Easy Baked Pesto Chicken is a tasty dinner to make with purchased pesto, or use homemade pesto if you have it! And this easy, low-carb, five-ingredient fried chicken recipe is probably something the whole family will enjoy!
Pin Easy Baked Pesto Chicken to try later!
When I first made Easy Baked Pesto ChickenI loved what a flavorful dinner it was. But little did I know it would become one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Now it has been pinned millions of times and visited over and over again on my website! And I’ve made this myself before.
I got the inspiration for a baked pesto chicken recipe years ago while browsing the South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook. That was in the summer, and when it’s summer at my house, I have fresh basil on the counter, I freeze basil for the winter, and I make Basil Pesto with Lemon. So it’s not surprising that a pesto recipe would catch my attention.
But this recipe is also delicious with purchased pesto. I’m a fan of Kirkland Basil Pesto, so I would use that if I don’t have homemade pesto in the freezer. I hope you try the recipe if you’re a pesto fan too!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is just a list of ingredients; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe.
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning chicken
- Basil pesto (affiliate link), or Basil pesto with lemon
- grated mozzarella cheese
Is this fried chicken with pesto a child-friendly dish?
A few years after I posted this recipe, I started training with a trainer named Wendy. One day she told me that she looked up the recipe for her kids’ favorite chicken dish and it was this recipe from my blog! So if you’re wondering if this could be kid-friendly, Wendy says her kids love this fried chicken with pesto. Wendy serves it with pasta for the kids, but I would serve it with one of the options below for a tasty low-carb meal.
Can you make Baked Chicken Pesto with store-bought pesto?
You can definitely make this super easy main course with store-bought basil pesto, just what the inspiring recipe called for. But if I have some on hand, I always make it with my homemade pesto from the freezer.
How low in carbs is the Easy Baked Pesto Chicken?
This flavorful chicken dish contains only 3 net carbs per serving, with 48 grams of protein! And this delicious chicken dish is also gluten-free.
How to make easy baked pesto chicken:
(This is just a summary of the steps for the recipe; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe.)
- Clean the chicken fillets and cut them lengthwise into strips. (I keep leftovers in the freezer and use them to make homemade chicken stock.)
- Spray the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, then spread 1/4 cup of the basil pesto over the bottom of the dish.
- Place the chicken strips over the pesto and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Spread another quarter cup of basil pesto over the chicken strips.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is barely cooked through. (Do not overcook at this stage or the chicken will be overcooked when the cheese has melted.)
- Then sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella (or a little more) on top and bake for about 5 more minutes, or until the cheese has melted. (If your grill is separate from the oven, start preheating it.)
- I wanted the cheese to be lightly browned, so after 5 minutes I switched to grilling, just long enough to get some color on the cheese.
- That’s all you have to do to make this easy and delicious low carb chicken dinner!
- Serve Easy Baked Pesto Chicken warm and I hope it becomes a favorite in your household!
Make it a low-carb meal:
Baked Pesto Chicken is delicious with mashed cauliflower with garlic, Parmesan and goat cheese or with simple cauliflower rice to smother with the flavorful sauce left in the dish. (It would also be great with Greek Lemon Rice if you don’t mind more carbs!)
Or serve with one of these low-carb side dishes:
Craving more low-carb dinners with pesto?
If you have extra basil pesto left after making it, check out my other Great Pesto Recipes!
Weekend food preparation:
This recipe has been added to the Weekend Food Prep category, where you will find recipes that you can prepare or cook on the weekend and eat during the week! This recipe can easily be doubled if you want to reheat leftovers later.
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and freshly 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 the oven to 375F/190C. Remove all visible fat and tendons from the chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces. (I cut the larger one into 3 strips and the smaller one into 2 strips.)
- Spray a 9 x 12-inch (or 8.5 x 12.5-inch) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, then spread 1/4 cup of basil pesto over the bottom of the dish.
- Place the chicken strips over the pesto and spread another quarter cup of 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, until the chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Do not overcook at this point or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese has melted.)
- When the chicken is barely cooked, remove the foil and sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 cup of the shredded mozzarella (or more).
- Place the dish without foil back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted. (If your grill is separate from the oven, start preheating it when you take the chicken out.)
- After melting the cheese for 5 minutes, I switched the oven to grilling and grilled for a few more minutes, just long enough to get the cheese lightly browned.
- Serve the Baked Chicken Pesto warm.
- When this is done, there will be some flavorful juice at the bottom of the bowl, so you can serve it with rice, cauliflower rice, or quinoa to soak up the juice.
Nutritional information
Yield
4
Portion size
1
Quantity per serving
Calories 472Total fat 28gSaturated fat 9gUnsaturated fat 20gCholesterol 134 mgSodium 457 mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 1gEgg white 48g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I use. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as many variables influence these calculations.
Suggestions for a low-carb diet / low-glycemic diet / South Beach diet:
This Baked Pesto Chicken would be great for low carb and Keto diets. If you use low-fat mozzarella, it can work for any phase of the Original South Beach Diet. For low-carb eating plans, full-fat mozzarella is preferable.
Find more recipes like this:
Use Casserole Recipes to find more recipes like this. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTokor on YouTube to see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes on this recipe:
This popular recipe was first posted in 2010 (probably with a photo that would make me shudder if I saw it now.) The recipe was updated in 2022 and last updated with more information in 2026.
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