Keeping things colorful and easy today with this 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes. Lightly breaded chicken seared until golden in browned butter with fresh thyme. The chicken is topped with garlicky burst cherry tomatoes, lots of basil, and a squeeze of lemon. It’s simple but mouthwatering. Serve this simple skillet chicken over creamy mashed cauliflower. Or keep it super simple and serve with crusty bread for soaking up all that delicious lemon butter sauce. This dish makes great use of those summer tomatoes. It’s the 20 minute summer dinner that everyone will love!

overhead photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes in skillet with spoon

The thing I love most about summer is the abundance of produce. Whether you’re growing your own herbs, have an extensive backyard vegetable garden, or are simply picking up items from the market, there’s no shortage of produce. And for me, this provides me with an endless amount of inspiration.

Of course, I have moments of not being sure what recipe to make next. In fact, I have them often, but when this happens I turn to the items I have on hand. In the fridge, growing in the herb garden, or just the produce I have on the counter. I let the food direct me in the kitchen. Sounds a bit cheesy, I know, but this is just how I end up developing my favorite (effortless) recipes.

Enter this butter chicken. Yes, butter chicken. In the words of little miss Asher, it’s a delectable one skillet dinner that comes together in just twenty minutes with minimal ingredients. All of which are currently in season (and potentially growing in your backyard).

overhead photo of Burst Cherry Tomatoes in skillet

The background.

I made this recipe last week, after purchasing one too many tomatoes from Whole Foods. In an effort to use them up before they went bad, I made Florentine Butter Chicken. Which is not to be confused with Indian Butter Chicken (chicken in a creamy Indian curry sauce). Or Chicken Florentine (Italian chicken in a white cream sauce with spinach).

If you’re unfamiliar, Florentine Butter Chicken originated in Florence, Italy. And to put it very simply, it’s chicken breasts in golden browned butter. Some recipes I’ve seen are literally just three ingredients…chicken, flour, and butter. Other’s add an egg, some add lemon juice, but all very simple ingredients.

Florentine Butter Chicken is all about the butter, it’s meant to be simple. But trust me, just because this is simple does not mean it’s lacking in flavor…

Because anything in browned butter is always going to be delicious. Especially when summer tomatoes and herbs are added.

overhead photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken in skillet without tomatoes

Here’s how to make this summery 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken.

As you can imagine, this is pretty straight forward. You’ll need chicken breast cutlets and a good amount of butter. Dredge the chicken through a beaten egg and toss in flour to coat.

Once the chicken is prepped, start cooking the tomatoes. Cook them in olive oil with plenty of smashed garlic and fresh thyme until they just begin to char. Once the tomatoes are charring, slide them out of the skillet and cook the chicken.

Next, add the chicken to the pan with a bit of butter and pan-sear it. This allows the chicken to form a nice golden crust on the outside. Using thin chicken cutlets is key. The thin chicken cooks evenly and browns nicely in a short amount of time.

When you flip the chicken, add more butter, this time allowing it to get golden brown around the chicken. Once the chicken is crispy and the butter browned, remove the skillet from the heat. Next, add fresh lemon juice, mozzarella cheese, and then spoon those cherry tomatoes over top. Transfer the entire skillet to the oven and broil for a minute, just until the cheese is melted.

Serve the chicken topped with lots and lots of fresh basil. And done. Dinner in twenty, with very little effort.

overhead close up photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

The butter.

if you can find it, use cultured butter (sometimes referred to as European butter). Unlike traditional butter, Cultured Butter is fermented for 20 hours then churned to 82% butterfat. This provides the butter with an incredibly rich taste and a high smoke point, making it perfect for browning.

It’s also just delicious. It’s my favorite butter to use for both cooking and baking, I especially love Vermont Creamery’s Cultured Butter.

overhead photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes in skillet with spoon pouring butter over chicken

Some other notes for you…

If your grocery store does not carry chicken cutlets, as a swap, try asking your butcher to pound out chicken breasts for you. This is a super easy task to do at home, but truthfully…it’s just not that much fun. The butcher can quickly pound out the chicken and save you the trouble…and the mess.

Also, you can easily make this chicken piccata gluten-free by replacing the flour with almond flour. Or your favorite gluten-free flour blend (I like cup4cup).

For serving, I recommend my creamy cauliflower mash for a lighter summer side. Or make a quick angel hair pasta tossed with fresh basil and butter. Or if you’re looking to keep this super simple…just add some crusty bread!

It’s the perfect recipe to jump into easy summer cooking.

And most importantly, it’s just really good. The chicken soaks up all that delicious browned butter sauce. It’s perfectly seasoned with fresh thyme and lemon. And the tomatoes…they’re garlicky and juicy…and well, they taste like summer.

And when paired with this butter chicken…well it’s summer in a skillet and so mouth-watering!

overhead photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Looking for other summer skillet recipes? Here are some favorites:

Skillet Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Chicken

One Skillet Cheesy Cuban Chicken Rice Bake

One Pot 30 minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake

Lastly, if you make this 20 minute florentine butter chicken with burst cherry tomatoes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes | halfbakedharvest.com
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The Recipe

20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Keep things colorful + easy with this 20 Minute skillet chicken. Serve with mashed cauliflower, or angel hair pasta, or keep it super simple and serve with crusty bread to soak up all that sauce!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 553 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or use gluten free
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (about 3/4 inch thick)
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 10 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed (see note)
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 ounces buffalo or regular mozzarella, torn
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, torn
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  1. 1. Preheat the broiler. Place the egg and flour in separate shallow bowls.

    2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge both sides of the chicken through the egg, and then through the flour, tossing to coat. Place the chicken on a plate.

    3. In an oven safe skillet set over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the tomatoes, garlic, 1 tablespoon thyme, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the tomatoes begin to pop, about 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the tomatoes to a plate.

    4. In the same skillet, melt together 4 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and cook until the bottom side is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken and add 6 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon thyme, swirling the butter around the chicken. Cook, basting the chicken in butter until the chicken is cooked and golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes.

    5. Remove from the heat, add the mozzarella around the chicken. Spoon the tomatoes and lemon juice over top. Transfer to the oven, broil 1 minute, until the cheese is melted. Serve topped with lots of fresh basil. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Cultured Butter: If you can find it, use cultured butter. It's fermented for 20 hours then churned to 82% butterfat. This provides the butter with an incredibly rich taste and higher smoke point, making it ideal for browning. I love using Vermont Creamery's Cultured Butter.

Chicken adapted from Food and Wine. 

overhead horizontal photo of 20 Minute Florentine Butter Chicken with Burst Cherry Tomatoes