We stumbled upon a really good dinner recently that I think you’ll like, too!
We fell in love with Caprese Salad in Italy. Mark likes tomatoes now because of that trip.
Pesto Tortellini Salad is our favorite thing to take to a potluck. Sam’s Club has a Caprese on a Stick kit. A summer favorite is a Caprese sandwich on ciabatta bread.
This time we add chicken to the wonderful Caprese flavor.
It’s easy, comes together quickly and is flexible. Easy to make at home or in the RV. We pair it with a salad and call it good.
You can make this with chicken breasts or thighs. If you opt for breasts, you want to filet them or pound them thin. Foster Farms has package of already done for you, they call them thin sliced chicken breasts.
If you haven’t fileted a breast before, have no fear. It’s not as hard as it sounds. With the breast on a cutting board, place you hand on top and cut the piece horizontally. Be careful with the knife and your hand. RapidSlicer is a great tool for this and can be bought on their website or Amazon.
Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish and preheat oven to 400°.
Place chicken in the dish. We like garlic so we sprinkle minced garlic on top of the chicken.
Next, spoon on some pesto sauce. We always have a jar of Costco pesto sauce in the refrigerator. It’s good and nothing is easier than spooning it out. When we make our own pesto sauce, I love the recipe inside the Simple Truth Organic basil pack in my Fry’s produce department. Fry’s is the Arizona arm of Kroger, your name will vary depending on where you live.
It’s tomato time. We like to use Roma tomatoes slices but beefsteak slices are just fine.
Lastly, you’ll top with mozzarella cheese. We use wet mozzarella slices just like we had in Italy. You can used deli sliced mozzarella or shredded, whichever you like and have on hand. Deli sliced and shredded will give you browned cheese on top. The thicker wet cheese slices will melt beautifully but need a minute or two under the broiler for browning.
Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on how thick your chicken is. Make sure the chicken reaches 160° so it’s cooked all the way. Turn the oven to broil, place the baking dish under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is browned a little.
It smells so good and tastes even better! Refrigerate any leftovers.
Easy Pesto Caprese Style Chicken
adapted from The Schmidty Wife
- Two pounds chicken (boneless skinless thighs or boneless chicken breasts fileted)
- 2-4 teaspoons minced garlic (or as much as you’d like)
- 4-6 Tablespoons pesto sauce (or as much as you’d like)
- 1-2 slices thick sliced mozzarella cheese depending on chicken size (or shredded or sliced)
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Add chicken breast cutlets to a baking dish in a single even layer. Season the chicken lightly with salt. Add 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic to each chicken cutlet and spread out over the top. Add 1 tablespoon of pesto to the top of each chicken cutlet and spread evenly over the top. Add 2-3 tomato slices to the top of each chicken. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over the top of each chicken cutlet.
- Transfer dish to the oven. Cook for 22-25 minutes. Chicken will be ready when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF and juices run clear. Cover the baking dish and let the chicken rest about 5 minutes before serving.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.