Pepperoni Chicken

Name: Pepperoni Chicken
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 16 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts; Salt And Pepper, to taste; 2 tbsp. Olive Oil; 2 tbsp. Butter; 3 c. Good Marinara Sauce; 1 package (3.5 Ounces) Pepperoni Slices; 4 slices Mozzarella Cheese; Fresh Parsley, Minced; Salad Or Cooked Pasta, For Serving

By Ree DrummondPublished: Nov 9, 2015

4.5

2 Ratings

Yields:

4 serving(s)

Prep Time:

1 min

Cook Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

16 mins

Jump to recipe

A super fast, super tasty, kid-friendly supper!

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Directions

Use a sharp knife to slice both chicken breasts in half through the middle, so that you wind up with four thinner chicken cutlets. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add the butter and olive oil. Cook the chicken until it has nice color on the outside and is cooked through, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate. Pour the marinara sauce into the pan and stir to heat through.

Nestle the chicken cutlets in the sauce, the arrange pepperoni slices over the top of each one. Lay a mozzarella slice on top, then cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serve immediately with a side salad, or over pasta, with marinara spooned over the top.

(Note: I only used 2 chicken cutlets for this photo, but the recipe calls for 4.)

Here’s what this recipe isn’t: fussy, complicated, complex, difficult, elaborate, laborious, burdensome, or tricky.

Here’s what this recipe is: fast, simple, tasty, easy, versatile, satisfying, and speedy.

Let’s make it and I’ll show ya!

Start with a couple of chicken breasts (the recipe calls for 2, but I just cooked 1 for these photos.)

Use a knife to carefully slice the chicken breasts in half across the middle (it’s easier if you hold your other palm firmly against the top of the breast while you slice with the other hand)…

So that you wind up with 2 thinner chicken cutlets. Whenever I’m cooking a recipe that leaves chicken breasts “whole,” I so often slice them in half like this. They cook more evenly that way and don’t dry out as much!

Season them with salt and pepper and lay them in a skillet with some olive oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat.

When the first side is nice and deep golden…

Flip them over and finish cooking them on the other side until they’re cooked through and beautiful.

Remove them to a plate and set them aside for a minute.

Into the same skillet (don’t clean it, obviously!) pour in some marinara sauce. You can spend some extra time to make your own sauce by adding crushed tomatoes, sugar, seasonings, etc, but a jar works well, too!

Stir the sauce and let it heat up and start to bubble, then nestle the chicken breasts in the sauce.

Now here’s where things start to get crazy, otherwise known as shocking, otherwise known as mind-blowing, otherwise known as cray, otherwise known as totes cray, depending on your age group: Open up a package of pepperoni slices and lay them all over the top of each chicken breast!

Um, the mild flavor of chicken combined with the salty wonder of pepperoni? It’s a match made in Heaven.

Next, lay a slice of mozzarella cheese over the top of each piece of chicken, then cover the skillet (if you don’t have a lid that fits, just lay a baking sheet over the pan!)…