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3 Ingredient Pizza Sauce Baked Chicken

By The Modern Nonna

on Mar 31, 2022, Updated Aug 30, 2023

5 from 2 votes

This 3 Ingredient Pizza Sauce Baked Chicken came to me in a moment of kitchen inspiration. I wanted to make something creative and new, but I only had a few ingredients on hand: chicken thighs, pizza sauce, and olives. I thought to myself “I wonder if pizza sauce would be good baked on chicken?” 45 minutes later, I discovered the answer was a resounding “yes!” – it makes for a delicious combination. If you love pizza and chicken, you will love this recipe.

When I say pizza sauce, I mean a seasoned marinara sauce, either store-bought or homemade. My favorite store-bought brand is Rao’s or try my Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce (Sugo) recipe made without the meat. The herbs (usually oregano and/or basil) in the sauce impart delicious flavor in the chicken, and the acidity from the tomatoes helps tenderize the chicken as it bakes.

The best part is this dinner comes together using just one dish: you prepare and cook the recipe in the same oven-safe baking dish, making clean up a breeze. Olives are optional, but I love how they become meltingly soft in the oven and add a bit of saltiness to the dish. You could also use capers in place of or in addition to olives.

3 Ingredient Pizza Sauce Baked Chicken

If you love pizza and chicken, you will love this recipe. The best part is this dinner comes together using just one dish: you prepare and cook the recipe in the same oven-safe baking dish, making clean up a breeze.

5 from 2 votes

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Servings: 3

Author: The Modern Nonna

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup pizza sauce, I love the brand Rao's
• ▢ olives, such as kalamata or green olives, and a touch of olive juice (optional)

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Add the chicken thighs to an 8 x 8 inch oven-safe dish. Add the olive oil, season with salt, and cover each chicken thigh with a heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce.
• Add the olives and a splash of olive juice, if using.
• With clean hands give everything a nice massage. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the thighs/breasts, or until the juices run clear and a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a piece of chicken measures 165F. Enjoy on or alongside salad, mashed potatoes, or vegetables.

Video

Notes

The olives and olive juice are optional but pairs so well for me personally.

On seasoning: Add only a pinch of salt if the pizza sauce is already salty.

Make sure you get a good-quality pizza sauce with good ingredients because that will make all the difference. Mine is by “ Rao’s ” and you can find it practically everywhere.

 You can absolutely make this with any cut of chicken, such as chicken breast or bone-in, skin-on chicken, but chicken breast will take anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to cook depending on how thick it is or if it has a bone in it as well so use a meat thermometer if needed. Skin on, bone in breast can take 20-25 minutes and skinless boneless chicken breast can take 15-20 depending on thickness of course. 

To make this even more pizza-flavored, finish it off with shredded mozzarella and grated parm and let melt in the oven for the last minute or so of cooking. 

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