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
Nutrition Disclaimer:
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.
OK made tonight. Very tasty but Very heavy. I will make it again and this is what I would do. Pound chicken thinner. More Pesto. Shredded parm not Mozzarella Chopped tomatoes on top. Still keep the garlic. I also brine all my chicken helps keep the moisture in . Meanwhile I have made many of your recipes that are spot on!!
Thank you, Suzanne, for your honest (and very helpful!) feedback! Great tips and suggestions!
Julia, this dish is really, really delicious! I’m a couple of years late in my rating, but it is so good. My husband loves tomatoes, so your recipe is perfect; I’m not a tomato fan, but I do find a large cremini mushroom and cut it in half or thirds rather than the tomato and it works amazingly well. I gently toss the delicious leftover baking au jus with a cooked low carb pasta (made with lupini flour, like Kaizen is our favorite) and it tastes perfect; especially comforting on a cold, wet PNW night!
You do a fantastic job, and thank you for sharing your delicious recipes! No criticism from us. Please keep your recipes coming!
Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind words! It really means so much to me! 🙂 Tossing the leftover au jus with low-carb pasta sounds absolutely delicious and cozy, especially for a chilly night. 🙂
I love this recipe ! Only thing I do different is use provolone cheese, i don't care for mozzarella so much ,. It's absolutely delicious!
I like many of of your recipes but Often give up trying to get one. After clicking on recipes there is loads and loads of verbi,age and I often give up. I cook. I just want the recipe up front and no more.
Hi Ruth! I'm sorry to hear about that, reviewing my ad setup is an on-going process for me. You can also try using "jump to recipe" or "print" buttons at the top or within the recipe card for the cleaner view.
Made this last night family liked it only thing they said was the chicken could have more seasoning. Maybe more salt and pepper or add an Italian seasoning before all the other ingredients. Chicken was not dry and the pesto was so good with it.
Thank you for the review, Heather! Another seasoning you can try is dry Italian Dressing seasoning (sold in small packets).
Hello! Our family of 5 loves this recipe! I’d like to prep this as a freezer meal for a new mama. Has anyone tried? I assume I’d follow directions up until cooking? When ready to eat… remove from freezer, defrost, and cook at same time and temp? Just making sure it’ll turn out. Thank you 🙂
If I was prepping this, I would cook this meal completely, cool it off, and then freeze the completley cooked meal. It works well and it's the best food safety practice.
I was wondering if I can cook in an air fryer instead of oven, and if so, what should I do differently? Thanks.
Hi Elaine, I don't own an air fryer, so I am of no help here. 🙂
Can i substitute boneless pork chops for the chicken?
Hi Mary, you probably can. But depending on the thickness of your boneless pork chops you might have to reduce the baking times and increasing baking temperature to 375 F.
picture has mozzarella and then tomato but recipe is opposite. which was is better/correct?
Tina, it's actually both. 🙂 The final step of the recipe (step 8) mentions to add another slice of fresh tomato on top when serving.