Name: 4 Ingredient Pesto Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 Chicken Breasts; 3 tbsp Basil Pesto; 2 tomatoes (medium size); 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated or sliced)

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This Chicken Recipe is simple and delicious, great for a quick weeknight dinner or a nice Sunday dinner. Personally, I love to put it in the oven on a sheet pan and have another sheet pan with roasted potatoes with broccoli or cauliflower. So all I have to do is put it together and walk away until it’s done and ready to be served.

What is 4 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Bake

Pesto Chicken Bake, sounds sophisticated or fancy, doesn’t it? In reality, this is one of the easiest recipes. It requires only 5 minutes of prep and only 4 basic ingredients: chicken, basil pesto, mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes. Sometimes if I don’t have the tomatoes, I will just put basil pesto, and mozzarella on it and it’s still delicious.

What is pesto?

Traditional pesto is a blend of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts (I use walnuts or cashews because they are less expensive) and extra-virgin olive oil, and parmesan cheese. You can omit the cheese to make it vegan or dairy free. The only piece of equipment you will need is a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle (that requires a little more muscle and arm work) and the best part, it comes together in a few steps:

· Pulse the nuts, lemon juice, and garlic in the food processor until they’re finely chopped.

· Add the basil and pulse again.

· Next, drizzle in the olive oil with the food processor blade still running.

· Finally, add grated Parmesan cheese and process briefly until combined.

If you don’t have the time to make your own pesto, I like to use this pre-made pesto. it’s got fantastic flavor and I’m always happy with it.

pexels thiea alhoz 5604814 — Made from scratch Pesto

Ingredients

You will only need a few simple ingredients to make this delicious made from scratch Pesto chicken, this is just the overview of ingredients. We can find the recipe at the bottom of the page.

Fresh Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Salt and Pepper: if you’re using a fine ground salt, I would use a little less or it might be a little too salty.

Basil Pesto Sauce: Home-made or store-bought.

Tomato: Sliced tomato, use a large or medium firm red tomato.

Mozzarella: I used pizza cheese, marble cheese, or could use provolone all these work really well.

How To Make 4 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Bake:

How to make the 4-ingredient pesto chicken? It’s a simple recipe and comes together quickly! I include the detailed instructions in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:

Your first step is to bake the chicken breasts.

Next, place the chicken breast on a baking sheet with parchment or a liner. Top the chicken with your homemade or store-bought basil pesto. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Carefully take the chicken out of the oven. It should smell amazing right now with the smell of that basil pesto. Place your sliced tomato on top of the chicken and pesto. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with your cheese of choice and put back into the oven for 5 minutes

ryan quintal g0Y9eaPBVug unsplash — Sliced Tomatoes

pexels antonius ferret 6223125 — Grated /mozzarella

Helpful Tip

I was always afraid my chicken wasn’t cooked (I think that’s a fear of a lot of people really), so I purchased an instant-read thermometer. I insert it into the thickest part of the chicken breast and aim for an internal temperature of 165 ºF.