Roasted chicken doesn’t always jump out and yell “flavor bomb,” but this one does! We use our homemade pistachio basil pesto with some fontina cheese to make an otherwise simply prepared chicken breast taste amazing! Serve this Cheesy Pistachio Pesto Chicken with Cherry Tomatoes with just about anything for a delicious meal any night of the week.
Looking for more dishes like this? Try out our Pesto and Pea Bucatini Pasta with Grilled Chicken or Chicken with White Wine Vinegar Tomato Sauce.
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy to scale for a crowd.
- Comes together easily for a great weeknight meal!
- Great way to elevate chicken breasts.
- The pistachio pesto has a fantastic flavor with the tender chicken breasts.
- A great one-pan meal!
Ingredients
This recipe requires a few simple ingredients. Here is what you need to make this baked pesto chicken recipe:
- Pistachio Pesto: We love our homemade pistachio pesto in this recipe, but any pesto will work here. You’ll only need a small portion of the pesto for this chicken recipe, so you can use the remaining pesto for other things later (make this creamy pesto pasta)!
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are best in this recipe.
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
- Cherry Tomatoes: We simply throw in some right before the chicken goes into the oven and they’re a perfect accompaniment with the basil pesto and roasted chicken.
- Olive Oil: Use olive oil to sear the chicken and coat the tomatoes.
- Fontina Cheese: This great melty Italian cheese is a perfect match with the pesto and chicken.
See recipe card below for quantities and detailed instructions.
Substitutions
Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:
- Pesto: This is amazing with a classic homemade basil pesto as well or use your favorite pesto recipe. If using a pre-made jarred store-bought pesto, you may need to adjust the salt content on the chicken since a grocery store jar of pesto often has extra salt to preserve it for a longer self-life.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes will work in this recipe as well.
- Fontina Cheese: You could use any cheese that melts well. Gouda, muenster, and havarti are the other ones we like best on this chicken, but fresh mozzarella cheese is a good choice as well.
How to Make Cheesy Pistachio Pesto Chicken
This chicken dinner is super easy to make and very flavorful. The chicken is simply seared in a pan, flipped and covered with pesto and fontina. Into the oven with a few cherry tomatoes for 8 minutes and it’s done! Simple and delicious for an easy dinner option!
Equipment
Here is what you need to make this easy dinner recipe:
- Cheese grater
- Large nonstick pan (oven safe)
- Meat mallet (optional) to pound the chicken
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the Pistachio Basil Pesto
- Follow the instructions to make our homemade pesto recipe HERE (or use your own pesto recipe if desired).
Prepare the Chicken & Tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pound the chicken breast to a uniform thickness (about ¾” or so) - alternatively, slice one thick chicken breast lengthwise to make two thin chicken breasts. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and coat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.
Sear the Chicken
- On medium high heat add the other tablespoon of olive oil to a large oven-safe nonstick pan. Place the chicken in the hot pan for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Flip the chicken and cook for 30 seconds more, then remove from the heat.
Assemble and Roast the Chicken
- Spread two tablespoons of the pesto on top of the chicken breasts, then sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the pesto. Add the fresh tomatoes to the pan and put the pan in the preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes.
- Turn the oven to broil and put the pan on the top rack close to the heat source for 1-2 minutes to get a little golden brown color on the cheese (the internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165°F so use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked properly).
- Once done, remove the pan from the oven and plate the chicken breasts, garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional) and serve.
Variations
Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:
- You could use skinless chicken thighs or pork chops as well.
- You could add your favorite red sauce on top of the pesto for an even deeper flavor!
Storage
How to store leftover pesto chicken:
- Store leftover pesto chicken an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to reheat leftover pesto chicken:
- It is best to reheat leftover pesto chicken slowly in the oven at 325°F until warmed through.
Can you freeze leftover pesto chicken?
- It can be frozen, just defrost in the fridge before rewarming in the oven.
Top Tip
- Easily scale this dish for a larger crowd by transferring the seared chicken from the skillet to a larger baking dish before adding the pesto, cheese and tomatoes and continue with the oven cooking instructions.
Troubleshooting
Cheese falls off in the pan: If you lose some melty cheese into the pan as the chicken cooks, that’s OK. You can put it back on the chicken when you serve it or just put it on the side.
Tomato doneness: If you prefer the tomatoes done more, put them in the pan sooner while the chicken cooks or cook them separately. If you like them done less (just warmed through), then add them halfway through cooking in the oven or just for the broil.
What to serve with Pistachio Pesto Chicken
Endless side dishes go with this chicken, including just about any vegetable. We love to serve this with asparagus, green beans or broccolini. It is nice with your favorite salad, pasta, risotto or mashed potatoes as well.
What Wines To Drink with Pistachio Pesto Chicken
Vermentino from Italy is our first choice for pairing with this dish. Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio also work well. Bubbles are also great with this dish and any very dry sparkling wine works.
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FAQ
We prefer fontina. However, muenster, havarti, gouda, mozzarella or any other melty cheese will work well.
Generally, pesto will lose some flavor or at the minimum the flavor will change a bit by heating. However there are many applications where heating up the pesto in a dish works well, but pesto is generally used as a fresh sauce to be added to dishes at the very end to preserve its fresh flavor.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are our favorite side dishes to serve with this recipe:
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Pistachio Pesto Chicken with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large nonstick skillet oven safe
- Meat mallet optional
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons Pistachio Basil Pesto
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
- 5 ounces grated fontina cheese
- Basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
Make the Pistachio Basil Pesto
- Follow the instructions to make our Pistachio Basil Pesto linked in ingredients above (or use your own pesto recipe if desired).
Prepare the Chicken & Tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pound the chicken breast to a uniform thickness (about ¾” or so) - alternatively, slice one thick chicken breast lengthwise to make two thin chicken breasts. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 10-12 cherry tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Sear the Chicken
- On high heat add the other tablespoon of olive oil to a large oven-safe nonstick pan. Place the chicken in the hot pan for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Flip the chicken and cook for 30 seconds more, then remove from the heat.
Assemble and Roast the Chicken
- Spread the pesto on top of the chicken breasts, then sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the pesto. Add the fresh tomatoes to the pan and put the pan in the preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes.4 Tablespoons Pistachio Basil Pesto, 5 ounces grated fontina cheese
- Turn the oven to broil and put the pan on the top rack close to the heat source for 1-2 minutes to get a little golden brown color on the cheese (the internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165°F so use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked properly).
- Once done, remove the pan from the oven and plate the chicken breasts, garnish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional) and serve.Basil leaves for garnish
Notes
- Pesto: This is amazing with a classic homemade basil pesto as well or use your favorite pesto recipe. If using a pre-made jarred store-bought pesto, you may need to adjust the salt content on the chicken since a grocery store jar of pesto often has extra salt to preserve it for a longer self-life.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes will work in this recipe as well.
- Fontina Cheese: You could use any cheese that melts well. Gouda, muenster, and havarti are the other ones we like best on this chicken, but fresh mozzarella cheese is a good choice as well.
Nutrition
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