Easy Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe (Simple Ingredients, Keto)

If you’re a fan of easy-to-make dishes bursting with vibrant tastes, then you’re in for a treat. This Baked Pesto Chicken recipe perfectly marries tender chicken with the bold, aromatic flavors of pesto sauce.

Imagine tender chicken breasts, coated in a luscious layer of basil, garlic, and Parmesan-infused pesto, baked to golden perfection. Then the baked chicken is topped with melty mozzarella cheese and fresh tomatoes. With just a few simple ingredients you will create a dish that will have your whole family asking for more!

Not only is this dish so flavorful, but it’s also incredibly simple to prepare, making it ideal for busy weeknights. With just a handful of ingredients and minimal effort, you can whip up a meal that’s sure to impress even your pickiest easters. So, preheat your ovens and get ready to whip up dinner without much effort.

Easy Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe

This deliciously cheesy pesto chicken recipe is a favorite in my house.

I keep it keto for me by serving it with a low carb side dish such as shirataki miracle noodles, spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, cauliflower mashed potatoes, salad or other low carb vegetables.

For the rest of my family, who eat a more traditional diet, they love eating it with pasta, rice, mashed potatoes or even baked potatoes.

No matter what your family’s eating style is this dish is ALWAYS a hit. Made with a few simple ingredients it takes a few minutes to put it together before you bake it in the oven. You can make this topped with or without tomatoes. It’s delicious either way.

Ingredient for Easy Pesto Chicken:

• Pesto sauce – use your favorite store-bought pesto or homemade pesto sauce

• Cream cheese – I used regular cream cheese but light cream cheese also works well.

• Boneless chicken breast – I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. However you can easily use chicken thighs or even chicken tenders for this recipe.

• Shredded mozzarella cheese – use your favorite brand of cheese. You can also use a combination of mozzarella and parmesan cheese if desired.

• Tomatoes – I diced plum tomatoes for this recipe. Use your favorite kind of fresh tomato in this recipe. If using cherry tomatoes cut them in half before adding them to the top of the chicken.

How To Make this Pesto Chicken Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl combine the cream cheese and pesto sauce. Stir until well combined.

Place the chicken breasts in a 9 X 13 baking dish.

Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between the chicken breasts. Spread the cream cheese mixture to cover the chicken.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the chicken.

Divide the diced tomato evenly over the top of the chicken.

Return the baking pan to the oven and bake for 10 to 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the chicken breast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. 

Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite side dishes.

What is pesto sauce made of?

Pesto can be made a variety of ways but the kind usually found in most grocery stores is made from fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese. The ingredients are pureed together to make the pesto sauce.

You may find other types of pesto sauce that include different nuts, cheese or other ingredients such as tomatoes and citrus. Just about any type of pesto sauce you find will taste delicious with chicken.

Can I use a different type of cheese?

Sure you can use other types of cheese in this recipe including Provolone, Parmesan or even feta cheese in this easy recipe. All of them taste delicious with the creamy pesto sauce and give this cheesy pesto chicken a delicious flavor.

How do I store this Pesto Chicken recipe?

Place any leftover chicken into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

You can also place leftovers into a freezer safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.

What do I serve this with?

Looking for traditional ways to serve this dish? Try it:

• Over your favorite pasta
• Over mashed potatoes
• Over white rice or brown rice
• Dice the chicken up and serve this as a topping for baked potatoes
• Even better, try them over mashed sweet potatoes
• Serve with salad and your favorite vegetable on the side
• Include this cheesy garlic bread on the side

On the Keto diet and trying to watch your carbs? Try serving this with:

• Over cauliflower rice
• Over spaghetti squash
• Over cauliflower mashed potatoes
• With a green salad topped with Italian dressing
• With your favorite low carb vegetables on the side such as green beans
• With these cheesy keto biscuits

No matter what your family’s eating style is this dish is ALWAYS a hit. Made with a few simple ingredients, it doesn’t take long to put it together before you bake it in the oven.

What type of pesto should you use?

I have tried this recipe with a variety of store bought basil pesto. They all came out delicious. Use your favorite brand or even your own homemade pesto. 

Can this pesto chicken be made in the slow cooker?

Yes this can be turned into a slow cooker meal!

Place your chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle half the shredded cheese over the top of the chicken. Top with tomato slices, diced tomatoes or even canned diced tomatoes (drained) if desired.

Cook on high for about 4 to 6 hours or until the chicken is tender or on low for 6 to 8 hours or until the chicken is tender. The time that the chicken needs to cook will depend upon it’s thickness. 

Check to make sure that the centers of the chicken are cooked through then top the chicken with the additional shredded cheese, put the cover back on and allow the chicken to cook for another 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Freezer Tips:

You can prepare this cheesy pesto chicken as a freezer meal one of two ways. You can freeze the ingredients so it will make whole pieces of chicken with sauce topped with cheese. You can freeze this meal so it will create a shredded chicken in the cheesy pesto sauce.

To make chicken topped with sauce :

You’ll want to package up the ingredients in smaller bags so you can assemble them in the slow cooker. You will also need to have fresh or canned tomatoes for this recipe when you cook it.

• Mix the cream cheese with the pesto and place in a small freeze bag.
• Place the shredded mozzarella also in a separate freezer bag.
• Place your chicken pieces in a larger gallon sized freezer bag.
• Add the bags containing the shredded cheese and the pesto cheese mixture. Seal the bag and label it with the recipe name, date and cooking directions.

To make in the crockpot:

• Thaw your freezer meal. Place the chicken pieces in the bottom of the crockpot.
• Spread the thawed pesto cheese mixture over the top.
• Cook the chicken 6 to 8 hours on low. The time needed to cook will depend upon the thickness of your chicken.
• Once the chicken is cooked through sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the top, add the diced tomatoes and cook on low for another 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

To make shredded chicken in cheesy pesto sauce:

This is a great freezer dump meal. You simply dump the bag with the ingredients into the crockpot and then shred the chicken, mix it all up and serve the shredded chicken with the cheesy sauce over your favorite sides.

• Mix the cream cheese with the pesto.
• Place the chicken pieces in a large gallon freezer bag.
• Spoon the pesto cheese mixture over the top. If you want to include tomatoes then drain the liquid off of a can of diced tomatoes and add that to the bag.
• Place the shredded cheese in a separate bag and put it into the main freezer bag. Seal the bag and label it with the recipe name, date and cooking directions.

To make in the crockpot:

• Thaw your freezer meal. When you are ready to cook it remove the bag of shredded cheese and set aside.
• Dump the remaining contents of the bag into the crockpot. Cook the chicken on high for 4 to 6 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Part way through the cooking you may want to stir the sauce that is forming. Cook until the chicken is done. This will depend upon its thickness.
• Using two forks shred the chicken and mix it into the sauce. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and cook on low/warm for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Here are some other easy dinners you may enjoy:

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Best Sloppy Joe Recipe

Shrimp Fajita Rice Bowls

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Find out more about the lazy keto diet method here.

Looking for more lazy keto recipes? Check out these 12 lazy keto recipes or even these 9 lazy keto recipes. Fast. Easy. Simple to make. 

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