Sometimes you just need EASY. This Homemade Pesto Chicken is exactly that! You need this recipe up your sleeve, just waiting to save your dinner situation on a busy weeknight. Pesto chicken has exactly 3 ingredients and comes together in a flash, but does not skimp on flavor! Pair it with pasta or with a light salad!
Before I get to today’s SUPER delicious Pesto Chicken recipe (which is so easy honestly it’s changing my life lately) I have to tell you this story. I am the Primary president for our church congregation, which means I help take care of all the kids each week while the adults are in Sunday School. It’s SOOO much fun, honestly such a party. Especially since we have several neurodivergent and special needs kids who keep us on our toes.
Someone is usually under a table during singing time, or escaping the room and sprinting down the hall (WAY faster than I can run in high heels), or interrupting the quiet, Jesus-focused lesson to tell us about the latest Minecraft updates.
We had a new family move in recently, and I was chatting with the mom in the hall after church. She was holding her newborn baby in her arms, who was sound asleep with a binky in his mouth. She was wondering how her 4-year-old daughter was behaving in Primary, because sometimes she can be rowdy.
Right at this EXACT moment one of the (special) kids in the class runs by full speed, yoinks the pacifier out of the sleeping baby’s mouth, and runs off screaming at his success, the binky thrust high in the air like a trophy.
I just looked at the new mom and said don’t worry, I think your wild child is going to fit right in here, welcome home 😂 Nothing like a little bonkers madness to keep you from falling asleep at church on Sundays right??
Okay now about this pesto chicken!! It’s so good you guys!
You need this SUPER easy chicken in your life
You know what I love lately? Recipes that aren’t really recipes. Recipes that require about 3 ingredients and absolutely zero forethought. Recipes that maybe you can just buy the pesto for at the store (no shade on my homemade Pesto recipe, I’m just saying, sometimes you have to push the easy button.) This recipe fits. the. bill.
All you do is get some chicken—literally any kind—add some salt and pepper, a little oil, and some pesto, and let it sit for a while. Then you can pan sear it, grill it, whatever you like!
It’s also a great make ahead recipe. Marinate in the pesto one day, cook it the next. Or marinate it and stick it in the freezer for a rainy day.
I love to eat this chicken with Pesto Pasta. I talk about how to make this in my Basil Pesto post. (You need to add some pasta water!)
Or I also love to make this pesto and add it on top of arugula and white beans, I’ve got all the details on my Chicken Arugula Salad post! Perfect easy summer meal!
Ingredients
This is truly the most basic of recipes! Let’s talk about what makes it so great.
- Pesto! And, puh-lease, I’m begging, use homemade pesto if you can. The flavor is out of this world and so fresh compared to store-bought, which really takes this otherwise ordinary chicken to something amazing. You can of course sub with store bought if needed. (Costco has the best store bought pesto imo)
- Chicken, in this case boneless skinless chicken thighs. They are more tender and flavorful than chicken breasts but any kind of chicken will do! In the recipe card I call for chicken thighs, so if you use breasts or tenderloins you will need to adjust the cook time, I’ve got all the details in the recipe notes.
- Oil, salt, and pepper round out the ingredient list (truly!) A little salt and pepper to help season the chicken, then a shallow pan fry (or grill) in oil to add flavor and richness.
How to make homemade pesto chicken
This recipe is fast and easy! Toss some chicken in a pan or a ziplock. These are chicken thighs. You can use chicken breasts, tenderloins, whatever you want.
Sprinkle with a healthy amount of salt and pepper!
Add a bit of olive oil. This makes the chicken so tender!
Then, add in some pesto.
THAT’S IT GUYS!
Let it marinate for 15 minutes, or cover it and refrigerate for up to 2 days! Easy.
Then, you can cook it on the grill (or Blackstone is what’s shown here, do you have a blackstone? We are a little obsessed)
Or take it to the stove top and pan sear it. Just make sure you don’t crowd the pan so it gets nice and brown!
Don’t they look so good?
Make sure you slice it against the grain for the best texture! This is super important.
And of course, top with additional pesto (not the pesto you marinated with :) It’s SO rich and juicy!!
What to serve with pesto chicken
Just about any side can go well with well-flavored, pan-seared chicken. I’m listing a few that I love here, but you can check out the page I have for Side Dishes if you want even more ideas!
- Pesto Pasta >> This link leads you to my homemade Basil Pesto Recipe, but there are notes and photos about how to best add pesto to pasta.
- Basil Chicken Arugula Salad >> this is more of a way to turn the chicken into a whole meal rather than a side dish, but it is SO good and one that I make my family on such a regular basis that I knew I had to add this whole series of pesto related recipes to the blog!
- Roasted Red Potatoes in Oven >> tender in the middle and oh-so-crispy on the outside, every time
- How to cook Brown Rice in Instant Pot >> sometimes I like to keep things extra simple and healthy with just some brown rice (and I always go for this Roasted Broccoli for a veggie)
How to store leftovers
Add any leftovers to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you would like to reheat all the leftover chicken at once, put them in a glass oven safe dish with 2-3 tablespoons water or chicken broth to cover the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil and warm in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. You’ll want to pull it out as soon as it is warm enough to avoid drying out the chicken. You can also warm up one chicken breast at a time in the microwave for 2-3 minutes at 50% power.
