Grilled Chicken Parm with Cherry Tomato Sauce
A lighter, brighter take on chicken parm: butterflied grilled chicken and melty provolone over a fresh cherry tomato sauce, finished with a cloud of basil and roasted garlic ricotta.
I love a classic chicken parm as much as anyone. But somewhere in the middle of July, when it’s too warm to stand over a pot of frying oil and the farm stand is drowning in cherry tomatoes, I want the idea of chicken parm without the heavy, breaded weight of it. This grilled chicken parm is what I make instead, and I think it might have quietly become my favorite version.
Here’s the whole thing. Butterflied chicken breasts get grill marks on a hot grill pan, then a slice of provolone melts over the top under the broiler until it’s bubbling. That sits on a fresh cherry tomato sauce, the kind where the tomatoes burst and collapse into something loose and jammy in about fifteen minutes. And the part that makes people ask what’s in it: a whipped ricotta swirled through with roasted garlic and torn basil, spooned over the top so it goes soft and creamy against the warm chicken.
It tastes like the best parts of summer, and it comes together faster than you’d expect. Let me show you how I make it.
Why You’ll Love This Grilled Chicken Parm
This is the dinner I reach for when I want something that feels a little special but doesn’t wreck the kitchen. It’s got everything the classic promises — juicy chicken, melty cheese, bright tomato, fresh basil — in a form that feels like you could eat it on the porch with a glass of the same wine you cooked with.
A few reasons it’s earned a permanent spot on my summer rotation:
- No breading, no frying. The grill pan does all the work, so you get char and flavor without the mess or the heaviness.
- The sauce is fresh and fast. Cherry tomatoes burst into a loose, sweet-tart sauce in about fifteen minutes, deepened with a little tomato paste and white wine.
- That ricotta. Roasted garlic folded into whole-milk ricotta with basil is the kind of thing you’ll want to put on everything else, too.
- It’s mostly make-ahead friendly. Roast the garlic and mix the ricotta in advance, and the night-of cooking is quick.
The Ingredients That Matter Most
Nothing fancy here, but a few choices carry the dish.
For the Grilled Chicken
Butterflying is the move. Slicing each breast into two thin cutlets means they cook in a few minutes and stay juicy instead of drying out in the time it takes a thick breast to cook through. Provolone melts beautifully and has a gentle tang I love here, but fresh mozzarella works too if that’s what you’ve got.
For the Cherry Tomato Sauce
Use the ripest cherry or grape tomatoes you can find, since they’re the whole point. The tomato paste gets cooked out with the aromatics until it darkens, which rounds out the flavor and takes away any tinny edge. Then a splash of dry white wine deglazes the pan and adds a little backbone. Use a wine you’d actually drink, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
For the Basil-Roasted Garlic Ricotta
Whole-milk ricotta, always. Part-skim turns watery and bland and won’t give you that lush, spoonable texture. A whole head of roasted garlic sounds like a lot until you taste it — roasting turns it sweet and mellow and jammy, nothing like raw garlic’s bite.
How to Make Grilled Chicken Parm
Start with the garlic, because it needs about forty minutes in the oven and everything else is quick. Cut the top off the head, drizzle it with oil, wrap it in foil, and let it roast while you get everything else going. When it’s soft and golden, squeeze the cloves right out of their skins.
While the garlic roasts, mash it into the ricotta with basil, a little lemon zest, salt, and olive oil, and set that aside. Then butterfly your chicken into thin cutlets and rub them with oil, salt, pepper, and oregano.
Now the sauce. Soften the sliced garlic and shallot in olive oil, then stir in the tomato paste and let it cook until it turns brick red. Pour in the wine and let it bubble down until the pan looks nearly dry, then add the cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and salt. Let them burst and collapse into a loose sauce, pressing on them here and there, and finish with torn basil.
Get your grill pan good and hot and cook the cutlets a few minutes per side until you’ve got real grill marks and the chicken hits 165°F. Lay a slice of provolone over each one and slide them under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Keep an eye on it — the broiler moves fast.
To serve, spoon the warm sauce onto plates, set the cheesy chicken on top, and finish each one with a big dollop of the roasted garlic ricotta and a little more basil.
Tips for the Best Grilled Chicken Parm
A few things I’ve learned making this on repeat:
- Reduce the wine all the way. Let it cook down until the pan is nearly dry before the tomatoes go in, or the sauce can taste sharp.
- Cook out the tomato paste. That extra minute until it darkens is where a lot of the sauce’s depth comes from.
- Don’t crowd the grill pan. Give the cutlets room so they sear instead of steam. Work in batches if you need to.
- Keep the ricotta cold and off the heat. It’s a finishing element, meant to melt slowly against the hot chicken. Spooning it on at the last second is what makes each bite feel luxurious.
What to Serve With It
This is lovely with grilled bread or a hunk of focaccia to swipe through the extra tomato sauce, which you will want to do. A simple arugula salad with lemon and olive oil keeps it light, and any leftover white wine from the sauce is, conveniently, exactly what you should pour alongside.
Grilled Chicken Parm with Cherry Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the grilled chicken:
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 4 provolone slices
For the cherry tomato sauce
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup white wine
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp fresh basil julienned
Basil & roasted garlic ricotta:
- 1 whole head garlic
- 1 tsp olive oil for roasting the garlic
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta
- 3 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the top off 1 whole head garlic to expose the cloves, set it on a square of foil, drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, and wrap it into a sealed packet. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the cloves are soft and golden. Cool until you can handle it, then squeeze the cloves out of their skins.1 whole head garlic, 1 tsp olive oil
- Mash the roasted garlic cloves into a paste with a fork. Fold into 1 cup whole-milk ricotta along with 3 tbsp fresh basil, ½ tsp lemon zest, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil.1 tsp salt, 1 cup whole-milk ricotta, 3 tbsp fresh basil, ½ tsp lemon zest, 2 tbsp olive oil
- Butterfly 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts by slicing each breast horizontally into two thin cutlets, about 1/2-inch thick. Pat dry, then rub all over with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp dried oregano.2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp salt
- Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add 3 cloves garlic and 1 shallot and cook until soft and fragrant, about 18 minutes. Stir in 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it deepens to a brick red, 1–2 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup white wine and simmer, scraping up the bottom of the pan, until the wine has mostly reduced away, about 2–3 minutes.4 cups cherry tomatoes, 3 tbsp olive oil, 3 cloves garlic , 1 shallot, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 cup white wine, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 3 tbsp fresh basil
- Add 4 cups cherry tomatoes, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, and 1 tsp salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and pressing on the tomatoes, until they burst and collapse into a loose, saucy jam, 12–15 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp fresh basil at the end.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high until hot. Grill the chicken cutlets until you have good grill marks and the chicken reaches 165°F, about 3–7 minutes per side. Work in batches if needed so you don't crowd the pan.
- Lay a slice of 4 provolone slices over each cutlet. Broil on a foil-lined sheet a few inches under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 1–2 minutes.4 provolone slices
- Spoon the warm cherry tomato sauce onto plates. Set a piece of chicken on top of the sauce, then finish each with a generous dollop of the basil-roasted garlic ricotta. Garnish with extra torn basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
