Chicken Pesto Sandwich

Pesto is one of my favorite ingredients to add to sandwiches. With a few swipes of the herbaceous green sauce, it makes sandwiches moist, delicious and enlivened. Our chicken pesto sandwich is a perfect showcase for this.

Pair pesto with chicken, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella cheese and ciabatta, and you’ve got a recipe for success—especially if you define success as an easy, flavorful, satisfying meal for lunch or dinner. Here’s how to make our chicken pesto sandwich.

Ingredients for Chicken Pesto Sandwich

• Chicken: We pound boneless skinless chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness so they’ll cook quickly and evenly on the grill. You can also cook the chicken in the oven or on the stovetop.
• Pesto: We tested the best store-bought pesto brands in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen. A homemade pesto recipe would be equally delicious if you have a few extra minutes to spare come dinnertime!
• Fresh mozzarella: Slabs of fresh mozzarella add moisture, height and heft to the sandwich.
• Roasted red peppers: Roasted red peppers and pesto are a powerhouse combination that pack a ton of flavor.
• Ciabatta buns: Ciabatta serves as a solid and sturdy vessel that won’t get floppy or mushy after adding all the juicy toppings.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the chicken

Gently pound the chicken breasts to flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. Spread 1 tablespoon of pesto over each chicken breast, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Grill the chicken

Grill the pesto-brushed chicken, covered, over medium heat until no longer pink. Three to five minutes on each side should do the trick. Double-check that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F before you add it to the sandwiches.

Editor’s Tip: Here’s more on how to grill chicken breast if you want more tips, like how to tell when the grill has reached medium heat and how long to let the chicken rest before taking that first bite.

Step 3: Layer the ingredients

Taste of Home

After the chicken is off the grill, spread three tablespoons of pesto over each of the bun bottoms. Then, layer on the roasted red peppers, chicken and fresh mozzarella.

Step 4: Assemble the sandwiches

Spread the remaining pesto over the cut side of the bun tops. Place the tops on the sandwiches, and serve immediately.

Chicken Pesto Sandwich Variations

• Switch up the cheese: If you can’t find fresh mozzarella, you can use regular slices of mozzarella, provolone or even Gouda. Whipped ricotta would add some lovely creaminess to every bite.
• Pile on some greens: Fresh spinach or arugula would be great choices that add color and a little texture. A few leaves of fresh basil would work, as well, if you can’t get enough of the aromatic herb.
• Use a different kind of bread: There are other types of bread that you could use in place of ciabatta. Sourdough, Italian or French loaves would all work, as would slices from an herb-crusted or tomato-basil bread if you want to get fancy.
• Toast the bread: With just a little extra effort, toasted bread adds a perfect amount of crunch to the sandwich. It would also join the hot chicken in providing some contrast to the cold roasted red peppers and mozzarella. To toast the ciabatta, brush a little olive oil on the insides of the bun, and put them face-down on the grill.
• Swap out the pesto: Switch up the type of pesto that you use. Try a roasted red pepper pesto, spinach pesto or arugula pesto.
• Add veggies: Roasted eggplant or zucchini would be very complementary to the pesto and mozzarella, as would sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions or fresh tomato slices sprinkled with freshly cracked pepper.

How to Store a Chicken Pesto Sandwich

Avoid assembling sandwiches that you don’t plan to eat right away. If you have to, wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, and keep them in the fridge for a few hours.

Chicken Pesto Sandwich Tips

Taste of Home

What do you serve with a chicken pesto sandwich?

Chicken pesto sandwiches pair wonderfully with air-fryer sweet potato fries, roasted vegetables or couscous salad with corn and tomatoes. Create a “You-Pick-Two”-inspired meal like you’d find at Panera, and add a homemade soup recipe and salad. Air-fryer potato chips or air-fryer kale chips would be crunchy companions for the sandwich.

Can you make a chicken pesto sandwich ahead of time?

Chicken pesto sandwiches are best assembled right before serving to prevent the bread from becoming soggy as it sits in the fridge. However, you could cook the chicken ahead to save a few minutes come dinnertime. Store the cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge so that everything is ready when it’s finally time to eat. Reheat the chicken, or serve it as a cold chicken pesto sandwich.

If you truly need to assemble the sandwiches ahead of time, prepare them only a few hours before you plan to eat. Any more than that and you’ll have to worry about the sandwiches getting soggy.

What’s the best way to reheat a chicken pesto sandwich?

Reheat the chicken separately in the microwave or the oven, then add it to the sandwiches. However, chicken pesto sandwiches would also taste just as good cold, if you want to skip reheating the chicken altogether.