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.
Easy Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe
I am currently working to add more easy, low-carb, and family-friendly baked chicken breast recipes to this little site of mine. Just the other week I shared my all-time favorite baked honey mustard chicken, coming up I’ll be sharing an easy baked buffalo chicken recipe, but for today I have this (Octavian approved) Pesto Chicken. Made with homemade pesto sauce, this recipe is easily made with your favorite store-bought variety. Prepare extra and serve in pasta, added to your favorite salad, topped on pizza, or as a high-protein afternoon snack.
How to Bake Pesto Chicken
For the full list and amounts of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
To make this easy and delicious baked pesto chicken recipe you’ll need the following tools and equipment: digital meat thermometer, 9×13 baking dish, Food processor (if preparing your own pesto), and kitchen tongs.
Step 1. Prepare the homemade basil pesto
As I’ve mentioned previously, you can make your own pesto or use your favorite store-bought version.
To start, 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 the whole time, drizzle the oil into the food processor, slow and steady. Process until mostly smooth. Note that you may need to turn off your food processor and remove the lid to scrape down the sides once or twice halfway through adding the oil.
Add the cheese and process just until combined. Stir in salt, to taste.
- Pro-top: Prepare the pesto ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Transfer pesto to a storage container and top with a thin later of oil to prevent browning. Cover with plastic, allowing the plastic wrap to touch the oil directly. Transfer to the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Step 2. Prepare the chicken
Preheat your 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 over each chicken breast and use kitchen tongs to flip each chicken breast 1-2 times to really cover the entire surface in sauce.
Step 3. Bake
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 serving.
Make it a meal
Your baked pesto chicken is cooked and ready- now what? Versatile and delicious, serve this easy chicken recipe with all your favorite sides
For starchy sides, I love to serve this recipe with plain cooked pasta, garlic roasted potatoes, soft and pillowy gnocchi, or brown rice.
Cut the carbs and serve it with cauliflower mashed potatoes, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles, instead.
But what about vegetables? Fortunately, this pesto chicken bake pairs well with just about all the vegetables from roasted carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, roasted brussels sprouts, or beets.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs?
Yes, absolutely.
This recipe is great with both chicken breasts or chicken thighs with one major difference – the total cooking time will vary. I also recommend searing both sides of your chicken thighs in a hot skillet until golden-brown and crispy before transferring to your baking dish to finish cooking in the oven.
For best results, use a digital meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, especially poultry.
Use this as a rough guide when using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs:
- Chicken Thighs at 350°F – 50-55 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 375°F – 45-50 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 400°F – 40-45 minutes
- Chicken Thighs at 425°F – 35-40 minutes
Boneless skinless chicken thighs will require about 10 minutes less cooking time compared to bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
More Chicken Recipe,
- Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
- Chicken Stock Recipe (How to Make Chicken Stock)
- Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe
- How to Cook Chicken Breasts
- Easy Chicken Stroganoff Recipe
If you try this easy baked pesto chicken recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
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Pesto Chicken Recipe
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
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 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, very 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 half-way through adding the oil.
- Add the cheese and process just until combined. Stir in salt, to taste.
Jessica's Notes
- Read this Easy Basil Pesto Recipe for more information.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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