This quick Easy Baked Pesto Chickenrecipecomes together in about 30 minutes! Can’t beat that. I love it because I almost always have these ingredients on hand so it’s a good last minute dinner.
Originally posted September 24, 2015
Have you ever fasted? I’m LDS, and we fast for 2 meals on the first Sunday of every month.
Here’s how you know you’re fasting:
- Somehow everything smells like chocolate doughnuts
- the chewed-on crusts from your kid’s abandoned sandwiches suddenly look like the most delicious food you have ever seen in your life.
- the smell of the crock pot that you inevitably prepared feels like it is actually going to knock you out.
It’s kind of pathetic how hard fasting is for me. If I’m not being careful, I get super grumpy and lethargic. Only 2 meals! Fasting is not easy…but it is a choice.
I recently read a story about a girl who trained herself to “not think about food” every day until school was over, so that she could focus on not failing out. She’s an American, and she grew up hungry. It was not a choice for her.
And it’s not a choice for way too many kids in our country. I can hardly believe this, but 3 out of 5 elementary teachers say they regularly see kids come to school hungry.
Nobody wants that. Safeway is running their Hunger Is campaign this September (2015), and if you want to help there are two ways: you can donate at the checkout in participating stores (Albertsons,Safeway,Randalls, etc.)
Or you can buyproducts from participating brands–awesome brands that you already use, likeCon Agra (Marie Calender’s, Healthy Choice, Bertolli’s and PF Changs),co*ke,Unilever (with brands like Best Foods and Breyers),Kellogg’s, andCampbell’s.For each product purchased, a meal will be earned fora hungry child.
That’s not hard, right? Certainly not as hard as going a whole school day with nothing to eat.
How to make Pesto Chicken
I used Best Foods mayonnaise inthis recipe. It’s a classic: you’ve heard about putting mayo on poultry right? I’ve even seen recipes for Thanksgiving turkeys that call for mayonnaise. I’m tell you, its amazing and makes the chicken so moist.
I mixed it with pesto first and sprinkled some pankoon top, which added such great flavor and the perfect crunch. These are things I always have in my kitchen, so it’s a perfect crap-it’s-5pm-again-where’s-dinner meal. I also included a little recipe for some pasta I made on my second trial. There aren’t any pictures, but it was so good that I didn’t want to forget what I did.
Do you guys give up? Or are youthirsty for more?
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Easy Baked Pesto Chicken
4.90 from 19 votes
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 20 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
Servings: 4 Servings
This quick Easy Baked Pesto Chickenrecipecomes together in about 30 minutes! Can't beat that. I love it because I almost always have these ingredients on hand so it's a good last minute dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breast halves, 1.25 pounds
- salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup Hellman's, Best Food's Mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup basil pesto
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, panko is best
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray (lay some foil down first for super easy cleanup!)
Pat each chicken breast dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper.
Lay the chicken breasts on the baking sheet a few inches apart from each other.
In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and basil pesto. Spoon the pesto on top of the chicken, trying to keep it from sliding off the edges. You don't need to use all the sauce (try not to contaminate what you don't use so you can serve it with the cooked chicken).
Sprinkle the top of each chicken breast with a good amount of panko bread crumbs, I used at least 3 tablespoons total.
Bake at 425 for about 20-25 minutes. I highly recommend a meat thermometer, you want to get it to 165 degrees. Juices should run clear.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately!
Quick Pesto Pasta (optional)
Cook 1 pound of pasta according to package instructions. Drain and add 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup pesto, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
Serving: 1chicken breast | Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 498mg | Potassium: 437mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 463IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 365
Keyword: baked panko, chicken, Pesto
Did you make this? I'd love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!
Other easy chicken recipes!
Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus: (one of the top recipes on The Food Charlatan!)
Pistachio Pesto Chicken:
Garlic Lime Chicken: <<one of those delicious, stupid easy recipes :)
Slow Grilled Mustard Chicken:
More easy chicken recipes from friends:
Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken from Crème de la Crumb
Brown Sugar and Garlic Barbecue Chicken from Yellow Bliss Road
Holy Yum Chicken from Table for Two
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Safeway . The opinions and text are all mine. Of course!
Categorized as Back to School Recipes, , Dinner, Healthy Dinner, , Quick and Easy Dinners
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Hi! I'm Karen
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