Baked Pesto Chicken

Back when my parents came for a weekend visit we bought some herbs to grow and enjoy. I have wanted to grow basil for years and I was finally sucessful. The basil plants started growing out of control after a few rain storms. I couldn’t believe how big they got and how many leaves we had. Since I had time after our weekend company (more on that tomorrow) I decided to make some pesto. I had actually found a recipe for Baked Chicken Pesto on Pinterest just this last week and have been thinking about eating it ever since. The pesto recipe calls for 2 cups packed basil leaves. Let’s just say I have enough basil growing to make 2 more batches. But enough about the pesto, this post is about the Baked Chicken Pesto. The recipe was easy to follow once the pesto was made and boy was it delicious. Joe and I both cleaned our plate and wished we were hungry for more. This is such a simple summer time meal when the basil is fresh. I’m sure it’s great to make with store bought pesto, but once you make it fresh it’s hard to go back. Plus you can’t beat just 3 ingredients!!!! Click on the link to find the recipe or follow along below for my shortened version.

Baked Pesto Chicken
recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts (or about 1 pound)
½ cup basil pesto
½ cup mozzarella cheese 

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice chicken lengthwise into long strips. Spread half of the pesto on the bottom of a baking dish. Lay the chicken on top and spread the remaining pesto on top of the chicken. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is almost completely cooked. Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake (or broil) for another 5 minutes until the cheese melts and browns a bit.

Here is the pesto I made. Don't worry, I'll share this recipe too!