Cooked pesto chicken freezes very well and makes a great back up for a future dinner or meal prep. Just put any cooled chicken you’d like into a ziplock freezer bag, remove as much air as possible, and seal. The chicken will be good in the freezer for at least 3-4 months. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw the bag in the refrigerator overnight and reheat as described above.
More easy chicken recipes for dinner
If you’re like me, you always have a few chicken breasts in the refrigerator or freezer for those last minute meals. These are some of my absolute favorite (and easy) chicken recipes!
Chicken & Turkey Recipes
Chicken Shawarma
Quick and Easy Dinners
Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe
Recipes for Dinner
30 Minute Pesto Penne with Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes
Quick and Easy Dinners
The Chicken Fajitas Recipe That Changed My Mind
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Homemade Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs*, 1 pound chicken
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup Basil Pesto , tap for my homemade recipe, or use store bought
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, for searing
- 1 tablespoon butter, for searing
- more pesto, for serving
Instructions
- Make the Basil Pesto first, if you are making it at home.
- Add 4 chicken thighs to a pan or a ziplock bag. (See notes for chicken breast/tenderloin instructions). It should be about 1 pound of chicken.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
- Add 1/3 cup pesto. Use your hands or a spoon to make sure everything gets coated (or if you used a ziplock, seal it and shake it up.)
- Let marinate for 15 minutes. Or cover and refrigerate up to 48 hours.
- When you are ready to cook, set the chicken out of the fridge (if it was chilled) for at least 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
- Stove top instructions: Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium high heat for at least 3 minutes.
- When it is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Swirl to coat. The oil should shimmer right away. Lift the chicken from the marinade and let it drip. You can even use your hands or a paper towel to wipe off some of the pesto. The marinade has done it's job already, and the more contact the chicken gets with the pan, the better browning you will get.
- Carefully place the chicken in the pan. Once it touches the pan you can't move it, so arrange accordingly. Do not crowd the chicken. If your pan isn't big enough, do it in batches. Do not touch, poke, or move the chicken at all. It needs to stay put to get a nice sear.
- Once all the chicken is in the pan, lower the heat to medium. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes. If you try to flip the chicken and it sticks to the pan, it’s not ready to turn.
- Use tongs to flip each piece of chicken, swirling the pan as necessary to coat with oil.
- Immediately add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and swirl the pan as it melts. (The butter helps the chicken to brown, and brings flavor.)
- Cook the chicken on the second side for about 2 minutes, until the other side is golden brown and a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F.
- Remove from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes. Tent with tin foil so it doesn't get cold.
- Slice the chicken against the grain and serve with additional pesto!
- Grill instructions: Heat the grill (or Blackstone) to medium high heat. Brush the grill grates with oil (I use a paper towel to do this.) Place the chicken on the grill with space in between each one.
- Let it sear for 3 minutes. Use tongs to flip each piece of chicken. Sear for another 3 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium low for another 5-15 minutes (depending on thickness) until the thickest part reads 155 degrees F on a meat thermometer. Let rest for a few minutes then slice against the grain.
- Pesto Pasta: See my Basil Pesto post for details on making Pesto Pasta, if you plan to serve chicken and pasta (save your pasta water!) My other favorite way to eat this is with this Basil Chicken Arugula Salad!
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Freezing: You can marinate the chicken and freeze it to cook later. Use a ziplock. Let thaw overnight in the fridge. Cook as directed!You can also freeze the cooked chicken. Let thaw in the fridge and reheat on medium low in a skillet, or in the microwave.
Notes
- Use 1 pound chicken breasts. Use a sharp knife to slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, to create a thin cutlet. Start at the thick edge of the chicken breast. See photos of this in the how-to section on my Chicken Alfredo recipe. You should end up with 4 thin pieces of chicken that are the same shape as a chicken breast, just thinner.
- Marinate the chicken in Pesto, as described.
- Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium high heat for at least 3 minutes. When it is hot, add 2 tablespoons oil. Swirl to coat. The oil should shimmer right away.
- Carefully place the chicken in the pan. Once it touches the pan you can’t move it, so arrange accordingly. Do not crowd the chicken. If your pan isn’t big enough, do it in batches. Do not touch, poke, or move the chicken at all. It needs to stay put to get a nice sear.
- Once all the chicken is in the pan, lower the heat to medium. Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes. If you try to flip the chicken and it sticks to the pan, it’s not ready to turn.
- Use tongs to flip each piece of chicken, swirling the pan as necessary to coat with oil. Immediately add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and swirl the pan as it melts. (The butter helps the chicken to brown, and brings flavor.)
- Cook the chicken on the second side for about 2 minutes, until the other side is golden brown and a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F.
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Use 1 pound chicken tenderloins. Marinate the chicken as described.
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In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add marinated chicken tenderloins, but don’t crowd the pan; you want it to sear not steam. Sear it in batches if your pan isn’t big enough.
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Sear the chicken for 4 minutes; flip and cook another 2-4 minutes, until cooked through. Add more oil or butter to the pan before flipping if it is dry. Cook until the center of the chicken reaches at least 160 degrees F.
