Best Pesto Crusted Chicken Recipes

CUMIN CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH COTIJA AND MANGO-GARLIC SAUCE WITH GREEN ONION PESTO MASHED POTATOES

Steps:

• Whisk together the whole cumin, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, honey, and pepper in a medium baking dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat a large ovenproof saute pan over medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and wipe off any excess. Combine the ground cumin, cotija, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Dust the chicken on the skin side with the mixture.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over and place in the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until just cooked through.
• Serve drizzled with the Mango Garlic Sauce and with the Green Onion Pesto Mashed Potatoes.
• Combine chicken stock, peppercorns, and garlic in a medium saucepan and cook until reduced to 3 cups. Strain into a bowl.
• Place both vinegars in a separate medium saucepan and cook until reduced by 1/2. Add the sugar and mango puree, and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon thickly.
• Add the reduced chicken stock and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain well and run through a food mill into a large bowl. Stir in the butter and cream and mix until combined. Swirl in the Green Onion Pesto and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Combine pumpkin seeds, garlic, spinach, and cilantro in food processor and process until smooth. Add green onions and lime juice, and process until smooth.
• With the motor running, slowly add the oil. Add the Parmesan, honey, salt, and pepper, and pulse several times until combined.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO-CRUSTED CHICKEN BREAST OVER CREAMY HERB POLENTA

Steps:

• For the chicken with sun-dried tomato pesto crust:
• For the creamy polenta:
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the pesto crust:
• Blend sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves and basil leaves in a food processor. Stir in Parmesan and add salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside briefly. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season chicken breast with pepper only. (The Parmesan in the pesto will provide salt.) Brown both sides of chicken, beginning with skin side first. Coat chicken with pesto and roast in oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until fork tender.
• For the polenta:
• Combine chicken stock and cream in a large heavy saucepan. Heat to a gentle boil over medium heat, being careful not to burn. While whisking constantly, gradually add the cornmeal in a thin stream. Once cornmeal is incorporated, keep heat low and continue to whisk until mixture is slightly thickened and creamy. Stir in butter and Cheddar and allow cheese to melt. Season with pepper, (and salt if needed). Spoon polenta onto serving plate, top with chicken breast and garnish with chopped scallions.

PESTO PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN BREASTS OVER TOMATO SPINACH PASTA

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!

PESTO-PARMESAN CRUSTED GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat gas or charcoal grill. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook garlic in oil about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add bread crumbs. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until toasted. Remove crumb mixture to small bowl. Stir pesto and Parmesan cheese into bowl with crumbs.
• Loosen skin on chicken to form a pocket, without detaching skin completely. Fill each pocket with pesto mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Place chicken on grill, skin side down, over medium-low heat. Cover grill; cook 10 minutes, moving occasionally as needed to avoid burning the skin. Turn chicken; spoon any remaining pesto over chicken. Cook 10 to 15 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (170°F).

PESTO-CRUSTED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Blend pesto, chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and grated lemon peel in processor just until combined. Place chicken on large rimmed baking sheet. Coat all of chicken with pesto mixture. Drizzle with oil. Bake chicken until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Tent with foil.
• Strain pan juices into small bowl, pressing on solids in strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

LEMON PEPPER PANKO CRUSTED CHICKEN W/ PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (if desired, you can cook directly on the baking sheet but foil makes for extra easy cleanup).
• 2. For the chicken, set up two wide shallow dishes for the breading process. In one dish, beat egg and add milk, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. In the second dish, add breadcrumbs. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness approximately 1/2" thick. Dip each piece in the egg mixture, coating both sides and letting any excess drip off before transferring to the breadcrumbs. Coat both sides, lightly pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken to ensure they are well-coated. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add chicken breasts and cook about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to baking sheet and continue cooking in the oven until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.
• 3. For the pasta, heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat. Generously add salt and add pasta to boiling water. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain and toss with pesto sauce.
• 4. For the pesto, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, slowly stream in olive oil with processor running until uniform. Stir in cheese and pour over pasta

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 2. Blend sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves, basil leaves, and roasted jalapeno in a food processor. 3. Stir in Parmesan and add salt and pepper, to taste. 4. Add oil and process (optional) 5. Coat top of chicken with pesto and roast in oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until fork tender.

PESTO CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Blend pesto, walnuts, 2 Tbs lemon juice, 1 Tbs lemon peel (optional) in food processor until just combined.
• Place chicken in pan and coat with full mixture then drizzle with the olive oil.
• Bake 30-45 minutes.
• This can be served over rice or pasta if desired.

PESTO CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F. Blend pesto, walnuts, 2 Tbs lemon juice and grated lemon peel in processor just until combined. Place chicken on a large rimmed baking sheet. Coat all chicken with the toping. Add 2 Tbs lemon juice to pan and cook for 35 min. Use juices to baste chickens while cooking.