Keto Pesto Chicken

by KetoFocus.com
5 Stars (12 Reviews)

An easy keto chicken dinner recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Keto Pesto Chicken is a low carb dinner you can enjoy on a busy weeknight.

Keto Pesto Chicken Recipe Video

Youtube
Subscribe to the KetoFocus YouTube Channel

With 100s of videos and millions of views, Ketofocus is one of the most popular Keto channels on YouTube.

Keto Pesto Chicken Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 (6.25 oz) jar of pesto sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar, sugar free
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon monk fruit

Keto Pesto Chicken Directions

  • Keto Pesto Chicken
  • Low Carb Pesto Chicken Recipe

    slicing pesto chicken on the dinner plateThis recipe is one of the easiest keto dinner recipes. As long as you remember to marinade the chicken a few hours or even the night before, the rest takes 2 minutes of your time and you let your oven do the rest. But I have even forgotten to marinade the chicken before and just threw everything in a pan. It was STILL delicious! Definitely, give the flavors time to meld together if you have the time though.Keto pesto chicken only requires four ingredients and it’s prepared in one dish (if you are using a plastic bag or marinade the chicken in the baking dish), so clean up is easy too! This easy keto dinner recipe is one I often turn to on week day nights.The chicken is juicy and a balanced flavor between the pesto and the vinegar.

    Chicken on the Keto Diet

    chicken thighs in a bowlOn the keto diet, the best cuts of chicken are the darker meats like chicken thighs and drumsticks since they have a higher fat content compared to white cuts of chicken meat, like the breast. I prefer chicken thighs to chicken breast since the thighs tend to have more flavor than the breast meat. Remember fat = flavor! However, if chicken breast is all you have, you can use them in this recipe. You may have to adjust the cooking time as chicken breast meat tends to be thicker. Chicken breast needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees fahrenheit as well.

    Pesto on the Keto Diet

    mezzetta pestoMost pesto is considered keto friendly since it is mostly made up of basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and olive oil. I do recommend looking at the ingredient list and carbohydrate count since some manufacturers like to sneak in sugar in their pesto. My favorite brand of pesto is by Mezzetta. It contains no added sugar and is zero net carbs per serving. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

    Rice Vinegar

    When selecting a rice vinegar for this recipe, look for one without an sugar in it. Some brand add sugar to the rice vinegar. The brand of rice vinegar I like to use is by Marukan. It is the green labelled one and is sugar free.chicken marinading in pesto and vinegar

    Ways to Use Leftover Keto Pesto Chicken

    I like to make a bunch of keto pesto chicken and use the leftovers in other low carb recipes throughout the week. You can add leftover pesto chicken to zoodles and pasta sauce to make a chicken spaghetti or top it on fathead dough to make Keto Chicken Pesto Pizza (recipe coming soon!).

    Nutritional information & Macros

    Nutrition Information

    Keto Pesto Chicken

    Servings: 4

    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 485
    Fat 33g
    Protein 47g
    Total Carbs 1.5g
    Net Carbs 0g

    Other Keto Dinner Recipes

    A plate with katsu chicken over cauliflower rice next to sliced cucumber and pickled ginger.
    30 Mins
    Keto Chicken Katsu

    This keto chicken katsu recipe features tender chicken cutlets encrusted with a crispy blend of pork panko and sesame seeds and fried until golden....

    See the Recipe
    A wooden spoon holding a slice of creamy boursin chicken topped with parsley.
    30 Mins
    Boursin Chicken

    Boursin chicken is a one-pot skillet dinner recipe that features chicken breasts cooked to perfection in a creamy, flavorful sauce made with Boursin...

    See the Recipe

    1 Comment

    1. Hi Annie!
      We love your recipes – especially since we can make them ahead of time and pull them out as needed. It’s a lifesaver for our family of 6! Can I make this pesto chicken with bone-in/skin on chicken thighs (they were out of boneless/skinless at the store)? Do I need to adjust the cooking time? Also, can I prep the marinade and put the chicken in the marinade in the freezer? Or would it be better to prep the marinade, store it in the fridge and dump it in the bag the night before/the morning of? Thank you so much!!!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *