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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.
I don't understand how the pesto stays on the chicken. It seems like it would run off once it is hot because of the olive oil in it.
Great question! I think there are 2 reasons for it. First, as you can see in the photos, I used a baking dish of a certain size - and the chicken breasts are positioned tightly next to each other so there isn't too much room for the pesto to run off. The second reason - I believe for this recipe I used the refrigerated pesto I purchased at Whole Foods - and its texture and flavor were just amazing - it wasn't too oily, and it was pretty thick in texture. The only thing that ran off was the oils from the pesto - but the actual green stuff stayed on the chicken!
The cheese melted quite a bit on 2 of my pieces of chicken when I made this, was that because the mozzarella was too thin? I tried to slice them thick but maybe it wasn’t thick enough. Even so, it was still delicious and hoping to try again!
Kate, thank you for the feedback! Yes, I think the cheese melted too much because it was not sliced thick enough.
Excellent easy supper! Very tasty. I will definitely make it again
Ruth, I am super happy to hear that! 🙂
Most amazingly yummy chicken ever!
Love our comment! 🙂 And, thank you for the 5-star rating! 🙂
I made this recipe for my family last week and they absolutely loved it. Baked the chicken and then plated it on some angel hair pasta and it was so delicious. Thanks Julia ! Getting ready to make another one of your recipes !
Bryant, glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Serving this over angel hair pasta is a great idea! Thanks for the feedback and the 5-star review! 🙂
Love this dish! I like to add the 2nd layer of tomato for baking instead of fresh. Makes a fabulous sauce for spaghetti on the side. Yummm!
I agree, Lou, this is such a great sauce for the spaghetti! Glad the recipe was enjoyed, and thank for the 5-star review! 🙂
I tried this recipe a few months ago and loved it. It has been a “go to” recipe for us quite often. I like to sear the chicken breasts in hot olive oil, both sides, for about 3 minutes per side before placing into the casserole dish. Salt, pepper, granulated garlic and sometimes a little onion powder added. This dish always comes out juicy and tasty. Thank you for this easy and restaurant grade recipe. So easy to prepare but tastes as though a lot of prep has gone into it. The perfect dish for us. Leftovers are great with this recipe also.
Dan, thank you so much for such a positive and thoughtful comment. I am glad you've made this dish several times and enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to leave this review on my website! 🙂
I have yet to find a recipe from Julia's Album that is not out of this world YUMMY!! And this has been added to the yummy list. Found some amazing Chicken Breasts at my local Sans Club that were so amazingly tender and they did not have any of the "other" junk add to them! As we are undergoing a big diet change, this is a big go to recipe! My husband and I love it and making this again this week!
Deebie, this is one of the best and the kindest comments I have ever run across on my website! Thank you for taking the time to share your kind words - it means a lot! 🙂
I made this tonight and it was a hit! It was super fast, fresh and easy. I served it over pesto zoodles. Husband had seconds and said this is a “make again” recipe.
Victoria, I am so flattered by your comment! 🙂 So glad you tried this recipe and liked it! Love that you served this over pesto zoodles!
Made this last night and it was delicious! Husband was thrilled! Thank you!
Sharon, I am so flattered by your comment - glad you liked this recipe! 🙂
I highly recommend using smoked mozzarella for this dish! It really added something to an already excellent recipe! I served thin pasta with mushroom marinara sauce from a local Italian deli. Delicious!
Ann, I love your take on this recipe! Smoked Mozzarella sounds delicious, and so does pasta with mushroom marinara sauce. Yum!
I loved this recipe so much. It's really awesome!
I am glad you liked it! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! It's a must save!
Thank you for sharing
This is a family favorite and one the college boys like to make in their Air Fryer to impress their dates! Served with fresh steamed asparagus and whipped sweet potato. Love it! We love Julia’s album for recipes. It’s our go to for new and interesting recipes and they always make a hit with all 6 of us! Thank you!!!
Lisa, thank you so much for such a wonderful comment - it truly made my day! 🙂 I am glad you've been enjoying some of my recipes, and seems like this recipe is a real favorite for your family! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment.
I love making this recipe!! It is so delicious and simple. You can easily double for a larger crowd. Adults and kids love when I make this! It is a go to for sure! I have shared it with many! Love it!
Thank you so much for such an enthusiastic comment - I really appreciate it! 🙂 So glad the recipe was enjoyed!
Marilyn, I am flattered by your comment, Thank you! 🙂
I've made this almost 4 times now and it is delicious each and every time; what a wonderful recipe! I forgot regular tomatoes at the store today so we are trying it with cherry tomatoes!
Meg, thank you so much for being so kind. 🙂 Glad you've made this recipe 4 times now - WOW - I am flattered!
Will definitely keep this recipe handy. I wanted rice with it, so I experimented and put jasmine rice on the bottom and used a can of diced tomatoes, them put the pesto and mozzarella cheese on and baked it. I will prepare the rice separately next time. There were soft and hard rice bits. The rest of the recipe was outstanding!
Glad the recipe was enjoyed! And, yes, do cook rice separately and then soak in the delicious juices from this baked chicken!
Was there oil on the bottom of the dish? I didn’t see it in your ingredient list
No, there is no oil in the ingredients list. But the oil is part of the pesto, so when the chicken is cooked, the oil from pesto separates and goes to the bottom of the baking dish - that's what you see in the photos.
So quick and easy.
Delicious dinner, my husband even commented that I should make it for our next dinner guests.
Jayne, I am so flattered to hear that! 🙂
The photo shows tomato on top, recipe states mozzarella on top. Which is it? Definitely want to make this!
Hi Michelle, yes, you top each chicken breast with a large slice of tomato + Mozzarella cheese and bake it that way. Then, when you are ready to serve, you top each cooked chicken breast with another slice of fresh tomato on top for presentation purposes! So, what you have is one cooked tomato slice + cooked Mozzarella cheese + one fresh tomato slice over each cooked chicken breast.
Now I'm seeing maybe it's tomato, mozzarella, more tomato?
This recipe is a keeper! This is a simple yet delicious recipe that can be made without a ton of prep on a busy week day. I had white rice already made so I spooned the juices over that. I bet fresh garlic bread would complement this dish fantastically…Im looking forward to this recipe again, especially when the Jersey tomatoes are ready. Thank you
Lauren, I am glad the recipe was enjoyed! Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback - it means a lot! Serving this with rice or garlic bread is delicious!