Creamy sun dried tomato pesto chicken is a crowd-pleasing main dish, ready in 30 minutes or less. My whole family asked for seconds, and I bet yours will too!
Sometimes you just need an easy win for dinner, right friend? Something that all the big people and little people around the table will gobble up with a smile. Enter this amazing creamy sun dried tomato pesto chicken recipe.
I have a couple of picky eaters in my house, but nobody complains when this dish hits the table. After a few tentative bites I heard a "this is REALLY good Mom!" and "Can we have this again next week?" An easy one pan chicken dish with only a handful of ingredients that my whole family loves? Forget next week. This is now on the menu every week.
Ingredients
Gather up extra virgin olive oil, boneless skinless chicken breasts, a small onion, garlic clove, sundried tomato pesto, heavy cream, fresh baby spinach, and salt and pepper. As always, exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
Notes
You can use store-bought pesto for this recipe, or homemade. I love this homemade sun dried tomato pesto sauce. It is quick to whip up with a food processor or high speed blender, and freezes beautifully.
Substitutions
This recipe is also delicious with a traditional basil pesto sauce. It has a completely different flavor, but is equally easy and crowd-pleasing. Check out my favorite homemade basil pesto. You can never have too many pesto recipes!
Instructions
Step One: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness and season each side with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until it has a nice golden brown color. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Step Two: Add the diced onion to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant and translucent. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté for one more minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
Step Three: Add the sun dried tomato pesto, cream and water to the pan, and bring the sauce to a light simmer.
Step Four: Return the seared chicken breasts back to the pan, and let them simmer in the sauce until they are cooked through, approximately 10 minutes. Cooking time can vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts, so make sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Stir the sauce occasionally and spoon it over the chicken breasts as they cook.
Step Five: Just before removing the sauce from the heat, add a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves. The residual heat in the sauce will wilt the spinach to perfection. If you are using a heartier green (like kale), add it to the sauce a few minutes earlier to cook it through.
Garnish with a few diced sun dried tomatoes, some fresh basil, grated Parmesan cheese or toasted pine nuts.
Serve This With
My kiddos love noodles, so we serve this with whole grain penne or spaghetti for a quick chicken pesto pasta dish. (Side note: Chicken pasta is a great leftover lunch option for work!) This is also great served up with some roasted vegetables or a tossed salad on the side for a delicious and balanced meal.
Recipe
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 6 ounces sun dried tomato pesto ¾ cup
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup water
- 3 ounces baby spinach
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness and season each side with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until it has a nice golden brown color. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the diced onion to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant and translucent. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté for one more minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add the sun dried tomato pesto, cream and water to the pan, and bring the sauce to a light simmer.
- Return the seared chicken breasts to the pan, and let them simmer in the sauce until cooked through, approximately 10 minutes. Cooking time can vary depending on the size of the chicken breasts, so make sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Stir the sauce occasionally and spoon it over the chicken breasts as they cook.
- Just before removing the sauce from the heat, add a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves. The residual heat in the sauce will wilt the spinach to perfection.
Tony
This was delicious. The kids all asked for seconds. I took it for lunch the next day and it was just as good!