Commercial marinara sauce and quick-cooking chicken cutlets give you a jump start on dinner when preparing this Italian-inspired chicken entree. Pepperoni slices and shredded mozzarella make this meal appealing to kids and adults alike. 

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

Cooking spray

garlic

pepperoni,

oregano

lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)

basil

olive oil

chicken cutlets

black pepper

mozzarella cheese

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and pepperoni; cook 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add oregano; cook 30 seconds. Add marinara sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil.


Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken with pepper. Add chicken to skillet; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning after 3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.


This was super quick to make and the pepperoni in the sauce made it quite tasty. I used turkey pepperoni and added some crushed red pepper. I also cut the chicken into cubes before cooking and served it over spaghetti squash. I thought it was filling and a nice alternative to regular chicken parm.

I've made this several times. It's really easy to make, is a quick dinner, and is super tasty! Like other reviewers have noted, resist the urge to salt the chicken breasts when you add pepper to them - they don't need it! I like to serve this with angel hair pasta and a green veggie on the side.

So tasty! The pepperoni definitely sets this apart. We served it over polenta with a Caesar salad on the side.

I used slightly thicker chicken and a little bit more pepperoni, and it was so yummy. I would recommend using chicken not as thick, like the one in the video. And fresh basil is totally a nice addition. :-D

Perfect meal!!! I added salt to chicken and used turkey pepporoni. I also used chicken breast and sliced them in half.

Family loved this dish. Quick and easy to prepare.

This is an excellent week night dinner.  It is flavorable, quick  and easy to make.  It has been requested several time.  I serve over thin spaghetti.

Not the best thing ever but a good, quick weeknight meal. I did make a few changes to use what I had in the house. I had some leftover chicken breasts which I sliced so they would be more like cutlets, I used smoked mozzarella and mini turkey pepperoni and dried basil. I'm sure fresh basil would make it quite a bit more flavorful...next time.

Good but nothing very special.  Just another variation of chicken parm.  Good weeknight meal.

Kid friendly had me.  I am a picky eater and this hit the spot.

Even the pickiest eaters of my family loved this!!! I was flat out told, "Mom, you ARE making this again!"

Easy and delicious.  I don't bother with cutlets.  I just use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and cook them a little longer.  I serve it over some cooked spaghetti and a tossed green salad on the side.  The whole family loves it and there are never any leftovers.  A good choice for a weeknight regular rotation.

Made with leftover pizza sauce - called it "pizza chicken" for the kids and that made it appealing before they even tasted it.  Served it over angel hair pasta.   LOVED how fast and easy it is.  Will definitely make again.

A couple of observations I would make about the recipe:  the FLAVOR was very good.  Some of the instructions, however, were a bit misleading.  Heating the sauce pan under medium-high heat and then adding the pepperoni and garlic and cooking for 2 minutes -- unless you drastically lower the heat, the pepperoni causes a great deal of smoking and medium high is really way too high to cook garlic for 2 minutes.  On the other hand, the 5 minutes suggested to cook the chicken over medium-high heat, was not nearly long enough to completely cook the cutlets all the way through.  Beyond that, the meal was very good and I will definitely make again.

Loved this! Fast, easy and tasty. I made mine with turkey pepperoni to lighten it up. (Big diference when you are doing Weight Watchers.)  I had planned on doing some whole wheat pasta, but changed at the last minute to polenta which was a better choice! I can't wait to eat this again and share it with friends.

Tried this Sunday night, because the recipe in Cooking Light is tagged "kid friendly." 
My finicky 13-year-old loved it, as did the 4-year-old. 

I used fresh garlic and basil, but substituted dried oregano for fresh. I did opt for a low-sodium marinara, and added a bit more pepperoni. 

From start to finish, this took 20-minutes....Will definitely make again.

Really only took 20 minutes and it was so good!

I made this Sunday night for dinner.  it was wonderful.  I will be adding it to my rotation more often.  I already had chicken tenders on hand so I used those instead of the cutlets and it worked wonderfully.

