Baked Chicken Marinara

Make this Baked Chicken Marinara in less than an hour for an easy meal everyone will love. This dish has breaded baked chicken topped with marinara sauce and cheese. An easy weeknight meal that is inexpensive and delicious!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients Needed for This Recipe
• How to Make Baked Chicken with Marinara Sauce and Cheese
• How to Freeze Tomato Sauce for Later
• More Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes
• Baked Chicken Marinara

Why You'll Love This Recipe

You'll love this Baked Chicken Marinara recipe for its tender chicken smothered in savory and rich marinara sauce, delivering bursts of flavor in every bite. This dish is easy to prepare and is a delightful option for a satisfying and hassle-free meal.

I also love this recipe because I almost always have chicken breasts in my freezer so I know this go-to meal will be quick to make and everyone in my family loves it just like my Easy Ramen Noodle Recipe. And if you love quick chicken recipes for dinner, check out my Chunky Chicken Tortilla Soup and my Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Tenders.

Ingredients Needed for This Recipe

• 4-6 chicken breasts, flattened
• seasoned bread crumbs
• panko bread crumbs
• grated Parmesan cheese
• butter
• mozzarella cheese
• marinara sauce (store-bought or homemade)
• fresh basil

How to Make Baked Chicken with Marinara Sauce and Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare a baking dish with non-stick spray. Place the chicken breasts in a plastic bag, remove the air and seal it. Gently pound the chicken a rolling pin or something flat and heavy to flatten the chicken breasts to be the same size.
2. Add the breadcrumbs, panko, and parmesan cheese in one of the deep dishes and stir everything together. Melt the butter and place it in the other dish to create an assembly line to bread the chicken.
3. Dip one chicken breast in the butter and then the breadcrumbs and place in the baking dish. Repeat with all of the chicken breasts. Once all of the chicken has been breaded, spray the top of the chicken with a little more oil spray. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and spoon some of the sauce on top of each piece of chicken and sprinkle with cheese. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the fresh basil on top. Enjoy!

How to Freeze Tomato Sauce for Later

One of the things I hate the most is throwing any food away. I try really hard not to waste and one of the things I was wasting was leftover sauce. My solution?? An ice tray! This trick is so easy and I do it all the time.

Here's what you do: take an old-fashioned ice tray (mine is from the dollar store) and fill it with whatever you want to freeze, in this case, the tomato sauce. Wait until the sauce has completely frozen and then remove it from the tray and put it in a freezer bag until you are ready to use it. When you are ready to use the sauce, just zap it in the microwave.

We use these frozen bits of sauce for pizza night, recipes like this Baked Chicken Marinara, soups, etc. This also works for citrus juice, fresh herbs in oil, and more!

More Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes

• Easy Cioppino Seafood Soup
• Air Fryer Chimichangas
• Pesto Chicken with Bruschetta
• Greek Pita Wraps with Chicken
• Instant Pot Green Chile Chicken

If you get a chance to make this Baked Chicken Marinara, tag me on Instagram or Facebook and show me, or leave a review below! You can also follow me on Pinterest and sign up for my e-mail list to receive more fun and delicious recipes in your inbox.