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This 2 ingredient Pesto Chicken recipe is going to be your next favorite weeknight meal for sure. Whether it is grilled or oven baked, it turns out tender and juicy every single time!
Chicken is smothered in a creamy, homemade basil pesto and teamed up with cherry tomatoes, turning into one of the best, easiest low carb dinners ever! It’s really the perfect dinner for anyone who doesn’t have time to muck around in the kitchen-just like our Creamy French Mustard Chicken and our Creamy Garlic Chicken Breasts.
Why This Recipe Works
Oh lord. This chicken is unreal. Because I’m a fan of variety, I’ve included two different cooking methods in the recipe below. Personally, I love grilling and the unmistakeable barbecue, char-grilled flavour it gives the chicken, just like our Grilled Chicken Caprese. However, oven baked is just as good, drawing out the natural chicken flavours, making for a tender and juicy chicken breast.
It all starts with pesto, and because homemade pesto is nine million times better than store bought, we already have a Homemade Basil Pesto recipe ready to go. That’s the pesto you’re going to be smothering all over your chicken.
What Goes Into This Recipe
When I say two ingredients, I do mean two, but every time I make this I cant resist some tomato on the side
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can also use chicken tenders if you want to.
- Pesto: Use your favorite jarred pesto here, or make your own Homemade Basil Pesto– it’s incredibly easy to make.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
How to Make 2 Ingredient Pesto Chicken
- Marinate chicken: In a bowl, marinate the chicken breasts, using about 2 tablespoons per breast. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
- Grill chicken: Preheat your skillet or grill pan on medium heat. Gently lay the marinated chicken and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, until completely cooked through.
- Grill tomatoes: In the same pan (olive oil if needed), cook the cherry tomatoes until they soften and have a bit of brown char.
- Plate and serve: Arrange the chicken and tomatoes on a serving platter or a plate and serve hot!
Serve your pesto chicken with Buttery Sautéed Green Beans, Grilled Asparagus or some Crispy Garlic Butter Parmesan Smashed Potatoes. I love teaming it up with some bread to mop up all that delicious sauce. If you do too, try my Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread or my Bloomin’ Onion Garlic Bread.
And if you’re looking for a low carb side dish, pair it with some Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice.
Recipe FAQ’s
Check the internal temperature of the chicken using a meat thermometer. If it reads 165 degrees or more, it is cooked.
You can also slice the chicken from its thickest part and check if the juices run clear and there’s no pink in the center to check for its doneness.
You can! To do this, preheat your barbecue grill, grill pan or skillet. Once heated, chuck your chicken on and cook for around five to six minutes each side.
Remove your chicken from the grill and place on a warm plate. Pop your tomatoes on the grill and rotate until brown and cooked through.
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2 Ingredient Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless chicken breast fillets skinless
- 1/2 cup basil pesto plus 1/4 cup extra for serving. Use this recipe for homemade pesto or you can use store bought.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt optional – adjust to your tastes
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 500 g cherry tomatoes optional as a serving idea
Instructions
- Smother chicken fillets in the pesto on all sides (about 2 tablespoons of pesto for each chicken breast, depending on your taste). Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Grill:
- Preheat a barbecue plate, grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 5-6 minutes each side or until completely cooked through. Transfer to a warm plate. Grill the tomatoes, rotating once, until soft and beginning to brown.
- Top chicken with extra pesto. Serve with the tomatoes.
Oven Baked:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F | 180°C. Line a baking dish with aluminium foil or bang | parchment paper.
- Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the baking dish and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- At 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and arrange the tomatoes around each fillet.
- Place the chicken back in the oven and cook a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink.
Notes
- Make sure your grill is preheated well so the chicken pieces get that perfect char-grilled sear.
- Use our homemade basil pesto recipe for the best flavour results.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was so delicious! thanks for sharing!!
My family won’t eat tomatoes.. any other veggie you would recommend and how long would you cook?
Five thumbs up??! Awesome recipe (not surprised) Thank you so much for sharing. My family and I appreciate what you do so much!!
You are my lifesaver…..
Dan.V
What would you serve this with??
I love to serve it with penne (pasta) with extra pesto, garlic and olive oil sauce over the penne.
But I think it also goes well with steak cut fries or a good creamy mashed potato. And it goes well with plain rice too of course. I also like to add a side of steamed veggies if I’m serving it with rice.
Maybe oven roasted gnocchi?
OMG it’s smells so good cooking (in the oven) we cant wait to taste ie, justput back in with the tomatoes… I’ll let U know how yummy it is later… Thanx so much!!!
Hi, could you give me a hint on how to freeze this recepe for 2 days? My idea is to prepare half a breast and as it is only for me I would have to freeze some and eat in small portions. Thanks
Yes, that sounds great! I would recommend even just making it and then freezing what you don’t need at this time. I like to use my foodsaver for freezing. You can even freeze them in individual portions too so you don’t have to keep freezing it and reheating big portions. Hope that helps! Enjoy!
You got me at, “two ingredients”. Just my kind of cooking. Thank you so much. Yum!
Totally! I couldn’t agree more! Enjoy your chicken!
We loved this pesto baked chicken! The cherry tomatoes on the side were a great accompaniment.
I’m so happy to hear that Shannon!
Great recipe! I cooked the chicken in the oven and over cooked it because I tried to broil it at the end to get that nice color on it – mistake!! The pesto recipe is awesome and I will make again soon with my basil out back. The tomatoes came out so good – sweet and juicy!! Thanks for posting! I will try again!!
This looks so yummy and I love how simple it is ! Wondering if we used dark meat (boneless/skinless thighs) what the cook time would be?