Pesto Baked Chicken Parmesan

Who doesn’t love a good Chicken Parmesan for dinner? It’s lately become my new comfort food that I find myself craving more and more. I wanted to add a little twist though to this dish and add some Pesto to my Baked Chicken Parmesan. It’s the secret ingredient you didn’t realize you were missing!

Want to know the best part about this dish? It’s SUPER easy to make but looks like you spent quite some time in the kitchen. This makes the perfect dinner to serve if you’re short on time, but also a great dinner if you’re entertaining guests. Rejoyce! You can actually sit in the living room with your friends and enjoy a glass of wine with them while dinner is cooking away in the oven. Speaking of entertaining, with the green from Pesto, red from tomato sauce and white from the mozzarella, this can be a great dish to serve around the winter holidays!

What You Need

• Chicken Breasts
• Pepper
• Pesto
• Panko Bread Crumbs
• Parmesan Cheese
• Tomato / Pasta Sauce
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Basil or Parsley (optional)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

How To Make

1. Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit. While oven is heating, on a shallow plate mix together the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning.
2. If your chicken breasts are large, pound them out to be about 1/2 inch thick. Season with pepper. Cover chicken with pesto sauce on both sides.
3. Dip chicken in bread crumb mixture and flip to adhere the breading to both sides.
4. Place in oven for 18-20 minutes
5. Remove from oven and top with pasta sauce then parmesan cheese.
6. Place back in oven for 5 minutes until cheese melts. (If you want it to be more brown and bubbly turn on the broiler and watch carefully as it will get there quickly!)

What to Serve with the Pesto Baked Chicken Parmesan

For a vegetable I love to serve this with either steamed broccoli or a fresh garden salad. If you’re having friends over for this dinner I’d definitely go with the salad option as it’s one thing that can be prepared ahead of time.

For a starch you can never go wrong with Garlic Bread. Plus it can go in the oven at the same time as the Chicken Parmesan. Another go to is spicy garlic pasta. Cook your pasta according to the package, drain (but reserve some pasta water). in the pan used to cook the pasta add 1 tbsp each of butter and olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in pasta and some reserved pasta water if it’s too think. Super simple!

Pesto Baked Chicken Parmesan

I've found the secret ingredient you didn't know your Chicken Parmesan was missing. PESTO!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 Chicken Breasts if they are thick, pound them until about 1/2 inch thickness
• 1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 cup Pesto Sauce
• 1/4 cup Pasta Sauce
• 4 oz Fresh Mozzarella sliced thin
• Fresh Basil or Parsley for topping optional
• Salt & Pepper (to taste) With the addition of the pesto it can add extra salt so I wouldn't overseason your chicken too much!

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425 Fahrenheit. While oven is heating, on a shallow plate mix together the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning.
• If your chicken breasts are large, pound them out to be about 1/2 inch thick. Season with pepper. Cover chicken with pesto sauce on both sides.
• Dip chicken in bread crumb mixture and flip to adhere the breading to both sides. Place on a prepared baking sheet.
• Place in oven for 18-20 minutes
• Remove from oven and top with pasta sauce then parmesan cheese.
• Place back in oven for 5 minutes until cheese melts. (If you want it to be more brown and bubbly turn on the broiler and watch carefully as it will get there quickly!)