This easy pesto chicken can be yours with only 2 ingredients!! It’s flavorful, simple and delicious, one of the best pesto chicken recipes out there!
SO, you’ve heard me complaining about the wet summer, and while the rain has yet to let up, we do get a few gorgeous days here and there and I absolutely soak them up while they’re here! This past Friday and Saturday we had tons of sun. Nothing makes me happier!
We went for a nice family walk on Saturday and were 100% eaten alive by mosquitoes…but it was #worthit ha!
When it’s BEAUTIFUL out I love to grill up a meal for us – actually – Etienne does the grilling which I love even more (less cooking for me)! If we’re grilling chicken, we often put them on skewers and grill it that way, like this Greek chicken souvlaki. But cutting up and poking meat on a stick does take time, and usually a marinade to prepare. This easy chicken pesto requires neither of these! Well, technically, the pesto serves as the marinade!
How do you make grilled pesto chicken?
SO. EASY.
First off, you’ll need pesto! You can totally use a store-bought pesto, but if you have a few extra minutes and the right ingredients, homemade pesto is sooo easy to make! In the summer in particular, I usually have a ton of basil so I end up making (and sometimes freezing) pesto. Pine nuts are the traditional way to make pesto, but I usually opt for my walnut basil pesto since walnuts are my fave and they’re WAY cheaper!
If you haven’t tried this recipe yet, you’ll love it!
Once the pesto is made, flatten the chicken breasts a bit with either a mallet or just pressing down with your hands (with the raw chicken in a bag). You want the thickest part of the chicken to be closer in thickness to the thinnest part.
A couple of hours before you are ready to grill, smother the chicken breasts with pesto and let it all mingle in the fridge.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Fire up the grill to medium-high heat and once preheated, grill the chicken for about 7-8 minutes per side, or until a meat thermometer read 165 F.
Use a pastry brush to add a bit more pesto to the chicken before serving!
What do you serve easy pesto chicken with?
There are so many options for a side dish with this chicken recipe! We loved this with corn on the cob (also grilled) and some pasta. Here’s a few other side dish ideas:
- roasted or smashed potatoes
- Mexican street corn pasta salad
- strawberry quinoa salad
- coconut rice
- garlic breadsticks
Whatever you serve this up with, this dinner is bound to be the easiest one you’ve made in a while!
Happy grilling!
Hopefully the sparse hot weather days are less sparse as the summer goes on…also…please make time slow down!!
Some other super easy dinner ideas:
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Easy Pesto Chicken
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
Description
This easy pesto chicken can be yours with only 2 ingredients!! It’s flavorful, simple and delicious, one of the best pesto chicken recipes out there!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup pesto*
Instructions
- With the chicken in a Ziploc bag, flatten chicken breasts with either a mallet or by pressing down with your hands, flattening the thickest part of the chicken as much as you can. Add 1/4 cup of pesto to the chicken in the bag and marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours before grilling.
- About 20 minutes before grilling, remove the chicken from the fridge. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook for 5-6 minutes per side, cooking until the chicken reads a temperature of 165 F. Remove from the grill, and using a pastry brush, brush the remaining pesto over the cooked chicken and serve immediately!
Leftover chicken can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container, for 3-4 days or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Notes
*Use store-bought pesto or my walnut basil pesto
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: grill
- Cuisine: american
Keywords: easy pesto chicken // best pesto chicken recipes out there! // healthy pesto chicken recipe // grilled pesto chicken
I haven’t made pesto in a long time, but with the abundance of fresh basil at the markets these days, I need to make a batch. And grilling chicken with it as a marinade is an awesome idea! Here’s to more warm and sunny days and less rain!!
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There is so much basil around right now! It goes so well with chicken. Thank you Leanne – we’re definitely getting our sunny days lately!
Grilled chicken is my go-to so I definitely need to give this a try!! Looks SO flavorful!
I don’t know what’s worse….your wet Summer or our blazing hot, 105-degree weather here! Ugh. Can’t wait for Fall hahahahaha
Hooray, you’ll love it Kelly! Haha I know. Why can’t we all have that perfect sunny weather with just a slight breeze….ha!
