This grilled chicken with strawberry basil sauce is a delicious and seasonal way to switch up your chicken dinner.
I’m in a funk right now. Mainly because I’m really (like really, really) over Sunday night goodbyes after 23 weeks of them. Especially when today is your husband’s birthday and you know you won’t even be able to speak to him to wish him a happy one. Lame.
So let’s talk about chicken instead.
I went back to the farm where I got the flank steak from to make this beef pinwheels last weekend on Saturday to grab some more beef for the week.
Except this time they had chickens too. They were all bagged up and only $10 each so without hesitating, I asked for one of them in addition to my steak, paid, grabbed the bag to leave and walked out.
I got to the car, opened the passenger door to put it down and that’s when I saw it.
A chicken face staring straight at me.
I might’ve jumped back in horror, I might’ve gasped, I’m honestly not sure, but inside I was freaking out.
I stood there for a few seconds wondering if I should go back inside and ask them if they could behead the thing for me or just suck it up and bring it home. I decided I needed to save face since I plan on frequenting this place weekly and just bring the thing home.
So I got in the car and did what anyone else in this situation would do.
I texted my mom.
“I just bought a chicken with it’s head still on. Pleeeeaaasse come chop it off. I can’t do it.”
I’m also pretty sure the guts of this chicken are most likely intact inside of it as well. I mean if the head is still on, what are the chances they ripped all those internal organs out? I’m guessing slim to none.
So right now this chicken (which I feel compelled to name since it’s got a head and all) is sitting in my fridge tied up in plastic bag because I really can’t handle dead chicken eyes staring at me every time I open the door.
One of two things are going to happen this week. It’s either going in the freezer head and all or, mom and dad are coming over for a weekday decapitation/dinner party.
This is not that chicken. This is a package of chicken breasts from a chicken I thankfully never had to meet face to face all dressed up for spring with a strawberry, basil, mint and orange juice sauce. The sauce is beyond delicious and you could put it on so many different things like pancakes, beef, white fish, oatmeal even. Just stay away from things with heads still attached. It…changes things a bit.
Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Basil Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound chicken breasts
- salt & pepper
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil
- 1 tablespoons chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons orange juice, fresh
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt & pepper and cook on grill or grill pan for about 5 minutes per side until done. Timing will vary depending on thickness of breasts. Cook until juices run clear and no longer pink. (If using a grill pan on the stove, grease with about 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil before placing chicken on it).
- While chicken cooks, melt coconut oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
- Add strawberries, basil, mint and orange juice and simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced and thickened.
- Spoon strawberry sauce over cooked chicken and garnish with additional basil & mint.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
This is a wonderfully fresh sauce, a great way to use the fresh basil and strawberries from my garden. I used all basil as I’m not partial to mint and topped it with Thai and Dark Opal basil. It was delicious, the subtle sweetness of the strawberries was paired perfectly with the basil. Thank you so much for the recipe. I hope it’s okay if I post my take on this on my blog and will link back to the original. Thanks again.
I have to say, I laughed reading this post… I am wondering (4 years later) if that chicken is still in the bag in the fridge. I came here by way of pinterest (of course) looking at your gin drink recipe… this recipe looks good. :)
Haha, proudly it is not in my freezer! I ended up taking it to my mom & dad’s house that week where she decapitated it and we had roasted chicken for dinner :)
Amazing recipe for valentines. Got to try this for my husband…
This strawberry chicken was a hit with a variety of palates — Adults, opinionated teens and the elementary school crowd. It’s fresh, sophisticated and interesting. My clients, friends and family loved it. Worth repeating and repeating!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and have made several of your amazing recipes. I made this strawberry chicken tonight, and it was so good that I had to come out of my “silent reader” closet and let you know how delicious it was! It was super easy, too! I really don’t enjoy cooking, and luckily my husband usually does most of it. But when I do have to take on dinner every now and then I always find myself coming back to your blog. Your recipes are always so easy to follow and tasty! Anyway, I’ll stop gushing about how awesome this blog is now, but back to my original point–this recipe was great! I even sautéed some kale in a bit of the strawberry sauce, too. Thanks for doing what you do!
Thanks for coming out of hiding, Melissa! ;) So glad you liked it.
I would completely freak out over the whole chicken. I can barely deal with cutting raw meat up let alone actually cleaning the thing of guts/heads and what not.
Chicken parts aside, this chicken dish looks SO good. I adore berries and basil…. my favorite summer/spring combo.
I don’t eat chicken but if I did, I would have been totally freaked out too! Why was the farmer too lazy to chop the head off? Geez. This sauce sounds amazing, I love the sound of strawberries and basil together. I would totally put this on a headless faux chicken cutlet! :)
Haha, you crack me up. Reading this story at work and people are looking at me like i’m crazy laughing by myself.
LOL. This made me laugh. There would be no way I would be able to chop the head off a chicken either. Even when I did eat chicken.
i love this strawberry and basil sauce- screams summer!