This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Chicken breasts with a cheddar-crumb topping, nestled in a creamy pesto sauce on a bed of roasted cherry tomatoes. This Easy Baked Pesto Chicken is a mouth-watering easy dinner that doesn’t require any pre-cooking. Just add it all into the dish and bake.
“My Husband absolutely LOVED this. He nearly proposed to me again! So easy to pull together and could easily be something you serve at a dinner party as well as a weeknight meal. 10/10!”
Nicky’s Notes
One-pan cooking doesn’t have to be all about same-coloured food that takes all day in the slow cooker. Whilst I am a huge fan of coming home to a meltingly tender pork ragu or spicy chicken curry, sometimes we’re out too early to start something cooking, or home too late (and don’t have a lot of time), but still want a delicious meal.
It’s those days when you need a meal like this. All cooked in one tray, you can have a beautiful meal on the table in half an hour – and two-thirds of that time can be spent sat on the sofa enjoying a cup of tea.
The textures and flavours will make you so happy you skipped the beans on toast!
Table of Contents
What do we need?
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***
Add tomatoes to baking tray and toss in a little cornflour. Mix with salt, pepper, garlic, stock and pesto. Add chicken breasts and top with pesto, grated cheddar and seasoned panko, then bake, adding pine nuts halfway through.
Once cooked, stir a little cream into the sauce and serve.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to add pine nuts to the dish, add sprinkle them on about 10 minutes before the end of cooking, so they don’t burn.
- Swap out the cream for low-fat creme fraiche for a lighter finish to the sauce.
Sprinkle with a few fresh basil leaves before serving.
What to serve it with
- Homemade Pasta
- Crispy Roast Potatoes
- Easy Artisan Bread
- Pan-Fried Sauté Potatoes
- Easy Garlic Bread
Ingredient swaps
- Try swapping out the pesto for harissa and adding olives for a spicy version.
- Try swapping the pesto for barbeque sauce and throw in some chorizo for a smoky version.
Watch how to make it
Easy Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g (14oz) cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 chicken stock cube mixed with 120ml (1/2 cup) boiling water
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp fresh pesto
- 4 small chicken breasts or 2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half to make 4 fillets
- 60 g (2.1 oz or just over half a cup) cheddar cheese grated
- 25 g (1/2 cup) panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
To Serve:
- 3 tbsp double (heavy) cream
- fresh basil leaves
- fresh pasta or boiled potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
- Place the cherry tomatoes in the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkle over the cornflour, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Toss together with your hands.400 g (14oz) cherry/grape tomatoes, 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Add the garlic, stock, red wine vinegar, and 1 tbsp of pesto and stir together.2 cloves garlic, 1 chicken stock cube, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 3 tbsp fresh pesto
- Top the tomatoes with the 4 chicken breasts.4 small chicken breasts
- Spread the remaining 2 tbsp of pesto on the chicken breasts and sprinkle on the cheese.60 g (2.1 oz or just over half a cup) cheddar cheese
- Mix together the panko breadcrumbs, paprika, olive oil, and the remaining ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.25 g (1/2 cup) panko breadcrumbs, ¼ tsp paprika
- Sprinkle the mixture on top of the chicken.1 tbsp olive oil
- Place in the oven to cook for 10 minutes, then sprinkle over the pine nuts.1 tbsp pine nuts
- Place back in the oven to cook for a further 10-15 minutes – until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and stir the cream into the liquid and tomatoes in the baking dish.3 tbsp double (heavy) cream
- Sprinkle fresh basil leaves over the dish and serve with some fresh pasta or some boiled potatoes.fresh basil leaves, fresh pasta or boiled potatoes
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first posted in October 2014. Updated later with new photos, video, improvements to the recipe and housekeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
This was sensational, and got 2 thumbs up all around! My sister in law even warned us how terrible it was, and said she’d sacrifice by taking home the leftovers. 😂😂 A couple comments on the recipe: I doubled the amount of pesto and it was just that much more amazing. However, what is supposed to happen with the broth mixture? I poured it over the tomatoes and put the chicken on top, which seemed to make sense, but that info is missing from the recipe. Also, cheddar cheese did not make sense to me with the other flavors, so I went with shredded mozzarella and it was perfection. The good news is that I have a whole jar of pesto still, so I’m going to have to make it again soon! Served with a garlic & herb wild rice blend and broccoli.
Hands down the tastiest dinner I’ve ever made. So easy and yet so tasty. Absolutely love any recipes I’ve made from this site. Fantastic for tasty family dinners. 5 stars!!!
Loved this!
Never had pesto before, but this is a dish we will definitely have again. So quick and easy to make.
Might try with fish as suggested by someone else.
Wow! A real flavour full dish. I used cod loin pieces. Started cooking the tomatoes in the pan and then deglazed with a little white wine and then followed the recipe with 15 minutes in the oven.
Incredible dinner and can say with certainty that it’s the most delicious, flavor banging dish I’ve ever made; I’m 50yrs old with a grandchild and cooked a lot of meals in my lifetime! Hands down, the best! I added a little spicy kick as along w/ sliced black olives but even sticking to recipe (w/o pine nuts), exceptional! Making it this weekend for my son and 4yr old granddaughter! Thank you for the amazing meal ideas, from my 💜!
Rachael
P.S. Wish I could embed a photo to show it off! I took plated and dug-in photos of yummyness!
Hi Nicky is this 200 fan oven.Thanks
Hi Debbie, yes, it’s for a fan oven.
Gorgeous! I love your recipes and have used lots of them. They are my ‘go to’ recipes as they are always so tasty and yet easy to make with ingredients that are readily available. Thank you!
If you can’t get cherry tomatoes, could you just use ordinary tomatoes cut into quarters?
Trying this tonight.
Thanks for the tip Linda, re orzo pasta – wouldn’t have thought about that, but it sounds perfect for my family
This is a fabulous dish! I very seldom put anything on the table that both my teen girls will devour! This is one of them (the other being your sticky sesame chicken!). Thanks so much, quantities are perfect and we usually serve with orzo pasta. Cheers, Michelle x
Brilliant and so easy. Perfect family food.