Creamy Pesto Chicken
This easy recipe for Creamy Pesto Chicken with Grape Tomatoes only requires a handful of simple ingredients and is delicious served alongside cooked pasta and your choice of greens.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- kosher salt to taste
- cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved
- 1 cup creme fraiche see note for substitutes
- ½ cup pesto
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Season the chicken all over, and heat the oil in a skillet over a medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breasts, working in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, then set aside.
- Add the sliced garlic to the pan and cook for a minute until just soft and aromatic. Stir in the tomatoes, followed by the pesto and the creme fraiche. Remove from the heat.
- Return the chicken breasts to the skillet, spooning the creamy pesto sauce over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken breasts have cooked through to an internal temperature of 165F.
- Season the sauce to taste with salt (how much you need will depend on which brand of pesto you’re using) before serving over cooked pasta.
Notes
Creme fraiche substitute - If you can't find creme fraiche, substitute mascarpone with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to add acidity, or heavy cream.
Don't skip browning the chicken. Not only does it add extra flavor to the chicken breasts, but it helps keep them nice and juicy inside when they finish cooking in the sauce.
Cooked chicken has an internal temperature of 165F. If you're using particularly large chicken breasts and you're worried they might not be cooked through, test them with a thermometer to be sure.
Nutrition
Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 312mg | Potassium: 248mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1604IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 0.5mg