I adore pesto and I love how easy this chicken is to prepare. The perfect thing for summer! Glad you’re getting a little sunshine, Katherine–I wish I could bottle some up and sent it to you guys!
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Thanks Kelsie – I wish you could too! I would love some Arizona sunshine 🙂
Mosquitos!! Glad you enjoyed your walk anyway, lol!
This grilled pesto chicken and tasty sides make the perfect summer meal, Katherine!
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They’ve been soooo bad this year! Thank you Marissa!! XO
You know I am all for any recipe that is easy and delicious! I love pesto recipes because pesto is so flavourful thanks to that basil! Thanks for sharing this one!
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YES i love pesto so much. I”m so glad I have so much pesto this year! Thanks Christie!
This is such a yummy idea… pesto on top of grilled chicken is totally fabulous! Plus your homemade pesto recipe made with Walnuts is so easy! 😋
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It is so tasty Heidi! My walnut basil pesto happens every couple of weeks around here. Such an easy recipe!
Love pesto and this grilled chicken looks divine! I could use a plate of that pasta and pesto chicken now! YUM!
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Mmm so tasty, Michelle! Thanks my friend!
Yay for nice weather! We got so much rain last week so it’s finally nice to see some sun. This pesto chicken looks like a winner, Katherine! Delicious!
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Since this last post we’ve had TONS of hot weather, so I can’t complain anymore. I hope you’re getting some sunshine out your way too!
After stalking you out on insta I decided to stop by your blog and lady! This is 2-ingredient deliciousness! My stomach is pinging and panging looking at this! I haven’t made pesto in a long time but I cannot wait to grab some from the store and give this recipe a try. Hoping y’all have more less-rainy, mosquito-free days!
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Haha aw, thanks Shashi!! I’m glad you ventured out of Insta to come check out the blog. I love pesto so much – and GO AWAY mosquitos!! Thanks for popping over to say hi!
This sounds so delicious! I would absolutely love it!!
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Yay! thanks Kim! You would deifnitely love it!
This beautiful chicken dish looks absolutely delicious, Katherine! We’re finally moving outside of the city from an apartment to a home later this summer and my husband has his eye on a grill–I can guarantee this will be first on our list to make, can’t wait to try it, yum!!
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Ooh I’m so happy for you guys, you’ll love having your own home (and grill). Hopefully this recipe doesn’t disappoint for you! XO
Such a great way to grill chicken! I love this recipe. So simple to throw together on a lazy summer afternoon! Thank you for sharing!
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Yay thanks Lauren! It is super tasty!!
Great looking chicken here and you are right – couldn’t get easier. I will be dishing this up for the family in short order!
Happy to hear it, Milena! It’s such a nice easy one!!
Wow ! Love is not only in your oven, it’s on the grill as well !!! 🙂
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Haha so clever, I love that Davorka!! 🙂
Excellent timing! My basil is going crazy and you’ve just given me an excuse to make pesto!! xo
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Hooray! Happy to hear it Liz! Hope you love the recipe!
Such an easy meal, yet so much flavor Katherine! And we love pesto too!
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There is so much flavor in this one. Pesto is always so good! Thank you Mary Ann!
Pesto is always a favorite of mine and we make lots of variations with the abundance of summer herbs and freeze them to enjoy all year long! That being said, I don’t think we’ve ever marinated chicken with it. Definitely going to be changing that soon!! We are finally seeing a bit more sunshine and I’m really hoping it’s here to stay for a couple of months! Crossing my fingers (and toes!) that we both see more warmth and sunshine to finish the summer!
It is so clever to freeze your extra herbs, I never think to do that but I’ve got to!! So happy about the sunshine we’ve had lately too – it’s been really hot! Finally some summer weather!
Katherine! I love pesto, and like you, I usually end up using walnuts. Much as I love pinenuts, they are sometimes difficult to find, or too expensive. But I do love a quick and easy grilled chicken! and pesto? always!
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Pine nuts are soooo expensive! I mean, they’re great but just so pricey. Thanks Laura! It’s a really great, easy meal! 🙂