Grilled Chicken Margherita
Easy, healthy grilled chicken margherita topped with melted mozzarella cheese, pesto, and tomato basil garnish.
Servings:4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to less than 1 inch thickness
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, (OR ½ teaspoon dried oregano + ¼ teaspoon dried basil + ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup basil pesto , (try my Easy 5 Minute Pesto Recipe - it's the best!!) https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/easy-5-minute-pesto-15-ways-to-use-it/
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup packed basil leaves, very thinly sliced
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine chicken, salt and pepper, olive oil, garlic power, and Italian seasoning. Toss to combine.
- Grill chicken over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side until cooked through. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of mozzarella cheese and cook another minute or so until melted.
- Toss tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil together. Top each chicken breast with about 3 tablespoons pesto, a scoop of tomatoes, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can absolutely use store-bought pesto sauce in this recipe, but if you have five extra minutes (you do!) I highly recommend my super easy homemade basil pesto. You can easily sub out the pine nuts for another nut like cashews or walnuts too!
- I almost always use fresh-squeezed lemon juice in my tomato topping, because I think it has the best flavor. But, you might not have a fresh lemon laying around. If that's the case, feel free to use bottled lemon juice or even lime.
- After placing the cheese on top of the chicken, I always close the grill lid to help the cheese melt faster and keep the chicken from drying out.
- To make your own Italian seasoning for this chicken, simply combine 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and sprinkle all over the chicken OR swap out Italian seasoning for Herbs de Provence (one of my favorite cooking tricks for boosting flavor!).
Nutrition
Calories: 403 kcal, Carbohydrates: 5 g, Protein: 32 g, Fat: 28 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 97 mg, Sodium: 601 mg, Potassium: 496 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 2 g, Vitamin A: 950 IU, Vitamin C: 6 mg, Calcium: 209 mg, Iron: 1 mg
