Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan takes minutes to prep and just 30 minutes to bake. This comforting, flavorful chicken dinner is a winner!
Got a case of the Mondays, aka busy busy and no time to think nor prep ahead for dinner?
I’ve got you covered with Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan!
This simple yet flavor-packed chicken dinner requires just 4 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep work, and 30 minutes of baking time. It’s a busy weeknight dinner dream come true!
Cheesy Pesto Baked Chicken Thighs
Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan is boneless, skinless chicken thighs tossed in prepared pesto, topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, then baked. So unbelievably simple! Like I said, five minutes to prep then 30 minutes to bake.
If you need a quick and flavorful dinner idea – this is your recipe.
Start with trimmed, boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8 thighs) seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper.
Boneless skinless thighs are not only less expensive than chicken breasts but they’re incredibly tender and juicy — especially when baked.
Place the seasoned thighs into the bottom of a 8×8 or 9×12 baking dish then add prepared pesto and turn to coat with your hands.
You can absolutely use your own fresh pesto though, in the spirit of keeping this meal extremely quick and easy, jarred pesto works great.
Next spread marinara sauce over the thighs then top with sliced fresh mozzarella. Shredded mozzarella is fine too.
Cover 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!
You will adore how tender the chicken is, and how delicious each bite of pesto mixed with marinara and mozzarella cheese is. Pure, easy comfort food — enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 8
- salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup prepared pesto
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
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?
Tried this last night, only topped with sharp provolone slices in lieu of mozzarella. Holy moly! What a burst of favors! Super easy too.
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.
Hi Debbie! If your chicken is on the thicker side you’ll just want to cook it a bit longer. Mine were pretty thin!
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!!
made this today and it was a huge hit! My 5 year asked for 2nds!
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.
Wow!! I love this recipe! The simplest ones are always the tastiest!
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.
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!
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it looks great so I decided to make it for Friday night dinner for my fiance. Problem is, I made half the recipe, but still baked it at 400 for 20, then 10, and the chicken is nowhere NEAR done. The only difference is that my chicken has the bone in. Would that make such a difference?? – Chicken is back in the oven, for probably another 30 minutes… :(
Hey Chelsea! Bone in thighs will take a lot longer, unfortunately. I hope you guys enjoyed the dish when it finally got done baking!
I love how the simple extra step of tossing the chicken with pesto adds so much flavor! KUDOS! I never would have thought of that!
just made this tonight for the family and it was super easy to make and even more delicious to eat. I made a mistake and added the marinara before the pesto but nevertheless outstanding. thank you for posting this!!!!
Took it out of oven and not done at all. Probably because it’s bone in?
Yes, if the bones are in it will take longer to cook!
Making this right now! I accidentally bought bone in thighs and successfully removed the bone from 4/8. Smells good and reading comments while it bakes. Sure hope it cooks all the way through!