Craving a flavorful and hassle-free meal? Look no further than spinach pesto chicken breasts, an exquisite dish that combines the vibrant flavors of spinach pesto and tender chicken breasts. This delightful recipe is a symphony of earthy spinach, aromatic basil, nutty pine nuts, and savory Parmesan cheese, all harmoniously blended to create a delectable pesto that elevates the succulent chicken breasts to a new level of gustatory delight. With its vibrant green hue and tantalizing aroma, spinach pesto chicken breasts will surely become a staple in your culinary repertoire, impressing both your palate and your dinner guests alike.
Let's cook with our recipes!
SPINACH PESTO BAKED CHICKEN
This Spinach Pesto Baked Chicken is as DELICIOUS as it is EASY! With only one dish and six ingredients, it can be from the fridge to oven in minutes. It is simple enough for a busy weeknight, but pretty enough and tasty enough for company!
Provided by Kimber
Categories Dinner
Time 45m
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Place chicken flat in the bottom of a baking dish and spread 1-2 tbsp pesto on top of each chicken breast.
- Layer spinach on top of the pesto, then place the tomatoes and artichoke hearts on top of the spinach.
- Cover the top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake on lower middle rack for 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (165˚F internal temperature.) Serve warm. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 10 oz, Calories 488 kcal, Carbohydrate 7 g, Protein 57 g, Fat 26 g, SaturatedFat 7 g, Cholesterol 169 mg, Sodium 877 mg, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 2 g
SPINACH PESTO CHICKEN BREASTS
I came up with this while trying to get my husband to eat more veggies.
Provided by DRAGONNKITTEN
Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Chicken Chicken Breast Recipes
Time 55m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Mix the spinach and pesto together in a bowl; spread half the mixture into the bottom of a glass baking dish. Place the chicken breasts onto the spinach mixture; top with the rest of the mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese has begun to melt and brown, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 179.2 calories, Carbohydrate 1.3 g, Cholesterol 69.3 mg, Fat 7.1 g, Fiber 0.6 g, Protein 26.5 g, SaturatedFat 2.2 g, Sodium 168.8 mg, Sugar 0.1 g
SPINACH-PESTO SPIRAL CHICKEN
The homemade pesto sets this main dish apart from the rest. Elegant enough for a special dinner but simple enough to a quiet evening at home, you can make this anytime. -Amy Blom, Marietta, Georgia
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 1h
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 375°. Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to 1/4-in. thickness., In a food processor, combine spinach, basil, garlic, oil, cheese, walnuts and broth. Cover and process until blended. Stir in tomatoes, artichoke hearts, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Spread over chicken. Starting at a short side, roll up and secure with toothpicks. , Place in two greased 11x7-in. baking dishes, seam side down. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 170°. Discard toothpicks before serving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 256 calories, Fat 14g fat (3g saturated fat), Cholesterol 103mg cholesterol, Sodium 233mg sodium, Carbohydrate 2g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 30g protein.
CHICKEN PESTO SPINACH
Provided by Food Network
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- Chicken and robust pesto dressing combine with our Baby Spinach for this richly seasoned salad.
- Grill the Chicken:
- When grill is hot, cook chicken on both sides.
- Take chicken up onto a warm plate.
- Set aside for 10 minutes (it will finish cooking).
- Make the Dressing:
- In food processor, place all dressing ingredients.
- Pulse to make pesto, scraping sides w/ rubber spatula.
- Blend until creamy.
- Note: If you use a blender, add extra olive oil if needed.
- Make the Salad:
- Place greens into a large salad bowl.
- Toss with pesto dressing & thawed peas.
- Mix well & serve on 4 plates.
- Slice chicken breast & lay on top of salad.
- Sprinkle with crumbled cheese & almonds.
GRILLED CHICKEN WITH SPINACH AND PINE NUT PESTO
Provided by Giada De Laurentiis
Categories main-dish
Time 23m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
- Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Add salt and pulse. Put half of the pesto into ice cube trays and store in the freezer for future use.
- Transfer the rest of the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread the pesto over each piece of chicken and serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 419, Fat 32 grams, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Cholesterol 93 milligrams, Sodium 262 milligrams, Carbohydrate 3 grams, Fiber 1 grams, Protein 31 grams, Sugar 1 grams
CHICKEN BREAST WITH ROASTED PEPPERS, MOZZARELLA, AND SPINACH-BASIL PESTO
We devised this sandwich partly to challenge ourselves. Usually prepared in advance of its use in a sandwich, chicken loses moisture by the time it arrives there. So we looked for a way to keep the chicken moist . . . and we found it. By slowly and gently poaching the chicken, and then storing it in the poaching liquid until it's used, we lock in the moisture. (Use this trick whenever you're preparing chicken for a picnic or for use in a salad-the chicken will be moist and delicious, and without oil, to boot. Further, you can use the poaching broth for soup simply by adding more water, some vegetables, and some of the chicken.) We serve this as a pressed sandwich, but it also works well served cold.
Yield makes 4 sandwiches
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- In a pot, bring 8 cups water to a gentle simmer and salt heavily (so it tastes like seawater). Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and pepper. Add the chicken to the poaching liquid and simmer until it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. Allow the chicken to cool in the liquid and remove when ready to use.
