This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission.
Baked chicken marinara with bell peppers is a much-loved Italian-American comfort food. This two-step recipe is simple and accessible ingredients resulting in a mouthwatering dish of juicy chicken breasts in a classic tomato, basil and garlic sauce, oven-baked and topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Serve with piles of spaghetti and garlic bread.
If you’re expecting this chicken marinara bake to be golden breaded chicken breasts, let me stop you there and redirect you to my chicken parm recipe for all your crunchy/saucy chicken needs.
There’s nothing like faking your own Italian-ness by busting out a red-checked tablecloth and a fiasco-covered chianti bottle (yes, the straw basket is actually called a fiasco), kissing your fingertips and exclaiming “Mamma mia!” at every opportunity.
And what you need is a completely inauthentic Italian recipe to encourage that behaviour! Although it sounds traditional, Chicken Marinara, or Chicken Parmesan, is an American-Italian comfort food developed by homesick immigrants in the mid-20th century.
Nevertheless, it’s as delicious as it is theatrical. And no, my kids are not too grown up for that kind of drama, although nowadays it comes with a side of Sopranos.
Baked chicken with marinara sauce
OK, so the dish itself might not be traditional- but the marinara sauce is! It’s undisputed that this sauce has links to Neapolitan sailors, alla marinara means of the sailors, and the simple but highly effective ingredients have not varied for centuries.
The marinara sauce recipe is tomatoes, This is an affiliate link.olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano. That is it! However, with any ingredients list this short, the produce must be top quality.
Choose This is an affiliate link.tomato passata, or crushed tomatoes, that you know to be sun-ripened to sweetness. Olive oil that tastes of olives and is not bitter. Fresh, fragrant basil if you can. Plump and moist garlic cloves- not the ones shrivelling behind the onions, and newly-opened dried basil.
Once you’ve mastered the marinara sauce recipe, you’ll be applying it to all sorts of Italian meals, like spaghetti for a meal in under 10 minutes, or a (definitely more authentic) eggplant parmesan.
Some baked chicken with marinara sauce will call for breaded chicken. I’ve skipped that step in this recipe. Personally, I don’t think it adds much to the dish- there’s no crispy crunch once the chicken has been smothered in sauce, and it adds time to the recipe and unnecessary calories.
The other obvious difference in mine is the inclusion of smoked pancetta and bell peppers. The pancetta brings depth and complexity to the sauce; it’s a natural salt injection too! And the sweetness of the peppers can lessen sharper tomatoes while adding bonus vitamins.
While marinara is a commonly used term in North America, it’s often misinterpreted in the UK as a sauce with a wealth of seafood in it! What’s known romantically in North America as marinara sauce, in the UK is reductively and inelegantly called ‘pasta sauce’. Mamma mia!!
Recipe tips and notes
- Although the sauce itself is simple enough to make, you can use store-bought Marinara sauce (or pasta sauce as it’s known in the UK) and just pour that over the chicken before baking.
- I’ve used chicken breasts; there’s no risk of them drying out in a saucy dish like this one! But boneless or bone-in chicken thighs will be just as tasty if that’s what you prefer.
- As it’s an Italian-inspired recipe, I’m using cubed smoked pancetta. It has a decent amount of fat and is milder than smoked bacon- which is the alternative.
Serving suggestions
Baked chicken with peppers already has a built in vegetable component, so no need to feel guilty if you skip a green side. However, I always serve a fresh and colourful garden salad with mine. Or go for lemon butter green beans if you want something cooked.
You definitely need a sauce-absorbing side with this supremely tomatoey main course! Plain pasta is the obvious choice, but rice, or even herbed mushroom rice, or mashed potato will ensure every last drop is swiped up.
I have to admit though, these super seasoned and salty air-fryer potatoes are near irresistible.
Storage and leftovers
Leftover baked chicken with marinara will keep covered in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the oven or on the stove top with a splash of water to loosen and to prevent drying out.
To freeze, portion out the chicken and marinara sauce individually- freezer bags are ideal for this! The chicken will be at its best for up to three months. Defrost thoroughly before cooking and use a This is an affiliate link.meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat has reached food safe levels (74C/165F) before serving.
More chicken recipes to try
- Chicken Shawarma
- Chicken Waldorf Salad
- Spanish Chicken in Bravas Sauce
- Chicken Satay with Easy Peanut Sauce
Baked Chicken Marinara with Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 100g / 3½ oz smoked pancetta or bacon, diced
- 6 chicken breasts
- 3-4 sliced bell peppers, (red, yellow, orange or green)
- Salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 400g / 14 oz This is an affiliate link.tomato passata, or crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup / 50g grated mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. In a large pan, which could go in the oven, brown the diced pancetta until the fat rendered, then remove to a separate plate. To the same pan ad the olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper chicken breasts, brown until golden but not cooked all the way through. Remove to the same plate as pancetta. Now add the sliced bell peppers and sauté them for about 5 minutes while stirring, remove from the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low and add sliced garlic to the pan, sauté for 20-30 seconds while stirring, do not allow it to brown, now pour in the tomato passata or crushed tomatoes, add the dried basil and oregano, bring to a simmer and salt to taste.
- If you used an oven proof pan earlier bring the cooked pancetta, browned chicken breasts and sautéed bell peppers to the pan, scoop the sauce on top of the chicken breasts. If not, use a separate casserole, grease the bottom and add the chicken, pancetta and the bell peppers, now pour the sauce over them.
- Scatter the grated mozzarella all over the chicken breasts and cook covered with a lid or aluminium foil in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then uncover and cook for 5-7 minutes longer.
Notes
- This is a simple recipe, but you can make it even easier by using a store-bought Marinara sauce (or pasta sauce in the UK) and pouring it over the chicken before baking.
- I’ve used chicken breasts because they won’t dry out in a saucy dish like this one. But boneless or bone-in chicken thighs will be just as delicious.
- Smoked pancetta is used to stick with Italian ingredients. It has a decent amount of fat and is milder tasting than smoked bacon, which is the nearest alternative.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
