Quick and Easy Baked Pesto Chicken is a low carb chicken breast dinner recipe which you'll love for sure! Made with simple pantry staple ingredients like homemade Basil Pesto, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and seasonings, it's a simple dump and forget chicken bake dinner recipe.
Guys so today I made this Baked Pesto Chicken because I wanted to make a quick low carb dinner for myself. And did I love it!
One thing, I have a thing for Pesto! That zesty, bright, green sauce has my heart. And then when you top it over chicken with cherry tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes and bake it! So yum!
The best part is of course those perfectly roasted and blistered cherry tomatoes!
I had no idea that this Pesto Chicken Bake would turn out so good!
If you have no Pesto in the refrigerator, then don't worry. You can make your own Basil Pesto. Or make Pea Pesto or Kale Pesto or Spinach Pesto! but do try this recipe! You're going to love every bit of it.
When this Pesto Chicken was baked, my kitchen started to smell like a typical Italian place! All heady with the fragrance of Pesto!!! So Good!
What Ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- Lean Chicken Breasts
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Basil Pesto Sauce
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Freshly chopped Basil
- Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
How to Make Pesto baked Chicken
STEP 1: Preheat oven and Pound Chicken Breasts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C. Pound chicken breasts using a meat mallet until it is evenly thick from all sides. I prefer them around 1 inch to 1/2 inch thick from all sides.
STEP 2: Coat Chicken with Olive Oil and Seasonings
Place chicken breasts in a 9x9 inch baking dish. Coat chicken breasts with salt, pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and extra virgin olive oil.
STEP 3: Coat with Basil pesto Sauce, Sun-dried tomatoes, and Cherry tomatoes.
Coat chicken breasts with Basil Pesto Sauce.
I prefer my homemade basil pesto sauce for best taste. I recommend you use that as well. Along with that, top with sun-dried tomatoes, and diced cherry tomatoes.
STEP 4: Bake at 400 F for 20-22 minutes
Bake in a preheated oven at 400 F with 20-22 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken registers an internal temperature of 165F to 170F.
Garnish & Serve
Garnish with freshly chopped basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve right away.
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Make it a low carb meal
You can serve this Basil Pesto Chicken as an easy low carb dinner recipe. You can serve it with these side dishes to make it a low carb meal.
Alternatively you can even serve it with Pasta to make it kid friendly!
Storage
Leftover Baked Pesto Chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can refrigerate this for upto a week.
Freeze: You can freeze leftover Baked Pesto Chicken. Upon cooking, transfer to a freezer friendly resealable bag and freeze for upto three months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a skillet or oven until heated through.
Variations
- Pesto of your choice: if you do not have Basil pesto at home, make a puree with Spinach or Kale or even Peas along with Walnuts or Pine Nuts, Lemon Juice, Dried Herbs and Salt. And use it for this recipe!
- Replace Sun Dried Tomatoes with fresh Tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
I hope you liked this recipe. If you happen to make this recipe, then comment below and tag me on Instagram with #recipemagik.
Basil Pesto Chicken Bake
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lbs chicken breast fats trimmed, about 1/2 inch thick from all sides
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons pesto sauce
- 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes
- ½ lbs cherry tomatoes diced
Garnish (optional)
- fresh chopped basil chifonade
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Use a meat mallet to pound chicken breast until it is evenly thick (about ½ inch) from all sides.
- Place the chicken breasts in a 9x9 inch baking dish. Pour in all the seasoning, along with olive oil.
- Toss well to combine until the chicken breasts are evenly coated on all sides.
- Spoon Basil Pesto Sauce and use the back of the spoon to coat the chicken breasts evenly.
- Top with sun-dried tomatoes and diced cherry tomatoes.
- Bake for 20-minutes. Check for doneness of the chicken using an instant read thermometer. Make sure it reads 165-170F. If not, the bake for few minutes more.
- Serve with freshly chopped basil and shredded parmesan on top.
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