Forgot to plan dinner tonight? If so, this easy Sweet Balsamic Chicken Recipe is the way to go! It’s a super easy chicken dish with ingredients that you most likely have on hand. It can be prepared quickly and delivers a wonderfully moist, tender chicken that is incredibly flavorful. The sweetness of the vanilla and orange are a wonderful contrast to the rich tang of the balsamic. And when the chicken soaks up the incredible flavors from sauce while cooking, the result is a wonderful Weight Watchers chicken recipe that the whole family will enjoy. In a pinch, I’ve used red onions instead of shallots, honey instead of brown sugar, and fresh squeezed orange juice instead of store bought…all resulted in a great dish. I like to add in some chopped vegetables with the chicken and the sauce before cooking, and then serve over some whole wheat couscous….it’s AMAZING, and a great way to give those veggie servings some serious flavor.
Sweet Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 6 fillets
- 2 large shallots, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and spray a large baking dish with nonfat cooking spray.
- Season chicken generously with salt and pepper, and place in baking dish.
- In a small sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer until sauce reduces down a bit, about 15 minutes.
- Pour sauce over chicken and cover baking dish with foil. Poke a few holes in the foil ;to allow for steam to escape.
- Place in oven and cook until chickens cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and place back in oven for another 10-12 minutes to brown the top of the chicken. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 45 minute(s)
Diet tags: Low calorie, Reduced fat, Reduced carbohydrate, High protein
Number of servings (yield): 6
Culinary tradition: USA (General)
Calories: 221
Fat: 2g
Protein: 34g
Entire recipe makes 6 servings
Serving size is 1 6oz chicken fillet with sauce
Each serving = 11 Smart Points/5 Points
PER SERVING: 412calories; 6g fat; 2g saturated fat; 37g carbohydrate; 24g sugar; 51g protein; 4g fiber
4 Comments
Couple of questions: could I make this in the Crock-Pot and would it be as delicious?
I haven’t tried it myself, though I don’t think you would get that nice caramelization of the shallots and the golden outside of the chicken. Also, as the chicken cooks in the crock pot, it releases a lot of water which would fix with the sauce and weaken the overall flavor. I wouldn’t recommend it.
This was delicious! Thanks!
Will make this again. We really enjoyed it. Tossed the leftovers in Weight Watcher/The Chew chef contest “California Hash” recipe which I have made a couple of times, and it worked quite nicely.