Creamy Skillet Pesto Chicken
Luscious, decadent Creamy Skillet Pesto Chicken – the most delicious dinner recipe you can have on the table in under 30 minutes!
Easy, Creamy Skillet Pesto Chicken is bursting with fabulous flavor! This one-skillet recipe with juicy fried chicken breasts, a perfect pesto sauce, parmesan, cream and basil cooks together for a filling, flavorful meal fit to impress the foodies in your life!
Pesto is the Besto!
Yes, it’s green. Yes, it’s healthy. But most people assume pesto is made from spinach or kale or green tomatoes or something else they THINK they won’t like.
They’re SO wrong.
Pesto is FANTASTIC. It’s rich and tasty. Nutty, cheesy and garlicky. It’s full of all the best ingredients! High in vitamins A & C, calcium and iron, Italian pesto sauce is loaded with healthy fats that are good for your heart.
Best of all, it makes almost any type of food extra-special! Of course, it’s amazing over pasta, rice or a toasted, rustic bread. It works well with chicken and seafood. It’s fantastic as a pizza sauce. It’s spectacular as a sandwich spread. And it makes the best salad dressing you’ll ever put in your mouth!
Other Recipes to Serve with Chicken Pesto
- This is the absolute best recipe for Homemade Pesto Sauce and it only takes 5 minutes to make!
- Soft, flaky Homemade White Bread makes a great addition to this pasta meal – or as the anchors for leftover pesto chicken sandwiches!
Ingredients
Chicken: Chicken breasts, coated with flour and a few basic pantry seasonings are the protein base for this saucy supper recipe.
Sauce: The pesto sauce needs basil pesto (basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan if you’re making homemade!), heavy cream, and salt & pepper.
Cheese: A block of high-quality parmesan to sprinkle over the top of the finished dish. (A jar of grated parmesan will work too!)
Garnish: For presentation, a sprinkle of fresh basil or chopped parsley makes it beautiful layered over a bed of penne or rotini pasta.
How to Make Pesto Chicken
STEP ONE: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Dip the chicken in this mixture, coating it on all sides.
STEP TWO: Grease a large skillet and cook the coated chicken breasts over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side until lightly brown and thoroughly cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
STEP THREE: To the same skillet, add the pesto sauce and saute for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Add the heavy cream and stir, cooking until warmed through and starting to bubble. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
STEP FOUR: Add the chicken and any juices on the plate back into the pan and sprinkle with the parmesan. Garnish with chopped basil or parsley.
STEP FIVE: Serve this pesto chicken warm over penne, rigatoni, rotini, or with your favorite sides like mashed potatoes.
Tips for Success
- Don’t forget to cover the cooked chicken with foil. This keeps it moist and juicy while you make the sauce.
- For the best flavor, use a block of Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. The taste and texture can’t be beat.
- If your sauce is too thin, just continue to simmer for a couple of extra minutes or let it sit for another 3-5 minutes off the heat to thicken up.
- If your sauce is too thick, just add a spoonful or two of the pasta water to thin it out.
- This is a rich, calorie-dense recipe. If you want to lighten it up, you can exchange the cream for half-and-half or whole milk. (Remember, the sauce will be thinner.)
What is Pesto Sauce?
Pesto (or, in Italian, pesto alla genovese) is a basil-based sauce that is deep green in color. Pesto is made from fresh basil leaves, cloves of garlic, roasted pine nuts, olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese. Yes, it’s higher in calories than some sauces because of the oil and nuts, but it’s super healthy and saturated with mouthwatering flavors!
What Kind of Pesto Sauce Should I Use?
Any kind! Of course, you can always use jarred pesto sauce from the grocery. Most jar pesto sauces are quite good and can shave 5 or 10 minute off your prep time.
BUT, if you want to take your cooking to a whole new level, you should absolutely make your own pesto! Homemade pesto sauce (like the one mentioned above) is super simple and – OH MY GOODNESS – it really elevates this Italian dish! You will not be sorry you put in the extra effort for this pesto chicken!
Other Super Scrumptious Skillet Suppers!
- Mexican Shrimp Skillet Dinner
- Skillet Steak Bites with Potatoes
- Cheesy Skillet Ravioli Bake
- Skillet Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Easy Chili Mac Skillet Dinner
- Skillet Turkey Cornbread Casserole
*This post originally posted on 01/30/2018.
Creamy Skillet Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅓ cup basil pesto
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- Fresh basil or parsley chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and place 1-2 chicken breasts on it. Place another piece of plastic wrap over the top. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the chicken to an even thickness. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dip chicken in the flour until coated all over.
- Add a large drizzle of olive oil to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes per side until cooked through and lightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
- To the same skillet, add the pesto and cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat until fragrant. Add the heavy cream and stir until warmed through and starting to bubble. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add chicken and any juices on the plate back to the pan, sprinkle parmesan cheese on the chicken, and cook until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil or parsley for garnish before serving warm.
This recipe was great! Will 10/10 make again. I don’t think mine looked as yummy as yours did but it tasted great! Thank you!
I absolutely love this recipe. It is a HUGE hit in our home. Thank you!!
I use this recipe quite a bit! So tasty! I often use half and half since we’re more likely to have that on hand, and it’s also delicious.
This is the best pesto chicken recipe ever!!!! I used a little more pesto than called for but everything else was the same. The sauce was so creamy, perfect. I served mine over egg noodles and it was great. This is my official go-to recipe.
I NEVER comment on recipes until now! I make a wonderful lasagna with pesto sauce (James Beard) and always have leftover pesto sauce and don’t know what to do with it. I did a search on cream, pesto, chicken and this recipe came up! OMG.. followed it religiously and served over penne pasta. So easy and so good! Definitely a keeper. An excellent quarantine find, thank you!
So good! I made a recipe last week that called for some basil pesto, so I had half a jar left that I didn’t want to go to waste. I searched for a recipe to incorporate it, and this one popped up. It was super simple and so yummy…even husband and 4-year old approved! I served with some cheese filled tortellini (this creamy sauce was delish on top) and some roasted broccolini. I love when last-minute dishes turn out this wonderful!
Very good!!
I would double the recipe to have more sauce!
This was excellent. I used evaporated milk because I didn’t have heavy cream. Worked out perfectly!
Excellent! Thank you, Sara.
Could this be prepared w/ half and half instead of heavy cream?
Sure, just know that it may change the consistency slightly.
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve added it to our regular recipe rotation. The kids and my husband love it!
I have added mushrooms to the sauce, sauteing them in the chicken drippings before adding the pesto. So good!!
Thanks so much for the easy recipe!
Soooo delicious! Thank you very much
This was a bit my house with the kids as well! Thank you. I will try with Shrimp next time!! This is a keeper!
In what section of the store do I find Basil Pesto??? Thanks
Make they 5 min easy pesto…the link is on this page…it’s fantastic!!
My grocer has Basil Pesto in little jars, about 1/3 the size of a spaghetti sauce jar, on the spaghetti sauce aisle. Hope that helps!