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Chicken with Basil Tomatoes\

A microwaved chicken dish with basil, tomatoes, yogurt, and noodles.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Basil and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,979 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

The recipe

Time6–8 minutes

Ingredients

Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare

  1. Bone and skin chicken breasts.

  2. Thinly slice onion and separate into rings.

  3. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of chicken breasts and place in an 8‑inch baking dish.

  4. Sprinkle the dish with sliced onion, dried basil, and minced garlic.

Cook the chicken

  1. Cover with a vented lid and microwave on high for 6–8 minutes, rotating halfway and stirring once, until chicken is cooked through.

  2. Let the dish stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

  3. Remove chicken to a plate; cover and keep warm.

Make the sauce and serve

  1. Stir canned crushed tomatoes, plain nonfat yogurt, red‑wine vinegar, and grated parmesan cheese into the remaining onion mixture in the dish.

  2. Microwave on medium for 2–3 minutes, until heated through but not boiling.

  3. Remove the dish and reserve ½ cup of the sauce.

  4. Add hot cooked noodles to the dish and stir to coat well.

  5. Serve chicken over noodles and spoon the reserved sauce over the chicken.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Basil + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together14,164 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Tomato + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together14,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together23,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breast halves
Provides the main protein, which sets firm as it cooks through in the microwave.
Canned crushed tomatoes
Form the base of the sauce, adding moisture and a bright, acidic tomato flavor.
Plain nonfat yogurt
Adds creaminess and tang to the sauce, mellowing its acidity.
Onion
Softens while steaming in the dish, adding sweetness and savory depth to the sauce.
Garlic cloves
Adds aromatic pungency that mellows and sweetens as it cooks.
Olive oil
Coats the chicken, adding fat that helps keep the meat moist and carries flavor.

The step that matters

Checking the chicken is cooked through before resting. Microwaves heat unevenly, so the chicken can be cold in the center or dry at the edges. Rotating and stirring, then a covered rest, helps the heat even out and finish cooking safely.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, basil, tomato, wine, vinegar, chicken, garlic):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Onionthe original
  4. Eggplantabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, basil, tomato, wine, vinegar, chicken, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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