This was delicious.  I think the addition of pepperoni (used turkey pep.) made this dish special.  As a couple other reviewers did, I also served with spaghetti squash and added some buttered toasted french bread.

Absolutely delicious.  One of our all time favorites.  The only change we did was double the sauce.  We served it with spaghetti squash on the side in place of pasta for a very tasty and healthier alternative.

Loved this!  My whole family thought it was great.  I don't know why I have ever breaded a chicken breast to serve with marinara!  After eating this I never will again.  We used Barilla marinara and served with garlic bread and Caesar salad.

Great recipe. I laughed because I also told my 2.5 year old that it was like "Pizza Chicken".  A great recipe!  Also loved using turkey pepperoni in this recipe.

Yum! This was very good for a simple, grubbin dinner. My 8-year-old loved it even when she said she only liked chicken drumsticks. Used turkey pepperoni and they were very good. Using one 3/4 pound cutlet  was ample for the three of us.

Quick and very tasty. Husband prefers chicken chunks vs. cutlets - so cut chicken into 1" cubes. Followed advice of others and added some crushed red pepper , and tossed additonal seasonings on chicken before cooking. Served over spaghetti. Tasted even better the next day.

This was delicious and easy and very quick. I am only taking away a star, because it wasn't super filling. I would suggest doubling the sauce and using the extra to top angel hair pasta.

This was "Holy Cow!" Good!!!
Made a few substitutions because of what we had on hand. Used chicken breasts that were pounded to a consistent thickness instead of cutlets, used 1 tsp Italian seasoning instead of dried oregano and fresh basil, used a lot more garlic: 4 cloves of garlic (minced) and 1 tsp of jarred roasted garlic, used Green Mill marinara sauce, and added some Montreal Chicken seasoning to the chicken before cooking it.  I'm already trying to think of ways to serve this in a convenient fashion at the next Pot Luck dinner that I'm invited to. The flavor was incredible! My husband wanted to eat the left overs for dinner the next night and that is very out of the ordinary.

Yummy! Just to be clear, the recipe does not call for salt, so I'm not sure why everyone is mentioning it. I used turkey pepperoni and it was pretty good...probably better with the real deal. Kids would love this, or if you're like me and pregnant and think pepperoni sounds good on everything. I might even try adding some red pepper flakes to the sauce.  My husband said this is definitely a keeper. We will call it Pizza Chicken.

I saw my magazine tonight and knew I had to make this for dinner.  The whole family enjoyed it.  I used turkey pepperoni and added a splash of red wine, extra garlic and basil.  Instead of chicken cutlets I used skinless boneless thighs because that is what I had on hand.  I served it with whole wheat angel hair pasta.  It was great.  My kids want me to pack this in their lunch tomorrow.  Another good recipe Cooking Light.

It was good flavor but I didn't find it to be too different than a light chicken Parmesan.

This recipe is so good! I added more garlic and basil. No need to add salt.

I accidentally bought chicken breast instead of cutlets and I didn't have a skillet that could be broiled so I cooked the breast in the skillet for 10-15 mins per side and than put the skillet in the oven at 450 for 5 mins.

This dish was very savory. The garlic, pepperoni and basil in the sauce added layers of flavor. It was also very filling. One serving was plenty for me! I didn't think there was enough sauce at first, but it turned out to be the perfect amount. And carramae is right, resist the urge to add salt to the chicken. I served it with a side dish of spaghetti squash that I cooked whole in the microwave for 9 minutes after piercing it. I removed the seeds, shredded it out of the skin with a fork and then tossed it with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Perfect! I will definitely be making this one again (and again)!

Quick, easy and delicious!  Can't say enough about how simple and flavorful this was.  It was a hit with my picky husband and a picky 3 year old.  One suggestion: resist the urge to salt the chicken breasts.  The pepperoni and marinara provides plenty of saltiness.

Store-bought marinara gets a makeover with the addition of chopped pepperoni and fresh basil in this kid-friendly favorite.

chicken with pepperoni-marinara sauce

Servings: 4.5

Cost: $6.06 /serving

Author : Maureen Callahan

Ingredients

Instructions

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