- Preheat a sandwich press according to the manufacturer's specifications (see Note, page 96). Thinly slice the chicken breasts and evenly distribute on each of 4 slices of bread. Spread the pesto on top of the chicken and top with the peppers and mozzarella. Top with the remaining 4 slices, and place in the sandwich press (no need to butter the press or the bread). Close the lid and apply slight pressure. Cook without disturbing for 5 to 8 minutes. Open the press and check for color and temperature: the cheese should be melted and the bread golden. If the bread is sticking to the press, allow it to cook for a bit longer and it will unstick itself. If the press seems to generate more heat on the bottom, flip the sandwich halfway through to ensure even cooking (making sure the ridges in the bread line up). Once cooked, remove, cut into halves, and serve.
PESTO PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN BREASTS OVER TOMATO SPINACH PASTA
This is a quick and easy dish to make. Now, if you have time - marinating the chicken ahead of time in the pesto will make this even better. But if not, you can make this without the marinating process. You can also make your own pesto, however, a good quality store bought brand will work just fine for this. The chicken is simply dredged in pesto and then coated in breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese for a nice crust. Served with a simple spinach pasta, which is tossed with tomatoes, white wine and fresh basil. Add a quick side salad for a perfect weeknight dinner.
Provided by SarasotaCook
Categories Chicken Breast
Time 2h30m
Yield 4-6 Individual Servings, 4-6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Chicken -- I don't like the chicken breasts too thin for this. A scallopini cut is too thin, but lately a few that I have purchased are so thick I had to pound them out a bit.
- Marinate -- Now, if you have time, place the chicken and pesto in a large baggie and let it marinate, 30 minute and up to 4 hours. But not longer than 4 hours. If you do not have time, don't worry. It can be made right on the spot.
- Tomato sauce -- I like to start the sauce first. I use a good Italian flavored tomato sauce, but use your favorite sauce. I also like to add a bit more onion and garlic to mine, but remember, you can really add anything you want to make it "Yours.".
- In a small pot, add the olive oil and bring to medium heat. Then add the onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Deglaze with the wine and then add in the tomatoes and let simmer while you prepare the chicken. Before serving - after puree - if you add that step, add in the fresh basil.
- Note: Depending on what type of tomatoes you use, you may need to puree them. I use my immersion blender or you can use a regular blender. The end result you want a fairly smooth sauce. I like a little texture, but I use big Italian tomatoes, so I like to puree mine a bit. If you use a fine diced tomatoes, you may not need to do that. It is your choice.
- Chicken -- In a pie plate, or small dish, add the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
- Now if you marinated the chicken in the pesto remove each chicken breast and lightly shake off any extra. Then dredge in the bread crumb and cheese mixture. If you didn't marinate your chicken, just add the pesto to a small bowl and dip each breast in the pesto, shake off any extra and dredge in the bread crumb and cheese mixture like above.
- Pasta -- Cook according to package directions.
- Pan Sear -- In a large skillet (I prefer a non-stick pan for this), heat up the olive oil of medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook on each side until golden brown. They only take approximately 5-10 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your chicken.
- Pasta -- Drain the pasta well and toss in the tomato sauce and don't forget to add the fresh basil.
- Serve -- Plate up the pasta and tomato sauce and then top with a chicken breast. You can garnish with extra parmesan if you want. Just add a salad and dinner. ENJOY!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 961.8, Fat 16.9, SaturatedFat 6.3, Cholesterol 98.1, Sodium 1627.4, Carbohydrate 136.4, Fiber 17.6, Sugar 12.6, Protein 60.3
SPINACH AND PESTO STUFFED CHICKEN
I love pesto, parmesan and spinach so this is right up my alley. When I made it, I threw a minced garlic clove in the mix. I can never have enough garlic. I hope you enjoy. It's from the Favorite Brand Name Cookbook.
Provided by PSU Lioness
Categories Chicken Breast
Time 20m
Yield 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- In food processor or blender, process 1/4 c Italian dressing with basil, cheese and pepper until blended. In medium bowl, thoroughly combine dressing mixture, spinach and bread crumbs.
- With knife parallel to cutting board, make deep, 3" long cut in center of each chicken breast half to form pocket. Evenly stuff pockets with spinach mixture.
- Line large, shallow baking pan or broiler rack with aluminum foil and arrange chicken evenly. Brush with remaining 2 tbsp Italian dressing.
- Broil, turning once, 7 minutes or until chicken is done.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 359.7, Fat 18.4, SaturatedFat 5.2, Cholesterol 95.5, Sodium 446.5, Carbohydrate 12.6, Fiber 1.8, Sugar 2.1, Protein 34.7
SPINACH PESTO PASTA RECIPE BY TASTY
Here's what you need: chicken breast, salt, pepper, spaghetti, fresh spinach, walnuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil
Provided by Hitomi Aihara
Categories Dinner
Time 30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- In a food processor, add all ingredients to make pesto and blend until walnuts are finely blended.
- In a hot pan, add olive oil and cook chicken breast. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the chicken and slice.
- Combine the chicken and pesto sauce into spaghetti and mix until the sauce fully coats the pasta.
- Serve and top it off with parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 627 calories, Carbohydrate 45 grams, Fat 39 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 23 grams, Sugar 2 grams
Tips:
- For a more intense flavor, use fresh spinach leaves instead of frozen.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the pesto for a little spice.
- If you don't have pine nuts, you can substitute walnuts or almonds.
- To make the chicken breasts more juicy, pound them thin before cooking.
- Serve the chicken breasts with your favorite pasta, rice, or vegetables.
Conclusion:
Spinach pesto chicken breasts are a delicious and easy-to-make meal that is perfect for a weeknight dinner. The pesto is flavorful and versatile, and the chicken breasts are cooked to perfection. This dish is sure to please everyone at your table.
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