Homemade Pesto Chicken

Close-up of sliced grilled chicken breast topped with green pesto sauce, served over spaghetti coated in pesto, and garnished with pine nuts.

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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!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 426kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

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

*Chicken Breast cooking instructions:

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.

*Chicken Tenderloins cooking instructions:

Use 1 pound chicken tenderloins. Marinate the chicken as described.
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.
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.

Nutrition