Baked Pesto Chicken Breasts

chicken breast with pesto on a plate with forkful of chicken and knife.

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5 from 1 vote

You'll love this easy recipe for tender, juicy Pesto Chicken in the oven!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: -6

Calories: 288kcal

Author: Mamma C

Ingredients

Bread Crumb Mixture

¼ cup plain bread crumbs (see notes)
2 Tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper

Chicken and Pesto

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz - 8 oz each, 1.5-2 pounds total)
½ cup basil pesto

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a glass 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Add the bread crumbs, Romano cheese, garlic powder and pepper to a dinner plate or small mixing bowl. Toss with a fork to combine.
Use a fork to place one plain chicken breast at a time in the bread-crumb mixture. Bread both sides of the chicken, patting down the crumbs on the chicken with the back of the fork. Transfer the breaded chicken to the greased pan.
Place two tablespoons of pesto on each chicken breast, spooning it along the whole surface. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove the pan of chicken from the oven and loosely cover it with foil. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving it.
Refrigerate leftovers for up to four days. You also could freeze the pesto chicken in a zip-top freezer bag and use it within three months for best quality.

Notes

If you're starting with seasoned Italian bread crumbs, you can reduce the garlic powder and pepper in this recipe.
There is no salt called for because the pesto and Pecorino should be salty enough. However, you may need to add salt when serving if the pesto isn't salty enough or if you substituted Parmesan for the Pecorino.
I prefer using a glass pan for juicier chicken breasts, but a porcelain baking dish also should work well.

For a Single Serving: For one chicken breast, use 1 Tablespoon of plain bread crumbs, ½ Tablespoon of Pecorino Romano, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon pepper and 2 Tablespoons of pesto.

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