Valentine's Day Dinner - Balsamic Chicken & Tomato Hearts

Shower your sweetheart with love (and flavor!) with this easy Balsamic Chicken & Tomato Hearts recipe. Tender chicken breasts are arranged with diced tomatoes, feta, and basil to create a charming heart-shaped presentation, drizzled with sweet balsamic glaze for a romantic and delicious Valentine's Day dinner.​

This meal is beautiful in its simplicity. A sliced chicken breast is plated next to diced tomatoes in the shape of a heart.

Add a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh basil then drizzle on a balsamic vinegar glaze to transform an ordinary everyday dinner into a special holiday meal.

I love that you can make such a nutritious meal look so visually stunning.

I wanted this meal to be quick and easy to make so I simply seasoned my chicken breasts with some salt and pepper, heated the oil in a pan, then sautéd the chicken for a few minutes on each side until it reached an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.

You can if you prefer, grill your chicken breasts by tossing them with a tablespoon of oil and cooking them on a preheated 400-degree grill.

If you have a little more time and you want a bigger punch of flavor you can even create a marinade using the oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings like garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Ingredients

Supplies

• stainless steel or non-stick skillet
• tongs
• knife

Instructions

Sauté the chicken breasts.

• Season two 5-6 ounce boneless and skinless chicken breasts with salt and pepper then set aside for 10 minutes.
  • The salt will help to tenderize the chicken breasts.
• Pat the chicken breasts dry using paper towels.
• Set a medium stainless steel skillet on your stovetop.
• Pour 1 ½ tablespoons of Mazola Corn Oil into the pan and turn the heat to medium-high.
• Allow the oil to heat until it begins to shimmer.
• Place the chicken breasts into the pan and heat for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked to an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
• Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet, set on a cutting board, tent with tin foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Assemble the chicken and tomato hearts:

• Slice the cooked chicken breasts crosswise in about 1-inch slices.
• Set one breast, in its original teardrop shape, onto each dinner place.
• Arrange diced grape tomatoes next to the chicken breast to form a heart shape.
• Sprinkle on some feta cheese and fresh basil.
• Drizzle on balsamic vinegar glaze.

Make a simple balsamic glaze.

• Pour ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan.
• Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat to medium-low and stir continuously until the balsamic vinegar reduces by half and thickens.
• It will continue to thicken off heat.
• Pour into a glass bowl and allow to cool completely.
• Then use the glaze to drizzle over your chicken and tomatoes.
• You can just drizzle on balsamic vinegar, but the glaze will cling better to the chicken and tomatoes.

I love being able to turn a simple recipe into something that looks so pretty on the plate. When this dinner is served to your sweetheart I just know that he or she will fall in love! With you and the meal.

This dinner is easy enough to make for a weeknight meal but special enough to serve for an anniversary, an engagement, or even a bridal shower.

Related Recipes

You might also like serving these other Valentine's Day recipes. 

Appetizer Course - Mozzarella Cheese Hearts

Salad course - Valentine's Day Salad with Tomato Hearts

Dessert course - Cranberry Orange Semifreddo Hearts

Dessert Course - Conversation Heart Cheesecakes

Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Print

Balsamic Chicken and Tomato Hearts

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

 

Place a sauteed chicken breast next to diced grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and basil to form a heart then drizzle on balsamic glaze to make a beautiful, heart-healthy, Valentine's Day dinner.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: balsamic glaze, chicken, easy dinner, heart-healthy meal, Valentine's day recipe

Servings: 2

Calories: 366 kcal

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 2 thin chicken breasts (about 5-6 ounces)
• kosher salt or table salt, to season chicken
• freshly ground black pepper, to season chicken
• 1 ½ tablespoons Mazola® Corn Oil
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon feta cheese
• 2 basil leaves, torn or cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze

Instructions

1. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels.

2. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes to allow the salt to tenderize the chicken.

4. Pour Mazola Corn Oil into skillet.

5. Set over medium-high heat.

6. Heat until the oil begins to shimmer.

7. Pat the chicken dry again then place into the hot oil in the pan.

8. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees C).

9. Remove from the heat, tent with tin foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

10. Cut each chicken breast crosswise into slices.

11. Set one chicken breast onto each of your dinner plates.

12. Arrange the diced tomatoes next to the chicken breast forming a heart shape.

13. Sprinkle ½ of the feta cheese and ½ of the basil over top of the tomatoes.

14. Drizzle balsamic glaze over top of the chicken and tomatoes and serve.

Recipe Notes

To make balsamic glaze, heat ¼ cup balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan set over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir continuously until reduced by half and thickened. Cool completely. 

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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