Deliciously creamy sauce with the wonderful garlic pesto taste is what will send this easy pesto chicken bake recipe to the top of your weekly menu. It is simple to make and abundant in flavor!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
This pesto chicken bake is so simple. It only has 5 simple ingredients to execute this easy dinner recipe perfectly.
Make this simple chicken recipe for when you need a quick and simple dinner recipe to add into your meal plan for busy weeknights, and add your favorite side dishes to serve with this easy recipe.
Ingredients Notes:
- Chicken: Use this recipe with either chicken breasts or chicken thighs for the best results
- Pesto: A jar of store-bought pesto basil from the grocery store will do
- Yogurt: Use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream to make this into a creamy chicken recipe
- Cheese: You will need a combination of Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese
- Seasoning: Just a little sea salt and ground black pepper is needed
How To Make Pesto Chicken:
Preheat oven:
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Spray a 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Prepare chicken:
- Place chicken breasts into a baking pan and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
Create creamy pesto chicken:
- In a small bowl, combine the pesto basil, Greek yogurt, and grated Parmesan cheese until all are combined.
- Divide the mixture into fourths and spread over top of the chicken breasts evenly.
Bake chicken:
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Add cheese:
- Remove pan from oven and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast.
- Return the tender chicken breast to the oven and add an. additional 10 minutes of cooking time or until chicken is fully cooked and cheese is melted.
Optional Addins:
- Adding fresh tomatoes like cherry tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes can add a good amount of color and a little tasty acidic flavor to offset the creamy cheese and pesto
- Top with more fresh basil for added fresh herby flavor
- Add cream cheese to the creamy pesto or substitute out the Greek yogurt completely
Frequently Asked Questions for Pesto Chicken Recipes:
Use your favorite store-bought pesto sauce, or if you have a ton of fresh basil in your garden, grab some pine nuts from the grocery store, add in some olive oil, and make your own homemade basil pesto recipe.
Use a food processor to blend the pesto to your desired texture.
A great way to make sure that you cook tender chicken breasts is by using a meat mallet and tenderizing the boneless chicken breasts until they are an even thickness.
Then, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken until it reaches at least 165℉ for safe eating while ensuring the chicken is still juicy and not dried out from overcooking.
Any leftover pesto chicken would be delicious served over a bed of angel hair pasta, zucchini noodles, or as a warm chicken sandwich with more melty mozzarella cheese.
Pesto Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ⅓ cup pesto basil
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Spray a 9×13" baking pan with non stick cooking spray.
- Place the chicken breasts in a pan and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- In a small bowl, combine the pesto basil, Greek yogurt and grated parmesan cheese until all combined.
- Divide the mixture into fourths and spread over the four chicken breasts evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on each chicken breast.
- Place back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and cheese is melted.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
At what point did you add the cherry tomatoes?
Have you ever tried stuffing the chicken with the mixture?
I loved this recipe. It was so easy and so delicious. I don’t like greek yogurt so I subbed it for cream cheese. Definitely recommend it!
Hi Olivia. We are so glad to hear that you like the Easy Pesto Chicken Bake. It’s a family fave.
We just added them the last 10 minutes of baking. Totally optional.
Does this reheat nicely?
Yes, you’ll love the leftovers!!
How much cream cheese would you say for a substitute? 1/4 of cream cheese block?
Do you bake it covered with foil?
We did not cover it with foil, but if it looks like it is getting overcooked, you can cover it with foil.
Really enjoyed this recipe. Really easy and tastes great. Mopped up the yummy sauce with rosemary bread.
We really enjoy this recipe with or without the tomatoes. I use sour cream if I don’t have the yoghurt. It so fast and easy. Tonight we’ll have it with Greek salad and potato wedges.
This was Fabulous!!