Basil Pesto Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Bake – low carb, gluten free recipe. Easy to make. 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 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:
Asiago, Bacon, and Garlic Roasted Asparagus
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 - low carb, gluten free recipe. Once the chicken is cooked, use the delicious juices from your baked chicken to pour over cooked rice or cooked pasta, such as spaghetti or angel hair pasta, to serve as side dishes with this Mozzarella chicken. Because you bake everything in one pan, the cleanup is minimal.
- 4 chicken breasts , boneless, skinless
- salt
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 2 tomatoes , sliced
- 8 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese , sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
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.
This looks great! I would like to cook this for a dinner party, what would you recommend that this goes with?
You can serve this chicken and the juices from the sauce over cooked rice or cooked pasta, such as spaghetti or angel hair pasta.
Just as delicious as it was easy! I used freshly made pesto, fresh basil and heirloom tomatoes all from my garden. I substituted some Basil-Tomato Jack cheese for the mozzarella ( I thought I had!) and it was perfectly seasoned.
Thank you for sharing this super easy and healthy dish.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! So jealous that you use the fresh basil and tomatoes from your own garden. I hope to have a garden someday too. 🙂
Can I use chicken thighs
Yes, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
Family favorite meal, and I have 6 children (ages 8-16); everyone loved it!
Thank you!
So happy your family enjoyed this recipe!
An absolutely fantastic dish. This was my first time having pesto and my family loved the dish, ate every bite. I was able to use my own fresh basil from my little garden so I took a little extra pride in the meal. I plan on making homemade pesto the next time around. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It is definitely a keeper.
You are very welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Fresh basil is the best!
Made this tonight for a quick dinner for two. I had two large chicken breasts which I pounded and then cut into four pieces. I followed the recipe exactly and served with rice. My husband loved it, and the leftovers are waiting for another evening. Simple and delicious. Thank you. –
You are very welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Serving this chicken with rice sounds delicious!
Delicious! My husband said ” This is delicious and it’s even pretty in the pan” Thank you!!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