Chicken Margherita (Olive Garden Copycat)

Enjoy Olive Garden’s newest menu item, Chicken Margherita, at home. Grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh grape tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto and a lemon garlic sauce.

It’s time for another copycat recipe since you guys love them so much. This time it’s one of Olive Garden’s newest menu items, Chicken Margherita. I’ve mentioned before that whenever we drive to Florida, we try to stop in the same area overnight mainly because we take our two dogs and have to reserve a hotel ahead of time.

This also means there there are a limited number of decent restaurants (no fast food for us), that provide take out so we can pick up our food and not have to leave the dogs alone in the hotel room (which I’m sure would drive the guests crazy because they bark at the slightest noise and we wouldn’t be there to keep them calm). One of them is Olive Garden.

What we like about Olive Garden (as well as Applebee’s and Carrabba’s) is that when we know the time we will get to the area, we can order what we want online and specify the pick up time. This also saves a ton of time; especially when you’ve been driving down I-95 for 12 hours and you just want a decent hot meal and not to feel confined in a car any more.

On our last trip during Spring break, I decided to try Olive Gardens’ Chicken Margherita. I wanted something light, yet filling and how can you go wrong with grilled chicken, pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes? It also came with parmesan crusted zucchini (recipe coming next week!) and the website says it was only 590 calories…BONUS!

It was delicious and the chicken was so moist. Of course, I had to try to make this at home and I have to say it tasted just like the restaurant version.  This recipe has a few steps and from start to finish takes about 1 hour to make, but you can prepare it in steps partially the night before if you’re in a time crunch during the week. Here is what you have to do.

How do you  prepare The Chicken?

To make sure my chicken breasts were moist as well, I first brined them in a mixture of water, sugar and kosher salt for about 2 hours. You can do this overnight as well, but the limited time I did was fine too.  

Next, you want to grill the chicken until it’s cooked through to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F . I recommend using a 4oz. boneless chicken breast; which took approximately 10 minutes to grill. Remove from the heat, set aside or keep covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble.

How do you Make Pesto?

Pesto is super simple to make. Simply add fresh basil, garlic, Pecorino Romano cheese, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pine nuts (you can leave these out if you don’t have them or are allergic to tree nuts). Pulse all ingredients in a mini food processor until smooth. You can make the pesto up to 2 days before and keep tightly covered in the refrigerator.

How do you Make the Lemon Garlic Sauce?

In a small saucepan, melt some butter; then add minced garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute; then stir in some flour. Add fresh lemon juice and chicken broth and stir about 3-5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. You can make this the night before and keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.

How do you assemble the Chicken Margherita?

Now it’s time to assemble the chicken. First, preheat your oven to 425°F; then place the grilled chicken in an oven safe baking dish. Top each chicken breast with mozzarella,  pesto and then top with halved grape tomatoes. Next, pour the lemon garlic sauce on top of the chicken and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts.

If you are preparing this using chicken that has been refrigerated first, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes prior to placing it in the oven or the chicken may not be hot enough when the cheese melts.

OMG this homemade version of Chicken Margherita was incredible and I will definitely be making this recipe again very soon. My family really enjoyed it as well. In fact, I made extra the first time and froze the leftovers. We’ve eaten it a second time and it tasted just as good the second time as it did the first. ~Enjoy!

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3.3 from 40 votes

Chicken Margherita (Olive Garden Copycat)

Enjoy Olive Garden's newest menu item, Chicken Margherita, at home. Grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh grape tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto and a lemon garlic sauce.

Course Main Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword chicken, copycat recipe

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 6

Calories 376kcal

Author Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 6- 4(ounce) Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 2 c. Water
• 1/4 c. Kosher Salt
• 1/4 c. Granulated Sugar

For the Pesto

• 2 c. Fresh Basil
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 2 tbsp. Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
• 3-4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp. Pine Nuts, if desired

For the Lemon Garlic Sauce

• 2 tbsp. Butter
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
• 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 c. Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Chicken Margherita Assembly

• 6- 4(ounce) Grilled Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 c. Prepared Pesto
• 1 c. Grape Tomatoes, halved
• 6 oz. Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
• 1/2 c. Prepared Lemon Garlic Sauce

Instructions

For the Chicken

• Combine the water, salt and sugar in a resealable plastic bag and mix until dissolved. Add the chicken and refrigerate from 2-24 hours. 
• Grill the chicken until it's cooked through to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F; approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, set aside or keep covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble.

For the Pesto

• Combine all of the ingredients starting with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a mini food processor and blend until the consistency is smooth. If needed, add the additional 1 tablespoon of oil. Keep stored in a tight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

For the Lemon Garlic Sauce

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter, add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute; then stir in some flour. Add fresh lemon juice and chicken broth and stir about 3-5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. You can make this the night before and keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. 

Chicken Margherita Assembly

• First, preheat your oven to 425°F; then place the grilled chicken in an oven safe baking dish.
• Top each chicken breast with mozzarella, pesto and then top with halved grape tomatoes. 
• Next, pour the lemon garlic sauce on top of the chicken and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts. 

Notes

*If you are preparing this recipe using chicken that has been refrigerated first, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes prior to placing it in the oven or the chicken may not be hot enough when the cheese melts.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 30g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 622mg | Potassium: 159mg | Vitamin A: 1150IU | Vitamin C: 9.1mg | Calcium: 240mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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