Easy Baked Pesto Chicken
Want to know the best parts of this recipe? How about only 3 ingredients? How about the preparation? You are simply rinsing, drying and slicing your chicken breasts into three thick strips. That’s all. You can use thighs here too.
The pesto I used on this day is my tried and true Gotham Greens from Whole Foods. Update: By popular demand, I am including my new pesto recipe below… It is fantastic and flavorful!
Baking this dish is a no brainer. And the bonus here is that it makes the chicken SUPER juicy and tender.
This is definitely a winner winner chicken dinner and please all the family and friends in your life. I served mine with some rice and poured the baking dish juices all over – chef’s kiss!
I also use this same method with my salmon, which happens to be my favorite. I slather the salmon with a thick layer of pesto and then top that with a parmesan cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Nothing beats it. Again, time and taste are terrific here.
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Easy Baked Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup mozzarella shredded
pesto:
- 1 cup fresh basil, no stems
- 1 tbs pine nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Slice your chicken breast into thick large strips. Depending on the size of the piece, slice into three or two strips. Season all the strips, front and back, generously with salt and pepper.
- Spread half of the pesto all over the bottom of your baking dish.
- Transfer the chicken to the dish in an even layer. Scoop the rest of the pesto on top and spread out with a brush or spatula to coat.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with your mozzarella. Place back in the oven until cheese is melted. Don’t over bake… you want juicy meat. Internal temperature of meat should be 165 F. Top with chili pepper flakes.
Pesto:
- Combine the basil, nuts and garlic in a food processor until finely minced. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until all is in. Finally mix in the grated parmesan.
Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this recipe – I already know that it will become a firm family favourite!
Hi Helen! I’m so happy this was well received and that it will stick around for awhile!
Really enjoyed it. Even my 4&6 year olds loved it which is why I’ve since shared it with multiple groups of people. I used store bought Costco pesto and still turned out great. We served it with some flat noodles and green beans.
So, I tried this recipe today. While the flavor was great I was a little disappointed. There was so much liquid from the chicken. It was too watery. I had this happen with another chicken dish I cooked in the oven. I’ll try it again but I’ll put my noodles in with the chicken. Maybe it’ll help with the liquid.
Hi Pauline, it is normal for the chicken to disperse it’s juices while baking. You can add in some rice or noodles to cook with it and absorb the water. Let me know what happens!
Yes it was way too much liquid, my chicken was swimming in it, next time I will leave the foil off the top, that should help out some. I hope
This was delicious but the pesto made too much juice I used a baster to remove most of it. Will definitely make it again
Hi Teresa, Its the chicken that releases the juices while its baking.. very common. Glad you liked it though!
just want to chime in here. I used skin-on breasts and the fat turned the liquid into a fabulous sauce which the kids poured over pasta. They were in heaven. I also threw some cherry tomotoes in the pan which flavored the sauce. Will for sure make this again!
Absolutely simple and delicious! It did have extra juice but, I just left it in the oven with the top off for a few extra minutes. I also served it over brown rice and the extra juice was absorbed by the rice which improved the rice flavor. It was actually quite good! It’s a recipe I will actually hang on to!
How would you make this with salmon?
DELICIOUS! The whole family loved it. The juices from the chicken along with the pesto was perfect over the angel hair pasta we had with it. I’m making it again tonight!
hi Stella!
LOVE your recipes.. do you have nutritional information for this one?
This was so easy and delicious… I thought my husband was going to lick his plate! I’m one of those cooks that can’t help but add to a recipe. I marinated my chicken overnight in some Italian marinade; then when I assembled the dish I added some sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and Parmesan Cheese.. still very easy. I served it with Italian spinach and Garlic Aioli pasta. I did drain off a bit of the liquid but reserved some of the delicious juices to put over the pasta with the chicken. This recipe is a keeper!!!
Question, when you say one cup basil, for the homemade pesto, it’s it a packed cup or loose? Also, if I were to use the pesto brand you suggested, how much of the container do you use? Just wanting to make sure I have enough pesto for the recipe. Thank you!
I wasn’t sure if my kids would like pesto. They did! Another new recipe to add to my list.
Hi Adam, pesto is hard to resist! I’m glad the kids liked it!