Paleo Recipes, Recipes

One-Pan Balsamic Chicken and Asparagus

Posted on by Editorial Team
04
Oct

This one-pan meal is one of our most frequented weeknight dinners. What’s not to love? It’s healthy, easy, and the sauce is a knockout. 

I can’t find nice asparagus. Can I use green beans instead?

Absolutely. If you’d like to switch up your veggies, green beans, bell peppers, snap peas, and mushrooms would all be great additions or substitutions. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time as needed so you don’t over- or under-cook the veg.

I can’t find chicken tenders. Can I use chicken breasts instead?

Certainly. Chicken breasts are much thicker and larger than chicken tenders, so you’ll want to cut them into strips before you cook them: Just slice each chicken breast lengthwise into three or four strips, about 1” wide and 5-6 “ long. From there, you can just cook them as directed in the recipe.

My sauce is thickened but my chicken is still pink. What do I do?


We definitely don’t want raw chicken. If your sauce has cooked down into a perfect glaze, but your chicken is still undercooked, add about a tablespoon of water to the pan and keep cooking. The water should loosen up the glaze so you can finish cooking the chicken without running the risk of over reducing the glaze.

What can I serve this with?


Since this is a one-pan dinner, you can serve it on its own. But if you wanted to add a carb (and we’re often in favor of carbs), consider serving it over a bed of brown rice or with a loaf of crusty bread . . . you’ll want something to soak up that sauce!

YIELDS: 4

PREP TIME: 0 hours 20 MINS

TOTAL TIME: 0 hours 20 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

2 lb. chicken breast tenders

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. asparagus, woody ends trimmed

1 pt. cherry tomatoes, halved

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Make vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic, 2 tablespoons oil, honey, mustard, garlic, and red pepper flakes until combined. Set aside.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat remaining oil. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and sear until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
  3. To pan, add asparagus and tomatoes, season with more salt and pepper, and cook until asparagus is bright green and tomatoes are slightly wilted, 5 minutes or so.
  4. Move veggies to one side, add chicken back in and pour in vinaigrette. Toss veggies and chicken slightly until chicken is cooked through and vinaigrette is thickened, 5 minutes more.
Editorial Team