Hi Everyone,
How are you doing on this lovely Thursday? I’m doing pretty good and I’m doing even better because I had this for dinner last night!
I know it’s no surprise to you that I love cheese, basil and tomatoes together, but how can I not? The flavor combination is simply out of this world!!! Topping it on chicken brought it up a whole another level! I have to tell you this chicken dish that I am sharing with you is by far my favorite pesto chicken dish that I have made. So moist, so flavorful, so cheesy and oh the pesto. Don’t even get me started on the pesto!!
The basil for the pesto was freshly picked from my garden today and so was the tomato. I have like a bazillion of them! I also used real mozzarella cheese, none of the low-fat stuff, that I normally use. I think it’s good sometimes to incorporate a little fat into your diet, especially if you eat non or low-fat foods. Besides cheese is good!!
I marinated the chicken in 2 tbsp. of freshly made pesto and 1/4 cup of Chobani plain greek yogurt. When you marinate chicken in a dairy product, it really tenderizes the meat, thats why I used the yogurt. I also noticed it speeds up the cooking time by a minute or two. Oh and I didn’t need a knife to cut the chicken, it was just that tender. Amazing!!!
Want to hear something weird? I was so excited to put the cheese on top! I never did this before, but I have seen it on cooking shows. What I did is covered the frying pan with a lid for a minute or so, and the cheese melted. Oh my gosh I was so excited!!! The cheese turned out perfect!! You wouldn’t know that I sliced off a bunch of thin slices of cheese for this chicken dish. I am so easily amused! I felt like a real chef!!! Told you I’m weird!
If you like pesto, cheese and tender chicken, then this is the dish for you! I simply loved it. The pesto was perfect. I included the recipe for the pesto in the note section of the recipe in case you want to make your own or you can always use prepared pesto. I like mine because I don’t use a lot of oil and it’s only 15 calories a tablespoon. That’s the kind of pesto I like! It turns out thick, but if you want it more drippy add more olive oil to it. You don’t need it drippy in this recipe because your mixing it with the yogurt. Sorry I never took a picture of the pesto.
- Serves: 2 Servings
- Serving size: 4 oz chicken
- 2 tbsp. prepared pesto or homemade
- ¼ cup greek yogurt, plain
- 8 oz chicken, skinless, boneless, split in half
- 2 oz mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup tomatoes, seeded, diced
- Take 2 tbsp. of the pesto and add it to the yogurt and mix well. Spread yogurt mixture onto chicken and marinade for 1 - 4 hours.
- Spray a skillet with cooking spray and add the chicken with the marinade and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes per side.
- Just before chicken is done add cheese and cover the pan with a lid for about 1 minute or until the cheese is melted.
- Place chicken on a plate and top with fresh tomatoes.
Pesto Recipe:
2 Cups packed basil leaves,
1 Clove garlic,
1 tsp. Parmesan Cheese (reduced fat),
2 tsp. Olive oil,
1/2 tsp. lemon juice,
salt & pepper to taste
In a food processor add your basil, garlic, cheese and lemon juice and process until leaves broken up and then slowly add the olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Makes about ⅓ cup
Calories per tablespoon: 14.6, Fat: 1.5, Sodium: .02, Potassium: 11.6, Carbs: .03, Fiber: .01, Sugar: 0, Protein: .01
I didn’t even tell you, but this Cheesy Pesto Chicken would be wonderful as a sandwich, on pasta, over a salad or even on rice. Oh the possibilities are endless when you have the perfect combination!
Time for me to go eat dessert! I have my frozen Chobani waiting for me in the freezer.
Have a great day!
Toodles,
Jen
That sounds delicious! Just a quick question- did you run into any problems trying to cook the chicken with the greek yogurt marinated into it? From past experience I’ve found that whenever I added yogurt to any heat, it usually clumps up.
I didn’t run into any problems with the yogurt clumping up. Maybe because of th eoil from the pesto? But I have marinated chicken in yogurt before and never ran into the problem.
You used my favorite caprese salad flavors on chicken! This is amazing, Jen!!!!
Thanks Liz! I just love caprese anything!! It really is a wonderful flavor combination!
yum, yum. yummmm…
lol
Love the colors and the pictures! This sounds like my kind of dish 🙂
Thanks Ashley! This is one of my favorite chicken dishes. Normally I have it on a sandwich.
Pesto has become one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken. This looks like another good one!
I love pesto! I don’t make it nearly enough!!!
Delicious! I am bookmarking this recipe for a family dinner next week. I just know this is going to be a big hit.
Thanks Laura! My Husband who doesn’t like pesto loved it! He thought the chicken was so tender!
Wow this looks like such a delicious chicken! I can’t wait to try this!
If you do try it, let me know what you think of it! 🙂
I love this kind of recipe. I have made something very similar using turkey cutlets. It has been forever though, time to make it again!
This would be wonderful with Turkey Cutlets!!
I love pesto and these cheesy chicken looks amazing! What a fantastic meal this would make for!
Thank you!! I love this combination if you haven’t noticed!! 🙂