Hi everyone – welcome to a new week!
Last week’s warmer temps lit a fire under our butts and instead of sticking around the house as planned, we were out and about all weekend long. To heck with the cold weather! On Saturday morning Ben and I took the boss to my new favorite restaurant/bakery/cafe in town, La Mie, for brunch. I ordered the same thing I’ve gotten the past three times I’ve visited – the Veggie Scramble with a Vanilla Almond Milk Latte. It is, perfection.
Ben got the same scramble after I told him how tasty it was and he raved the whole way through. Expertly seasoned and perfectly cooked. The whole half avocado on top is what makes it really special, me thinks. We both agreed a home attempt wouldn’t come close to the real thing, so I guess I’ll just have to keep going back for more. Darn. ;)
Lincoln behaved himself, save for the yelling. Right. It’s his new favorite thing to do. Just…yell! At the top of his lungs for no apparent reason – he’s pretty proud of it. Awesome. (Ok, I secretly love it and actually do think it’s pretty awesome. That being said, we did our best to quiet him down because I know other people might not think it’s so cute!)
Later that night I met up with a girlfriend for drinks, pedis, and dinner (which was as amazing as it sounds. Note to self: do this more often!) then Sunday Ben and I hopped over to the mall for a few laps. Like I said, a great little weekend!
In case your weekend was just as busy, and you didn’t have time to meal plan for the week, I have got you COVERED for dinner tonight with Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan.Â
4 ingredients + 5 minutes of prep work + 30 minutes of baking time = dinner. Saweet!
Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan is chicken thighs tossed in pesto then topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, and then baked. So unbelievably simple! Like I said, five minutes to prep then 30 minutes to bake. This dish will be done before you’ve even had time to take your pants off after coming home from work.
My Mom came over to visit Lincoln and me during her lunch hour last week and I sent her back to work with some of this chicken fresh out of the oven. She emailed me 20 minutes later saying it was everything she loved about Italian food, and needed the recipe STAT! I knew I loved it, but to get confirmation from my Mom was like winning a prize. She’s my cooking role model!
If you need a quick and flavorful dinner idea – this is your recipe!
Start with 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8 thighs) seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper. Like I mentioned on Friday, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are my new favorite thing ever. They’re thin which saves the step of pounding them out, are a fraction of the cost of chicken breasts, and are incredibly tender and juicy.
In the past chicken thighs have intimidated me but after cooking with them a few times lately, I want to slap myself for waiting so long. They’re fantastic. I can’t wait to grill them all summer long!
By the way, if I still haven’t sold you on chicken thighs, you could use 1lb chicken breasts that have been pounded thin and cut in half. But come on… Thighs! Thighs! Thighs!
Ahem! Pop the seasoned thighs into a 8×8 or 9×12 baking dish then toss using your hands with 1/3 cup prepared pesto.
You could absolutely make your own fresh pesto (here’s my recipe,) but I took a chance on this prepared pesto for the sake of convenience. It tasted awesome – super garlicky.
Next spread 1 cup marinara sauce over the thighs then top with 8oz sliced fresh mozzarella (you could use shredded in a pinch.)
Seal the baking dish tightly with foil then bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil then cook for 10 more minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and the chicken is cooked through. That’s it…dinner is served!
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Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan
Description
Gluten-free Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan takes 5 minutes to prep and bakes in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 8 (could use chicken breasts pounded thin then cut in half)
- salt & pepper
- 1/3 cup pesto
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 8oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper then add to a 8x8" or 9x12" baking dish. Add pesto then use hands to evenly coat. Spoon marinara sauce over top of thighs followed by mozzarella cheese then cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil then bake for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
If you’re like me and have been missing out on the lusciousness that his chicken thighs – change that ASAP! They’re so juicy and have an awesome flavor. Definitely not a creepy dark meat flavor, which is what I always thought they’d taste like.
This chicken would be great over a bed of pasta, but I served it with roasted potato wedges.
That’s just potatoes cut into wedges, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Totally easy to make with this chicken since they cook at the same temp. Enjoy!
Claire 02.28.2014
I made a big batch of homemade marinara sauce on Monday and as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew it would be a perfect use for it. I made this last night and my boyfriend and I loved it. I used two chicken breasts sliced in half and pounded thin, and served it on a bed of spaghetti. Best 30 minute meal I’ve had in a long time!
Tia 02.28.2014
I made this last night using Perdue’s “thin cut chicken breasts” and they turned out great! I only baked them for about 16-17 minutes too.
For those who don’t want to pound out chicken breasts or use chicken thighs, those are a great option.
alicia y 02.28.2014
I am going to try this in the crockpot!
Anela 02.28.2014
I made this last night and we had it with tortellini, but then tonight I made paninis with the leftovers and They. Were. So. Good! Thanks!
“Chicken Parmesan” & Bruschetta | Tina and Tia 02.27.2014
[…] also made “Chicken Parmesan” based off of Iowa Girl Eat’s recipe. I put “Chicken Parmesan” in quotes because it doesn’t actually involve […]
lauren 02.27.2014
Hi! I absolutely love your blog and all the recipes I have tried I have always been a hit. However this one just didnt work out for me..there was so much liquid and oil that the chicken didn’t cook. I had to switch baking dishes and cook an additional 20 minutes…any suggestions on what I might have done wrong??
I followed the instructions and even used the same pesto you did…
Kristin 02.27.2014
Oh no! Hmmm…I doubt you did anything wrong! Does your oven tend to need extra time to cook dishes? That’s the only thing I can think of!
