FAST AND SIMPLE PESTO CHICKEN DISH
This is about as easy as you’ll ever find for a main dish recipe, and so tasty, too! (And be sure to read to the bottom for an even EASIER version!) The recipe originally came from Allrecipes.com, but I’ve changed some things:
- 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I like them fairly thin for this recipe and I buy them locally, where I know the chickens are given no hormones, and they’re out on pasture.)
- 1 cup basil pesto – you can make your own, or I buy Cosco/Kirkland brand (“Cibo Naturals”) – it’s very tasty and it has a great label: I can pronounce and recognize everything, it’s fairly short, and the ingredients are all natural – how refreshing!
- Thick slices of mozzarella cheese – one for each piece of chicken(I’ll use shredded sometimes, too)
- Preheat oven to 350* F/175* C
- Butter a baking pan, lay out chicken pieces
- Put 2-3 T. of pesto onto each chicken breast
- Bake uncovered 35-40 minutes, place a piece of cheese onto each piece of chicken, then back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese (I just made it again and put the cheese on before it went into the oven and in 35 minutes the chicken was done and the cheese was golden brown. The timing will depend on how thick your chicken is.)
Adjust the times as needed for your oven to make sure your chicken is done, but not over-done and dried out.
EVEN EASIER VERSION – CHEESY CHICKEN: I tried making this without the pesto, since my kids don’t like it, and it was still really tasty, maybe even better! I put the chicken onto a buttered cookie sheet (I also do parchment paper first), add sea salt and pepper, then sprinkle various kinds of shredded cheese on it, with some parmesan on top, bake the same amount of time, and it melted in your mouth! I’m going to use this recipe when I need to take a meal to someone, and also when we have my family over soon for our daughter’s birthday dinner. It’s that good, and that easy!
You can serve this cheesy chicken with some easy and TASTY dipping sauces:
Ancho chili mayo or Cucumber dip (cucumbers cut up small, enough sour cream to coat, plenty of garlic, sea salt & pepper.)
Fast & easy – perfect for a busy day!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Michigan Mom2three 04.24.08 at 3:42 am
This sounds so easy! What a great idea. I make pesto in bulk when I have basil in the garden in the summer, and I freeze it in 1/4 c containers. (It is extremely easy to make if you have a food processor, and so much cheaper, plus I can control what’s in it.) I don’t have any currently…. but when I make some more, I plan on making this!
Shauna
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Holly 04.24.08 at 7:26 pm
I love pesto! I used some in dinner just tonight as a matter of fact.
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Michigan Mom2three 07.31.08 at 4:26 am
Kelly – I just made a batch of pesto yesterday from the basil in my garden…. I came searching for this recipe because I’m planning to fix it this week!
I found it easily because you indexed all your main dishes – thanks! I’ll let you know what everyone thinks!!! I’m sure it will be delish.
Shauna
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Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.31.08 at 8:48 am
Hi Shauna,
Can you let us know how you make your pesto?
Thanks,
Kelly
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Shauna 01.26.09 at 2:33 pm
Hey Kelly- I’m coming back to this post because I’m making this AGAIN, now, with the pesto that I made when I originally commented, and froze!
I make pesto in large batches in the summer, and then freeze for use all winter. Basil is easy to grow in my garden.
Basically, I just put in my food processor: fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, whole, peeled cloves of garlic, and fresh grated parmesean cheese (everything to taste – I don’t measure, sorry – I know that’s not much help.). Then I pulse it to get it all chopped up good and fine, then, I turn it on and drizzle in extra virgin olive oil until I get the consistency that I want. (Again, I don’t measure, this is one of those things that I “just make”.)
You could probably google for a pesto recipe that would give you some actual amounts if you have never made it before. It would give you a place to start that wasn’t so vagure.
The way that I freeze it is, I place about a quarter cup onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up tight, then place that into a freezer bag. I usually end up with 10-15 of these by summer’s end, to use in various dishes through the winter. (It really depends on how good my basil crop is!) It does get a little dark in the freezer, but when you’re using it for things like pesto chicken, it doesn’t matter.
In the summer, when I’m making it up fresh, I always keep some out for various things. One thing I like to do with it is to mix it with a little mayo and then use it as a spread for a sandwich. It’s a nice change from the standard “mayo/mustard”. If you’re wanting to do a Boston Lettuce roll up, you can also spread some on the Boston lettuce leaf, then fill with no-nitrate lunch meats and raw milk cheeses……. this was one of my favorite “low carb lunches”.
Shauna
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Kelly 01.27.09 at 6:53 pm
Mmmm, that sounds so good, thanks for coming back to share!
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Sue E. 04.27.09 at 1:40 pm
I love making my own pesto in the summer, too. Basil is so easy to grow, and ends up being huge by summer’s end. My pesto recipe has measurements:
2 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
6 garlic cloves-peeled
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 c. olive oil
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c. freshly grated parmesean cheese
In a food processor combine basil and garlic. Pulse until the basil is very finely chopped. Add the salt and pine nuts, and pulse several times. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil in a steady stream. Mix until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Using a spatula fold in the butter, and when it has been incorporated smoothly, fold in the parmesean cheese. Makes about 1 cup.
I also freeze this in small batches. I love making pesto mayonaise with this (I just add a dollop to some mayo I may be using for a sandwich and mix.)
You can substitute fresh spinach for part of basil, especially if you don’t have enough. I have also heard of people substituting walnuts for the pine nuts.
Enjoy!!
[Reply]
Kelly 04.28.09 at 1:51 am
Great, thanks Sue!
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