at the end of cooking, melt some cheese on top of the pesto
leftovers
Baked Pesto Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (i used 6 boneless skinless thighs, whole/not cut up)
1/2 cup basil pesto (i used an 8 oz jar = 1 cup)
1/2 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese (i used 6 slices of provolone cheese)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. (i skipped this step considering how much oil was in the jar of pesto i used.) Spread 1/4 cup pesto to lightly cover the bottom of the dish. Spread the chicken over the pesto, then spread the remaining pesto over the chicken.
3. Cover the dish with lid or foil and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is barely cooked through.
4. Remove the lid/foil and sprinkle the cheese on top of the chicken. Put dish back into the oven, uncovered, and cook 5 minutes more until the cheese is melted. To lightly brown the cheese, you can broil the dish for another 2-3 minutes more. (i used a meat thermometer to check that the thighs had cooked to 160`)
Notes All of that yummy pesto in the bottom of is perfect to serve with rice, potatoes, or quinoa. Or just serve it right over the chicken. (most of the pesto i used stayed on top of the whole chicken thighs so there wasnt a whole ton on the bottom of the pan the way there would have been if i'd used cut up pieces)
to me, this was better as leftovers. i wasnt as impressed with it freshly cooked. i think i *will* try this recipe again, using a different kind of pesto. there were a few to choose from at the grocery store and i grabbed the plain basic one. the chicken turned out SO tender, having basically been boiled in oil from the pesto. i was careful in lifting the thighs out of the pan and letting them drain all that oil off. there was a lot of oil in this particular jar and it all separated as it cooked, leaving the good stuff on top of the chicken and the oil in the bottom of the pan.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335447872220826236/
http://mommyofamonster.com/2014/01/baked-pesto-chicken.html
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