No matter the recipe, prepared pesto packs a lot of flavor for a single ingredient. That’s why we love to use it in so many pesto recipes, like this creamy pesto chicken. This chicken dinner is quick and easy to make—and simple to customize with extra vegetables or more cheese.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Ingredients
- Pesto: Use your favorite store-bought pesto, or prepare our go-to homemade pesto recipe.
- Chicken breasts: Pound the chicken breasts down to a uniform 1/2-inch thickness so they cook evenly.
- Heavy whipping cream: This recipe wouldn’t be creamy without the heavy whipping cream! It helps make the creamy sauce and softens the tomatoes.
- Grape tomatoes: Tomatoes add little bursts of bright flavor and color.
- Parmesan cheese: Shredded Parm is the perfect salty finishing touch for pesto chicken. We recommend 1/8 cup per serving, though we often don’t measure it out exactly.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the chicken
Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet until they are 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Brown the chicken
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the skillet. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides, then remove them from the pan and keep them warm.
Step 3: Make the pesto cream sauce
In the same skillet, add the minced garlic. Cook and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in the halved grape tomatoes, heavy whipping cream and pesto. Bring the sauce to a boil, and then reduce the heat.
Step 4: Finish cooking the chicken
Return the browned chicken to the pan. Cover, and cook until a thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 165°F, about 15 minutes.
Step 5: Add the cheese
When the chicken is cooked, sprinkle Parmesan on top of each piece. Serve hot.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Variations
- Veg it up: Add vegetables to your creamy pesto chicken. Broccoli florets, red pepper strips and zucchini slices go well with the flavors of the dish.
- More cheese, please: Combine the shredded Parmesan with shredded mozzarella, or layer a thin slice of fresh mozzarella on top of the finished chicken breasts.
- Add crunch: After adding the cheese, sprinkle on crispy prosciutto for a salty crunch.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Tips
How do you store creamy pesto chicken?
Keep leftover pesto chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within two days. Reheat the chicken slowly on the stovetop. You can use the microwave, but we prefer reheating pesto dishes on the stovetop for more control—you don’t want to overheat pesto.
If you want to make this pesto chicken recipe for a future dinner, wrap it and then freeze it for up to four months.
What do you serve with pesto chicken?
This creamy pesto chicken is a saucy dish, so it goes well with pasta or bread. We like it with long, wide noodles like pappardelle or fettuccine, or a basket of fresh garlic bread. Orzo or rice work, too. Put more vegetables on the table with a side salad or roasted veggie.
