Baked Chicken Breasts with Cheese

This baked chicken breast with cheese is a tasty comfort food dish combining tender chicken, vegetables and melted mozzarella – perfect for an easy family dinner.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 500 g fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 × 400 g can chopped tomatoes
• 400 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 4 chicken breast fillets, approximately 125 g each
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Ground paprika, to taste
• 150 ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp skim milk powder
• 250 g mozzarella, sliced
• Fresh basil leaves
• Olive oil, for cooking
• Steamed greens, to serve

Method

1. Prepare: Preheat oven to 225°C. Season the chicken breasts with pepper and lightly grease an ovenproof baking dish with olive oil.
2. Brown the chicken: Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for approximately 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan, season with paprika and a little salt, and set aside.
3. Cook the vegetables: Add the onion and mushrooms to the same frying pan and cook for 2–3 minutes. Combine the chicken stock and skim milk powder, then add to the pan. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir through the tomatoes and fresh basil, and season to taste.
4. Assemble and bake: Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the prepared baking dish and arrange the chicken breasts on top. Top each chicken breast with sliced mozzarella and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted and golden.
5. Serve: Serve with steamed greens.

Recipe adapted from the International Osteoporosis Foundation.