Pesto Chicken Recipe

Plate with steamed broccoli, plain boiled pasta noodles, and pesto covered chicken breast.

4.95 from 18 votes

This Easy Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe is made with juicy chicken breasts and oven-baked in a creamy homemade basil pesto sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes, serve with your favorite sides for a delicious and flavorful low-carb dinner.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Chicken, Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Baked Pesto Chicken, Pesto Chicken, Pesto Chicken Recipe

Servings: servings

Author: Jessica Randhawa

Cost: $8

Ingredients

For the pesto chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to season
1 cup prepared pesto sauce (see recipe below) or store-bought

For the Pesto

⅓ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
3 cups fresh basil leaves stems removed, packed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the chicken

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a large 11 x 8-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Add the chicken breasts to your baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper to season, and turn to coat.
Add the prepared pesto sauce over the top of the chicken breasts. Use a silicone spatula to evenly distribute the pesto sauce over each chicken breast, and use kitchen tongs to flip each chicken breast 1-2 times to really cover the entire surface in sauce.
Tent your baking dish with foil and transfer it to the oven. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Then uncover and continue to bake for an additional 5-15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees as measured with a digital meat thermometer.
Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

For the Pesto

Add the pine nuts, garlic, and fresh basil to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed.
With the motor running, slowly drizzle the oil in the food processor, slowly and steadily. Process until mostly smooth - you may need to remove the lid and scrape down the sides once halfway through adding the oil.
Add the cheese and process just until combined. Stir in salt, to taste.

Notes

Pesto Sauce: Feel free to purchase and use your favorite store-bought pesto if you're short on time. You will need approximately 1 cup basil pesto to make this chicken recipe. The recipe provided makes approx. 2 cups.

Read this Easy Basil Pesto Recipe for more information.

Prep ahead: Prepare the pesto ahead of time and combine it with the chicken, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large zip-lock bag to marinate in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Should you sear your chicken before baking? I did not feel the need to sear my chicken breasts before baking. If you decide to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, this is a step that I would recommend.

What temperature should I cook chicken to? Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F and allowed to rest for five minutes before slicing.

Nutrition