Grilled Chicken Margherita Olive Garden Copycat

5 stars from 2 reviews

Grilled Chicken Margherita Olive Garden Copycat

Our Grilled Chicken Margherita Olive Garden copycat has all the flavors you know and love in a simple, flavor-packed restaurant style dish!

Author: Donna Elick

Servings:

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Ingredients

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced horizontally to create cutlets (See Notes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
4 tablespoons salted butter
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon lemon zest (1 small lemon)
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed (from zested lemon)
6 slices fresh mozzarella
6 tablespoons basil pesto homemade or store bought
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (we use a combination of halved grape tomatoes and quartered Campari tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Instructions

Remove chicken breasts from packaging and use a paper towel to pat them dry. Rub all sides with olive oil, then sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Heat grill to medium high heat. Cook prepared chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 162°F. (Time will vary depending on thickness of chicken breast. If some chicken pieces are larger than others, remove chicken as it is done cooking and set aside while larger/thicker pieces finish cooking.)
In a cast iron skillet, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, or until very fragrant.
Add lemon juice and lemon zest to the skillet, whisking to combine; simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Place the grilled chicken into the pan, flipping it once to coat both sides in the lemon butter sauce.
Top each piece of chicken with 1-2 slices of fresh mozzarella. Cover the pan and simmer on low for another minute or two, until cheese has melted. *See Notes
Spoon a tablespoon of pesto (more or less to your liking) over each piece of chicken and top with fresh tomatoes and chopped basil. Serve immediately.

Notes

After topping the chicken with the mozzarella, rather than covering the pan with a lid, you can place the pan under a broiler for a couple of minutes to melt/brown the cheese.

The lemon sauce is thick enough to lightly coat the chicken, but we do not add a thickening agent (such as flour or cornstarch). So, it isn’t thick like a gravy.

If you want extra sauce, add 1 tablespoon of flour just after toasting the garlic, then whisk in ½ cup water along with the lemon zest and juice, then simmer until it thickens.

Using thin-sliced chicken breasts (aka, chicken cutlets) works really well and keeps the grill time short. Also, cutlets are typically more uniform in thickness, which means they cook evenly.

Do not overcook the chicken or it will dry out. A digital instant-read thermometer is the best tool to use to determine doneness.

Chicken is properly cooked when the internal temperature taken at the thickest portion of the breast reaches 162°F. During a 10-minute rest time, the chicken continues cooking, so the internal temp will reach a food-safe final temperature of 165°F.

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