Description
Delicious and easy baked pesto chicken topped with melted mozzarella cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and fresh ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
- 1/2 cup basil pesto (see notes)
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (or more if you like it cheesy!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces.
- Spray a 9″ x 12″ (or 8″ x 12″) baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish.
- Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through.
- When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (or more).
- Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted.
- After cheese has melted, switch oven to broil and broil for a few minutes more, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.
- Serve the Baked Pesto Chicken hot.
- Serve with rice, Cauliflower Rice, or quinoa to soak up the flavorful juice in the bottom of the dish.
Notes
- Feel free to adjust the amount of basil pesto according to your preference.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken breast
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 450mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 38g
- Cholesterol: 90mg