Basil Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Bake - low carb and gluten-free recipe. It's easy to make, and only one pan is needed.
Just pile all the ingredients on top of the chicken breasts in a baking dish and bake everything in the oven. Once the chicken is cooked, you'll have lots of juices in the pan. Pour these delicious juices over cooked rice or cooked pasta, such as spaghetti or angel hair pasta, and serve these side dishes with this Mozzarella chicken. Because you bake everything in one pan, the cleanup is minimal.
Mozzarella Chicken Bake
This chicken bake has a similar style to Chicken Parmigiana (or Chicken Parmesan) because many ingredients are similar, and the chicken is baked in the oven. But unlike Chicken Parmigiana, my Mozzarella Chicken is gluten-free (no bread crumbs or flour is involved), I use fresh tomatoes and basil pesto, and I use Mozzarella cheese only. The resulting dish is so delicious and refreshing! Perfect for Spring and Summer season!
Ingredients you need for Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken
- chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- salt
- garlic cloves
- basil pesto
- fresh tomatoes
- fresh Mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil
To make this mozzarella chicken bake, I like to use thin chicken breasts. You can buy thinly sliced chicken breasts in the store, or flatten the chicken as described below.
How do you flatten the chicken
- To flatten the chicken, first, cover your work surface with plastic wrap.
- Lay the chicken breasts on top and cover with another piece of plastic wrap.
- Pound the chicken breasts with the flat side of a meat mallet to even their thickness.
- Alternatively, you can slice each chicken breast horizontally to make two thinner and flatter chicken breasts out of each large chicken breast.
What to serve with Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken
This Mozzarella chicken bake can be served with spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or rice. When the chicken is done, there will be a good amount of juices at the bottom of the pan. Since those juices are pretty tasty, toss cooked pasta or rice with those juices (which are plenty as you can see on the photos) from the pesto chicken bake, and you'll have a delicious meal!
Alternatively, you can serve your Mozzarella chicken with roasted asparagus, green beans, roasted broccoli, or roasted potatoes.
Here are some of my favorite side dishes to go with this pesto chicken bake:
How to cook Mozzarella Chicken with Basil Pesto and Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place chicken breasts in a casserole pan. Season the chicken with salt and top with minced garlic.
Top with basil pesto.
Add tomato slices on top.
Add thickly sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese on top.
How to bake mozzarella chicken with pesto
Bake chicken breasts, uncovered, at 400 F in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your breasts.
When serving, top each chicken breast with fresh chopped basil, and a fresh slice of tomato. Pour the juices from the bottom of the casserole pan over cooked pasta (such as angel hair or spaghetti) or cooked rice (such as Jasmine rice).
Basil Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts , boneless, skinless
- salt
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- ½ cup basil pesto
- 2 tomatoes , sliced
- 8 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese , sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place chicken breasts in a medium size casserole pan.
- Sprinkle the chicken with salt. Top with minced garlic.
- Spread basil pesto evenly over each chicken breast.
- Add tomato slices on top.
- Add thickly sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese on top.
- Bake at 400 F in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your breasts.
- When serving, top each chicken breast with fresh chopped basil, and a fresh slice of tomato. Pour the juices from the bottom of the casserole pan over pasta or rice.
Notes
- Want to make basil pesto from scratch? Here is the best, the most flavorful, and the creamiest 20-Minute Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I absolutely love this recipe!! My fiancé even loves it and he’s not a huge pesto fan. The chicken turns out to be some of the most tender I’ve ever had.
The only thing I do a little differently is layering the tomato first and topping with mozzarella. I use a bigger baking dish where they’re not as closely pressed together and find that it stays together better in that case. Just a tip for anyone with a bigger baking dish
Kathleen, your comment really made my day! Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback! And, thank you for the tips about using a bigger baking dish.
How thin should I pound my chicken? 1/2 inch thick?
Emily, I am not sure about the exact thickness of the chicken breasts - but I did use thinly sliced ones.