the pan with the tomatoes and garlic. It gets smashed into the sauce after baking, so there's no separate crumbling step.
Can I season the sauce at the end?
Yes. After the cream and optional crushed red pepper go in, add extra salt and pepper to taste before covering the chicken with the sauce.
What should I serve it with?
Serve it hot with pasta, zoodles, spinach, garlic bread or whichever accompaniment you enjoy.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: easyfamilyrecipes.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
