Have dinner on the table in just 30 minutes with this easy and delicious baked pesto mozzarella chicken. Low-carb, gluten-free, and made with simple ingredients.
One of my favorite chicken recipes is simple baked pesto chicken. My whole family loves basil pesto sauce (even the little guy) so baked pesto chicken is a frequent weeknight dinner.
One night I decided to get fancy (translation – I was really craving cheese) so I topped our favorite simple pesto chicken with thick slices of fresh mozzarella and added some sweet cherry tomatoes.
Still low-carb, gluten-free, and just as delicious!
Make this recipe with your favorite store-bought pesto sauce (there are so many great options out there) or try making your own using fresh basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese.
I like to serve this recipe with a side of steamed broccoli, but cooked pasta, quinoa, or cauliflower rice are all great options.
How to Make Easy Baked Pesto Mozzarella Chicken
Let’s talk about how to make this recipe. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare and, depending on the total thickness of your chicken breasts, will take approximately 25-35 minutes to bake.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Add the chicken breasts to a large baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
- Slather with pesto sauce.
- Top with thick-sliced fresh mozzarella cheese and add the cherry tomatoes.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the chicken is fully cooked (160 F).
Variations
- Try using sundried tomato pesto instead of basil pesto.
- Instead of using chicken breasts, try making this recipe with chicken tenders or skinless boneless chicken thighs. You could even make this recipe vegetarian by swapping the chicken breasts for chickpeas.
- If you don’t have any fresh mozzarella, shredded mozzarella will also work.
- Feta cheese would also taste really nice with the pesto.
Looking for more easy and delicious chicken recipes? Try these reader favorites:
- Thai Chicken Curry Noodle Soup Recipe
- Garlic Mushroom Chicken Thighs
- Perfect Air Fryer Chicken Breasts (No Breading!)
- Classic Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Recipe
- Bruschetta Chicken Recipe
Have you tried making this Easy Baked Pesto Mozzarella Chicken?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Easy Baked Pesto Mozzarella Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- non-stick cooking spray
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup basil pesto - homemade or store-bought
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella - sliced
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and spray a large 11 x 8-inch baking dish with your favorite non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the chicken breasts to the baking dish in a single layer and drizzle with approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Turn to coat.
- Add the prepared pesto sauce over the top of the chicken breasts. Use a silicone spatula to evenly distribute the sauce over each chicken breast and use kitchen tongs to flip each chicken breast 1-2 times to really cover the entire surface.
- Top each chicken breast with sliced mozzarella cheese and add the cherry tomatoes.
- 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 the internal temperature of the chicken registers 160 degrees as measured with a digital meat thermometer.
Jessica's Notes
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Made this and it was very good. Found it took much longer than the suggested time though. Baked for 30 covered then another 15 minutes uncovered.
This is my new go-to on busy nights & I’ve shared it to quite a few people
So good! I didn’t have any cherry tomatoes, so I’ll have to make it again once my garden is ready. I also whipped up a quick batch of basil and walnut pesto, and cut the chicken breasts in half rather than pound them.
Thanks for the good comment Anastasia 🙂
Delicious, easy dish. Happened to have chicken tenderloins on hand, pesto and fresh mozzarella. Excellent step-by-step directions, thank you. My husband and I both enjoyed this and will make it again soon. I made a small amount of angel hair pasta to utilize the pan juices.
Thanks, Diane, I really appreciate the delicious feedback and rating. The pasta with juices sounds yummy 🙂