Baked Chicken Pesto

6 Pieces359 cals

Are you ready to try one of my favorite quick meal prep recipes? This Baked Chicken Pesto recipe is packed with protein, low in carbs, smells as good as it looks, and only takes around 30 minutes to make! Did I mention you only need a few ingredients to make!?

Start this recipe by taking out 3 pounds of chicken breast, trimming the fat off of them, and cutting them into cutlets (thin slices). Use a sharp knife to do this!

Place those cutlets into a baking dish just big enough to fit all of them. You want everything snug so that there is no open space in your baked chicken pesto.

Top and evenly distribute over your baked chicken pesto 1/2 cup of basil pesto, 1/2 cup of marinara, and 2 freshly sliced plum tomatoes.

Don’t have pesto? Make your own by processing or blending these ingredients together until they look like…pesto!

Homemade Basil Pesto

  • 2 Cups Basil
  • 4 Tablespoons (20g) Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
  • 1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic (or 2 Cloves Garlic)
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Cover your baking dish with some aluminum foil and put it into the oven on 375F/190C for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes take out your baking dish and uncover it.

Sprinkle over the top of your baked pesto chicken 6 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Don’t like mozzarella? Use whatever you want!

Put your chicken back into the oven on 375F/190C for 10 minutes.

Eat this baked pesto chicken recipe by itself, over rice or quinoa, in a salad, or anything else you can think of! Let me know some of your favorite ways to eat this in the comments below.

Guess what time it is now? Dessert time! How about a Protein Molten Lava Cake!?

Baked Chicken Pesto Recipe

Baked Chicken Pesto

High protein meal prep in just minutes with this Baked Chicken Pesto recipe! This healthy chicken recipe is low in carbs and DELICIOUS!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate Save Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked chicken, healthy chicken and biscuits, pesto chicken
Servings: 6 Pieces
Calories: 359kcal
Cost: $8

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Ingredients

  • 3 Pounds Chicken Breast
  • ½ Cup Pesto - Basil
  • ½ Cup Marinara Sauce
  • 2 Sliced Tomato - Plum
  • 6 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese - Grated
  • ½ Cup Mozzarella Cheese - Reduced Fat

Instructions

  • Trim the fat off your Chicken Breast and cut them in half the long way
  • Take out a baking dish and add your Chicken Breast into it (make sure to use a dish that allows everything to fit snug)
  • Evenly distribute your Basil Pesto, Marinara, and Sliced Plum Tomatoes on top
  • Cover your dish with aluminum foil
  • Bake on 375F/190C for 25 minutes
  • Take your chicken out and uncover it
  • Top it with your Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese
  • Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes on 375F/190C

Video

Notes

Calories in the WHOLE recipe:
  • Calories: 2154
  • Fat: 90g
  • Saturated Fat: 19g
  • Sodium: 1420mg
  • Carbs: 26g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Sugar: 17g
  • Protein: 310g
 
Calories in each serving (if you make 6):
  • Calories: 359
  • Fat: 15g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.1g
  • Sodium: 236.6mg
  • Carbs: 4.3g
  • Fiber: .5g
  • Sugar: 2.8g
  • Protein: 51.6g

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.3g | Protein: 51.6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Sodium: 236.6mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 2.8g

12 Comments

  1. Patrick Dooley on May 15, 2024 at 11:02 am

    5 stars
    This was very easy to make and tasted great. Really liking the 50+ gm protein per serving!

  2. Jessie on November 29, 2020 at 2:24 pm

    Hey Derek, I’ve been following your site and getting recipes since 2014/2015 and to this day your website is still my favorite. I’m glad I get to save them to Pinterest for later now! Thank you for sharing with us!!

    • Derek Howes on January 16, 2021 at 10:55 am

      Thank you Jessie, you rock!!! Always trying to improve.

  3. Elizabeth on August 20, 2018 at 12:00 am

    This recipe is so good . My son , husband and I loved it . I make and freeze sundried tomato pesto at the end of every summer because our basil plants grow like crazy . I’m always looking for great recipes to use my pesto and this is definitely a favorite . So easy also . Thank you Mr. Howes !

  4. Cora on March 20, 2016 at 12:00 am

    I made this dish last night it was quick, easy, and my favorite inexpensive. I love recipes that have ingredients I already use on a regular basis. This was tasty and it smells devine. Thanks Derek it was delicious.

    • Derek Howes on March 21, 2016 at 12:00 am

      Wonderful to hear Cora! Thank you for the feedback 🙂

  5. Sacha on September 17, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Another winner! Very tasty!

  6. Kim on September 15, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Boyfriend made this for the second time (he loves your site!) and once again it was deliciously amazing! I’m officially hooked 🙂

    • Derek Howes on September 15, 2015 at 12:00 am

      Love it Kim! 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful feedback!

  7. vi on August 25, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Hello Derek! I really appreciate you making videos and creating recipes for us. I hope you get to hear that you are appreciated every day from your fans and people from the community. Thank you for not promoting anything and just purely doing the recicpes and coming up with fun ways to eat healthy.

  8. Chris on August 25, 2015 at 12:00 am

    just made this for dinner tonight smells and tastes amazing

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