Ryan 07.21.2015
Made this last night… Same deal as above. Soooo watery after 30 minutes in the oven. My chicken, however, appeared to be cooked fine, and we ate it with no problem. It was delicious! But still so watery… I think it was because of the fresh mozzarella? Fresh motz usually has a lot of water and when cooked makes anything watery. I’ve experienced this many times trying to use fresh motz on pizza. What brand of motz did you use in your dish? I just went with the long log of store brand fresh.
Kristin 07.21.2015
It”s so strange – the recipe turns out just fine for half the people who try it, then water for the other half. Total mystery! :/ I usually use Bel Gioioso brand mozzarella cheese.
sarah 02.27.2014
I’m having the same problem… took it out and it wasn’t close to cooked. Wondering what I did wrong ;(
Ann 03.04.2014
Lauren, I had the exact same issue! I was using my mother’s gas oven. I put the dish togeher the night before so I cooked it covered an extra five minutes since it went in cold, then uncovered and baked another 10 minutes. When I checked it, it was nowhere near done so I recovered it and put it back in for another 15 minutes. It finally got done but was extremely soupy and most of the cheese had melted into the soup. It tasted good but didn’t look much like Kristin’s. Normally I have good luck with her recipes. Will have to tinker with this one if I do it again.
Lara 03.10.2014
I too had tons of liquid!! The chicken cooked fine but there was so much liquid, the dish was watery. It’s like all the water released from the tomatoes in the marinara? It was ok, but would have been so much better if it wasn’t so liquid-y.
Best of Intentions 02.27.2014
[…] has been an absolute blast, and we’ve even managed to have some good food (including Kristen’s Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan with oven roasted potato […]
Gillian 02.26.2014
I tried this tonight and it was so easy and delicious. Thank you!!
Liz G. 02.26.2014
I made this tonight with chicken tenders as opposed to thighs because it’s what I had on hand. It was delicious and so easy! Thanks for the flavorful, quick weeknight recipe!!
Shannon 02.26.2014
This was really good. Only wish that my one pound of chicken thighs had 8 (only 4) and that I had made pasta to go with it. Seems like a waste for all that amazing pesto/marinara sauce sitting in the pan!!
Kim 02.26.2014
The thing I don’t like about chicken thighs is how greasy they always are and then the whole dish seems to be swimming in grease. Ugh. I keep trying them but I just can’t love chicken thighs. I don’t know if you are an Aldi girl, but I have been shopping there for the last year and have been pleasantly surprised by some things. There are definitely some things I can’t get there, but they have all the basics at super cheap prices, which I like, and they have some good fun stuff. They have some fun pastas, and they have a pesto and sun dried tomato pesto that are so good. My picky child loves the sun dried tomato pesto, and it is about $2 a jar which is a great price.
Jennifer pyle 03.30.2014
I’m with you on the chicken thighs…especially because the Classico pesto is oily; yet, very tasty!
I love this dish with Empire brand boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Costco, Classico pesto, Classico four cheese marinara, and fresh mozzarella. Everyone in my house liked this better than fried/breaded chicken park. Thank you!
Jennifer pyle 03.30.2014
parm not park!!
Donna 02.26.2014
Thank you for the recipe. Will try it this week and see if I can figure out how to prep it for camping. We meet up with family and everyone takes a turn fixing dinner for the group. It looks amazing and would be an easy dinner to do.
Emily @ Life on Food 02.25.2014
I want to stuff this in my face.
Amy Grossman 02.25.2014
Yum! I made this tonight for dinner. We both loved it, a true hit! It’s an easy but, super tasty weeknight recipe. I love the flavor the pesto adds. Thanks so much,
Tiffany S 02.25.2014
This is my first time posting a comment but I just want to tell you how much I love your blog. I try almost all of your recipes (last week was the power protein salad) and all of them have been a hit. My husband also loves all your recipes and usually all I have to tell him is it’s iowagirleats and then he knows he’s going to like it. Thank you for all the great food and great stories!
Kristin 02.26.2014
Love to hear that, Tiffany! :)
Jen W 02.25.2014
We use chicken thighs all the time. Like you said, they’re a fraction of the price, nice and juice, and just the right size for easy portion control. Although, I think I’d have to have seconds of this tasty dish!
Suzie 02.25.2014
Looks terrific, can’t wait to try! I wanted to mention, I’ve taken a package of bone-in, with skin, chicken thighs to the meat counter and asked them to debone the chicken many times. They’ve always been great about doing so and don’t charge for it either. I’ll usually drop it off and continue shopping, then swing back by before checkout.
Kristin 02.26.2014
Good tip!
Joanna 02.25.2014
Definitely going to have to make this! I will have to try my hand at your homemade pesto. I am all about the homemade stuff these days. As much as possible, anyway.:) xo
Sandy 02.25.2014
Looks yummy! Can I ask about how you do those potato logs? So simple I’m sure but something different to feed the fam.
Thanks!
Kristin 02.26.2014
There’s instructions above the last photo in the post, but detailed photos here! https://iowagirleats.com/2013/02/24/parmesan-garlic-chicken-with-roasted-potato-wedges/
Karin 02.25.2014
Thank you so much for admitting to your chicken thigh phobia. I have one too and it’s good to know that I can overcome this ;).
Seriously though, if you didn’t write about being not so excited about chicken thighs in the past I totally would have just used chicken breasts. I’m going to use the thighs and see how it goes.
Your blog is really just so awesome. I made your BBQ chicken sammies for our sandwich themed supper club last week and they went over very well.
Kristin 02.26.2014
So glad to hear! :)