Chicken with Olives and Capers

Chicken with Olives and Capers is an easy dinner idea that cooks quickly, and this is delicious and super low in carbs! We used black olives, green olives, red onion, and capers with Dijon mustard and lemon juice in the sauce, but the variations are endless, so adapt it to your own preferences.

PIN Chicken with Olives and Capers to try it later!

For this weeks Friday Favorites pick, I’m featuring this Chicken with Olives and Capers that’s one of my recipes for the quick and easy low-carb dinners that I call chicken bakes. These are recipes where chicken breasts are seasoned and quickly browned, cut into strips, put into a baking dish, and then finished in the oven with some kind of topping or sauce.

This recipe for chicken baked with olives and capers was inspired by a chicken recipe that had an olive and caper sauce. My version uses regular black olives for those who aren’t Kalamata olive fans, and adds a few green olives too. If you’re a chicken fan who likes olives and capers, I think you’re going to love this for a quick dinner idea!

It’s the step of layering the strips of partly-cooked chicken with the olive and caper sauce and then baking for a short time that makes this so tasty! The chicken is infused with flavor when it bakes with the other ingredients, and I’m becoming a huge fan of these easy chicken bakes; scroll down to see more ideas for chicken that’s prepared this way.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• black olives
• chopped green olives
• chopped Capers (affiliate link)
• chopped red onion
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• Dijon mustard (affiliate link)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice 

What are Capers?

Capers are the green, unripened bud of a plant that grows in the Mediterranean region. Here is Everything You Need to Know About Capers if you want more information.

Do you have to use every ingredient for the Chicken with Olives and Capers?

We loved this recipe with the black olives, green olives, red onion, minced garlic, Dijon, and capers. But if you don’t like one of those ingredients or don’t have it, I think you can make a tasty sauce for chicken just using some of them.

Can you make Chicken with Olives and Capers with chicken thighs?

If you prefer chicken thighs, you can make this recipe with well-trimmed boneless chicken thighs, which don’t need to be cut into strips after they’re browned.

How to Make Chicken with Olives and Capers:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Take chicken breasts out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 375F/190C and spray baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Drain and chop black olives, chop green olives, chop red onion, and chop capers.
4. Mix those ingredients with Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil to make the topping
5. Trim chicken and season with Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link) and a little salt and pepper.
6. Heat olive oil and brown chicken about 5 minutes per side. 
7. Cut chicken into 3 or 4 lengthwise strips 
8. Arrange chicken strips in a baking dish. 
9. Spoon the olive and caper sauce over the chicken.
10. Bake 20 -25 minutes.
11. I’d use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) to check for a temperature of 165F/75C.
12. Serve hot, with the sauce and pan juices spooned over the chicken.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

Chicken with Olives and Capers would be delicious with Greek Cauliflower Rice Bake, Broccoli Gratin, or Easy Cheesy Baked Keto Cauliflower for a low-carb meal.

More Low-Carb Chicken Bake Dinners:

• Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms
• Salsa Verde Chicken Bake
• Greek Chicken Bake
• Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Bake
• Artichoke Chicken Bake

Continue to Content

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Yield: 6 servings

Chicken with Olives and Capers

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

This low-carb Chicken with Olives and Capers is an easy chicken dinner idea that will be a hit with olive fans!

Ingredients

• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp. Poultry Seasoning (see notes)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 6 oz. can black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped green olives
• 1/4 cup chopped capers
• 2 T chopped red onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice (see notes)

Instructions

 

1. Take chicken breasts out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 375F/190C and spray baking dish with non-stick spray. (I used a dish that was 8" x 11" but something close to that will work fine.)
3. Drain can and chop the black olives, chop green olives, chop red onion, and chop capers.
4. Mix chopped black olives, green olives, red onion, and capers with Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil to make the topping.
5. Trim chicken as needed and season with Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link) and a little salt and pepper.
6. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken about 5 minutes per side, or just until it's nicely browned. (It will not be fully cooked at this point.)
7. Cut chicken into 3 or 4 lengthwise strips (Make 4 strips for large chicken breasts or 3 for smaller ones. You want the strips to be about the same thickness.)
8. Arrange chicken strips in a baking dish. (I used a dish that was 8" x 11" but any size close to that will work.
9. Spoon the olive and caper sauce over the chicken, trying to get all the pieces of chicken covered with sauce.
10. Bake 20 -25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the whole dish is bubbling hot.
11. I would use an Instant Read Meat Thermometer (affiliate link) if you have one to check that chicken has reached a temperature of 165F/75C after 20 minutes, and cook it a few minutes longer if needed.
12. Serve hot, with the sauce and pan juices spooned over the chicken strips when you plate it.

Notes

Use any seasoning blend that's good on chicken if you don't have Poultry Seasoning (affiliate link). I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice for this recipe.

Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara and inspired by Pan-Fried Chicken with Olive and Caper Sauce. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 248Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 647mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 26g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Chicken with Olives and Capers is extra low in carbs and would be great for low-carb or Keto diets. It would also approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Danica's Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for chicken that’s baked with olives and capers was posted in 2020. It was updated with more information in 2023.

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