Creamy Pesto Chicken
A creamy pesto chicken recipe featuring juicy chicken smothered in a rich, flavorful cream sauce made from basil pesto and sun-dried tomatoes.
6
Servings
562
Calories
41.5g
Fat
37.8g
Protein
3.7g
Net Carb
10.8g
Total Carbs
Unlike a traditional pesto chicken recipe, this version takes it up a notch by enveloping seared chicken thighs in a luscious cream base made by incorporating fusing the pesto with garlic, parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomato, which adds a zesty kick.
What makes this recipe different?
- Perfectly seared, golden crusted chicken – Unlike other recipes for pesto chicken that just pan-sear or pan-fry the chicken thighs or breasts, this recipe coats the chicken in oat fiber, then pan-sears the breaded chicken to create a golden crust around the chicken. This will help lock in the moisture while the chicken continues to braise in the sauce, ensuring the chicken stays juicy and tender on the inside.
- A better sauce that just plain pesto – Traditional pesto chicken is just chicken marinades and cooked in pesto sauce, but this skillet chicken recipe adds other flavors, like garlic, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and sun-dried tomatoes. All of that is mixed with heavy cream to create a thick, flavorful sauce you’ll want to scoop up with every bite.
- Low carb – Instead of coating the chicken with breadcrumbs or all-purpose flour, oat fiber is used to coat the chicken in order to lock in those juices. Oat fiber is zero net carbs; however, almond flour and pork panko are other keto options that can be used.
Pesto Chicken Recipe Video
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Pesto Chicken Ingredients
1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained
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3 tablespoons avocado oil
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2.5 pounds (~6) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
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1/4 cup oat fiber
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2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
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2 tablespoons butter
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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Pinch red pepper flakes
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1/2 cup chicken broth
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1 cup heavy whipping cream
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1/4 cup basil pesto
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1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Creamy Pesto Chicken Directions
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Chop & preheat
Chop the sun dried tomatoes and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained
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Coat the chicken
Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Add oat fiber to a shallow bowl. Coat all sides of the seasoned chicken with oat fiber until evenly coated.
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds chicken breast or thighs
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup oat fiber or favorite breading
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Sear the chicken
Add oil to a large skillet pre-heated to medium-high heat. Working in batches as to not crowd the skillet, add chicken to the skillet and sear on both sides until golden (about 3-5 minutes each side). It won’t be all the way cooked through - it will finish cooking in the oven. Remove the chicken and set on a plate. Sear the remaining chicken and remove to plate.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
Quick Tip
Any cooking oil can be used or you can use the oil in the jar from the sun-dried tomatoes. -
Seasoning base
To the same empty skillet, add butter, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until golden (about 2 minutes).
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch red pepper flakes
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Finish the creamy pesto sauce
Stir in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Stir in the cream, pesto and chopped sun dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup basil pesto
- chopped sun-dried tomatoes
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Braise
Place seared chicken and any juices left on the plate back into the skillet. Cover with sauce. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top and transfer to the preheated 400 °F oven to cook (uncovered), for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Quick Tip
Serve over cauliflower rice or low carb noodles. Garnish with parsley or more parmesan.
This recipe nailed the balance of richness and flavor. Pan searing the chicken thighs first added a great texture, and finishing them in the oven kept them super juicy. The heavy cream mixed with pesto gave the sauce a velvety consistency, and I loved how the oat fiber coating helped the sauce cling to the chicken. Simmering the chicken broth before adding the cream made a noticeable difference in depth of flavor. Topped with parmesan, it turned beautifully golden in the oven.
Made this last night and it was delicious! The pesto and sun-dried tomato combo is packed with flavor. Even my picky teenager loved it. Will definitely be making it again soon.
Turned out great. I halved the recipe and used what I had on hand including frozen thighs. The sauce thickened beautifully and the flavor from the pesto and tomatoes was amazing.
This turned out really well. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and it was still super juicy. The sauce was creamy and rich with the right amount of tang from the sun dried tomatoes.
Using oat fiber to coat the chicken gave a nice crisp edge after searing, which held up well when baked in the sauce. I appreciated how the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes in the butter brought a subtle depth before adding the cream and pesto. One tip: simmering the chicken broth a bit longer before adding the dairy helped concentrate the flavor. The parmesan on top browned just enough in the oven for a slightly crusty topping, which was a pleasant surprise.