Cream Cheese Pesto Chicken - moist tender chicken breasts topped with cream cheese, basil pesto & mozzarella then oven baked for a quick low-carb dinner. Just add a salad and dinner is sorted!
My cream cheese pesto chicken is perfect if you are looking for a fuss-free and flavour-packed dinner. Just add some creamy, cheesy, basil pesto goodness to a chicken breast then bake it in the oven. A layer of cream cheese and pesto keeps these beauties lovely and moist while they bake.
A simple & quick chicken dinner, done in 30 minutes. As the saying goes, winner winner chicken dinner!
I'll be honest, I like the creamy things. I also like the cheesy things.
This cream cheese pesto chicken recipe is both of those, then add basil pesto to the mix and I'm in my own little piece of creamy, cheesy baked chicken heaven!
I also love that this creamy pesto chicken is low-carb, it makes me feel like all that creamy goodness isn't really that bad. Sure - let's go with that!
How to make cream cheese pesto chicken
- Sprinkle each side of the chicken breasts with garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large frypan, and pan fry breasts for 2 minutes on each side - see image below.
- Place pan-fried breasts into a baking dish.
- Meanwhile, combine spreadable cream cheese and basil pesto, then top each breast evenly with this mixture - see image below.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over the top - see image below - then bake.
What should I serve with pesto chicken
All this dish needs is a fresh green salad on the side.
Tips for making cream cheese pesto chicken
- Use a meat mallet to give the thicker end of the breast a bit of a bash - you want to make the thickness of the breast as even as you can. This will help them cook evenly.
- Browning the chicken in the pan or skillet before they get topped with the cream cheese mixture really imparts a lot of flavour into the finished dish. Definitely don't skip this step!
- I use a meat thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked, it should have an internal temperature of 74c (165f) at it's thickest part. See Cooking temperatures | NSW Food Authority for more info.
- I recommend using homemade pesto for this recipe. Not only does it taste out of this world good, but it doesn't have any weird ingredients or sugar added! You can find my super easy recipe for basil pesto here.
Other chicken recipes you make like
Stuffed Chicken Thigh Mini Roasts - a roast chicken dinner with stuffing & gravy, in under 1 hour!
Easy Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake - leftover rotisserie chicken, smoky bacon and pasta all coated in a simple 2 ingredient cheese sauce.
Other basil pesto recipes you make like
Baked Mozzarella Chicken Breast with Pastry & Pesto - another quick and easy dish, with a video.
Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich - have a craving for grilled cheese? Try it with basil pesto!
Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad - all the flavours of a Caprese salad, plus basil pesto and prosciutto.
Cream Cheese Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp basil pesto (see notes)
- 4 tbsp spreadable cream cheese/cream cheese spread I used light
- ⅓ cup shredded mozzarella
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c/350f.
- Using a meat mallet, flatten any thicker parts of the breasts to make them as even as possible, then sprinkle both sides with garlic powder (½ tsp) and salt and pepper (to taste).
- Heat olive oil (1 tbsp) in a large frypan, and fry the chicken on medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side, then place chicken in a baking dish. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked through at this stage because it will finish cooking in the oven.
- Meanwhile, combine cream cheese spread (4 tbsp) and basil pesto (2 tbsp), mixing well to incorporate. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the chicken.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella (⅓ cup) evenly on top of cream cheese mixture, then bake for 20 mins or until cooked through (see notes).
Notes
- Use a meat mallet to give the thicker end of the breast a bit of a bash - you want to make the thickness of the breast as even as you can. This will help them cook evenly.
- Browning the chicken in the pan or skillet before they get topped with the cream cheese mixture really imparts a lot of flavour into the finished dish. Definitely don't skip this step!
- I like to use a meat thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked, it should have an internal temperature of 74c (165f) at it's thickest part. See Cooking temperatures | NSW Food Authority for more info.
- I recommend using homemade pesto for this recipe. Not only does it taste out of this world good, but it doesn't have any weird ingredients or sugar added! You can find my easy recipe for basil pesto here.
Thanks Lee Ann for the Creamy Pesto Chicken recipe, sounds great..... I look forwardto cooking it.
regards,
Thanks so much guys, let me know how it turns out!
Delish!
Thanks Karly!
This was simple, tasty and fast. I did two batches, one with basil and the other with sundried tomato pesto...both were great!
Woo hoo! Glad you enjoyed the recipe Dani, thanks for stopping by and letting me know 🙂