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!
Stephy3501 12.28.2015
My family loves this recipe!! Thank you so much <3
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Dar 10.01.2015
Great combination of flavors but it did come out very soupy. I would bake the thighs with a thin smear of pesto first until crispy then add the sauce and cheese for the last 10 minutes. Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie 10.01.2015
Even though this is an older recipe, just thought I’d let you know that this is in my dinner rotation! I’m an attorney-mom with exactly 45 minutes from the minute I get in the door after work until bedtime for my little one. This recipe is a life saver and is so, so good!
Kristin 10.01.2015
SO glad to hear, Stephanie!! Love that it’s a staple for you and the kids! :)
Sue 09.14.2015
Used my garden tomatoes to make a homemade marinara for this recipe and served it over pasta. My teenage daughter said “This tastes like something you’d order in a restaurant”. Delicious.
Kristin 09.14.2015
Awesome!! Thanks so much for the great feedback, Sue! :)
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Ilene 03.22.2015
Made this tonight for dinner. So easy and delicious. Highly recommended!
Anita 03.17.2015
Just made these last night and I thought my husband was going to lick his plate. Very, very good. I put extra pesto and marinara sauce on the thighs (yes, I used thighs, and they were the perfect choice!), and it made a yummy sauce. My whole house smelled amazing and I can’t wait to make this again!!! :)
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Steve 01.12.2015
Was excited about this “foolproof” dish as I’m all-thumbs in the kitchen. The result was delicious but there was so much liquid in the baking dish after cooking and the chicken thighs had shrunk quite a bit. Don’t know why – maybe my oven’s running hotter than it should?
Orlando 01.12.2015
Tried this last night, only topped with sharp provolone slices in lieu of mozzarella. Holy moly! What a burst of favors! Super easy too.
Debbie 01.10.2015
If you look at your pic of the marinara sauce on the chicken it sure doesn’t look like only 1 cup. So that was confusing. Also I used boneless skinless thighs that weren’t very thick and I followed directions exactly and the insides were not cooked in alot of areas so that was confusing as well cause the pic of the chicken where you cut thru it looks like the chicken is on the thicker side so my chicken should not have been uncooked at all.
Kristin 01.18.2015
Hi Debbie! If your chicken is on the thicker side you’ll just want to cook it a bit longer. Mine were pretty thin!
Kate 01.02.2015
I love your recipes but this one was kind of a fail! It was greasy and took forever to cook!! So disappointing when you spend money on all the ingredients!!
Keidra 12.27.2014
made this today and it was a huge hit! My 5 year asked for 2nds!
Lynne Bauereiss 10.20.2014
I made this for dinner last night and it was absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. It’s easy and delicious and company worthy. Yum!! The only change I made was right at the end; I turned the broiler on for just a minute or two so the cheese would get a little brown. Not too much though or it would have burned; just enough to make it look pretty. Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipe. I’ll make it often.
Amity 10.12.2014
Wow!! I love this recipe! The simplest ones are always the tastiest!
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Lorri 09.22.2014
I just made the dish using chicken breast and it is watery. Any thoughts as to why this would happen? Did I mention I am a terrible cook?????
BTW, I love your blog. I now live out West but I was born and raised in Iowa.
Kristin 09.30.2014
I don’t think you’re a terrible cook! Some tomato sauces can be more watery than others. That’s the only thing I can think of. I hope it still tasted ok!