Grilled Chicken Margherita – Olive Garden Copycat Recipe

Craving a dish of Olive Garden’s Grilled Chicken Margherita? This copycat Olive Garden recipe is easy, delicious, and made at home!

It brings all of your favorite Italian flavors from the restaurant-style dish and you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost.

Olive Garden Copycat Grilled Chicken Margherita

Olive Garden Grilled Chicken Margherita

Chicken can be cooked on the grill or stove!

Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 20 Minutes (or until internal temp is 165 F)
Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients

• 8 slices mozzarella cheese
• 1 jar green basil pesto (we like to use the Barilla brand, but any will do)
• 4 large chicken breasts (sliced in half lengthwise)
• 1 package grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

Grilled Chicken Margherita Recipe Stovetop Directions

Pat the chicken with a paper towel to dry them off. Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise in half. This will allow the chicken to cook easier when you have larger breasts.

In a glass measuring cup, add the butter, lemon juice, and garlic. Heat the mixture in the microwave for about a minute and stir until the butter is completely melted.

Place the chicken on a heated grill or skillet on the stove. Brush with the lemon mixture.

A little bit of the mixture will sink to the bottom but that’s okay. It will allow the chicken to soak up even more of the flavors. Cook until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, add the cheese and pesto to the top. Remove from the pan and serve with sliced cherries or grape tomatoes.

You can also add the tomatoes just before the chicken is done cooking to warm them up a little.

If you want to grill the chicken…

Grilling is one of our favorite things to do in the summer. We love being outside so heating up the grill during dinnertime is something we do frequently. From steaks to skewers, we enjoy it all!

You can cook the chicken on the grill. Just brush it with the lemon mixture and cook until the chicken is done. Remove it from the grill, add cheese and pesto, top with the tomatoes, and serve.

If the chicken isn’t hot enough to melt the cheese, you can use foil to cover and to keep the heat in to help melt it.

Grilled Chicken Margherita Recipe Notes & Substitutions

We use chicken breasts for this dish but you can substitute with chicken cutlets. Since cutlets are often smaller, they will cook faster so keep an eye on them.

You can your preferred brand of pesto or make your own homemade pesto sauce. Same for the lemon juice.

I highly recommend using finely shredded mozzarella cheese because it will melt faster.

Sides to serve with Copycat Olive Garden Grilled Chicken Margherita

• Salad: A simple side salad is always a good option to go with.
• Veggies
• Bread
• Roasted Potatoes
• Pasta

Add the leftovers to your bento box lunches and you have a flavorful lunch ready to go!