Easy Baked Pesto Chicken

Pesto Chicken is a healthy baked dish that is loaded with flavor. The pesto sauce is made with fresh basil, spinach, garlic, walnuts and Parmesan cheese that gets added right on top of the tender chicken to make each bite irresistible!

Pesto Chicken

Hi there! It’s Jessica Gavin, Certified Culinary Scientist and I’m excited to share with you this quick and easy baked pesto chicken recipe that’s a breeze to whip up. Lean protein cooked in the oven while a fresh and flavorful pesto sauce is made to add on top. You’re not going to want to miss my critical tips for maximizing the flavor of the pesto. This meal takes only 30 minutes to make, for a healthy dish any day of the week!

When you’re looking to add a little excitement and variety to the weekly chicken dinner routine, a quick pesto sauce made with fresh herbs is your answer. Skip the store-bought jarred stuff that lacks flavor, because you can quickly make it right at home in just 10 minutes.

A classic pesto sauce has basil leaves, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and nuts. To make the ingredients pop with their unique flavor attributes, there are some essential preparation steps before adding to a food processor or blender.

Basil has an extraordinary anise taste, which gets locked in its leaves until picked. Lightly bruising them before processing brings out the aromas of the herb, making the pesto more fragrant.

As you may have experienced, raw garlic can have a sharp bite and bitterness, which doesn’t get any less noticeable once minced. To tame the garlic flavor and coax out the natural sweetness, give whole garlic cloves a toast on a sheet pan. It tastes like roasted garlic, adding depth to the pesto.

Walnuts not only add creaminess and texture to the pesto, but also toasting enhances the oils delicate nutty smell. Doing these three things before processing the pesto turns up the flavor level, for a more bold and balanced sauce.

One of my go-to methods for making lean chicken breasts that stays tender and juicy is baking them in a high heat oven for a relatively short period. Merely drizzling the chicken with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper adds just enough flavor without overpowering the pesto sauce. The even flow and distribution of heat in the oven keep the chicken from becoming dried out, as long as you keep a close eye on doneness. I like to have an instant-read thermometer handy to check.

Each piece of chicken gets generously coated with some of the basil and spinach pesto, and topped with freshly chopped tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and walnuts.

This baked chicken pesto recipe is a satisfying and healthy dish, that can be served alongside pasta, zucchini noodles or crispy roasted potatoes. The recipe makes a generous amount of basil pesto sauce that can be saved and added to others meals for an extra bump of flavor!

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Pesto Chicken

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By: Jessica Gavin

Pesto Chicken made with fresh basil, spinach, garlic, walnuts and Parmesan cheese to make each bite irresistible!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• 1 9 x 13-inch baking dish

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2-2 ½ lbs
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ ⅔ cup refrigerated basil pesto or 1 recipe homemade pesto
• ▢ 6 ounces sliced fresh mozzarella
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes optional

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Season 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
• Add ¼ cup of the ⅔ cup refrigerated basil pesto to the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the pesto, then top them evenly with the remaining pesto.
• Lay 6 ounces sliced fresh mozzarella evenly over the tops of the breasts. If using, add 1 cup cherry tomatoes to the baking dish around the chicken.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a thermometer. Serve immediately.

Notes

• Fridge: Store leftover pesto chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, or in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 

• Freezer: If you prepare this as a freezer meal, leave the mozzarella out of the bag. Once the chicken has thawed completely and is ready to be baked, top with the mozzarella and bake as directed. 
• Make Ahead: You may assemble this dish up to 2 days in advance, just cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 36gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 1079mgPotassium: 533mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1337IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 292mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, entree, main, Main Course, main dish

Cuisine: American, Italian, Italian American

Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!