Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken

Creamy sundried tomato pesto chicken is a delicious and simple dinner that your whole family will love. Tender chicken breasts are simmered in a luxuriously creamy sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, for a restaurant-quality dish that takes less than 30 minutes.

This simple sun dried tomato pesto chicken recipe is perfect to shake up your weeknight dinner routine. With only a handful of simple ingredients, this easy dinner is crowd-pleasing and delicious. And the best part? It requires almost no prep, and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Serve this chicken with your favorite cooked pasta or some crusty bread for soaking up the creamy pesto sauce. Throw together a simple side salad, and dinner’s done! For more easy one-pot chicken dinners your family will love, try my creamy ground chicken stroganoff or Italian lemon chicken.

You Will Love This

• This easy recipe is a perfect comfort meal. It tastes like your favorite Italian restaurant right in your own kitchen!
• The flavorful cream sauce in this recipe can be made with store-bought pesto to keep it simple enough for a busy weeknight. 
• Leftover pesto chicken reheats well, and makes for a yummy workday lunch.

Ingredients

To make this easy sun dried tomato pesto chicken, you will need the following simple ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below):

Ingredient Notes

• Pesto: You can use grocery store pesto for this recipe, or homemade pesto. I love this easy red pesto recipe. It is quick to whip up with a food processor or high speed blender, and freezes beautifully. If you use a store-bought pesto, look for a jar that is approximately 6 ounces. This recipe is also delicious with a traditional basil pesto sauce. It has a completely different flavor, but is equally easy and crowd-pleasing. 
• Chicken breasts: I used thin boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could substitute chicken thighs in this recipe as well. Chicken thighs will usually take an additional 10 minutes or so to cook.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream is delicious in this recipe, making the sauce rich and velvety. If you don’t want to use heavy cream, you can substitute half and half. The sauce will still taste delicious, but will be a little thinner.

Instructions

• Season the chicken with salt and black pepper.

• Sear the chicken on both sides until the edges are golden brown.

• Remove the chicken from the pan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.

• Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the sun dried tomato pesto.

• Pour in the heavy cream and stir well until the sauce is fully incorporated and smooth.

• Add the chicken breasts back to the pan and allow them to simmer in the sauce for 5-10 more minutes, until fully cooked through.

• Add a few handfuls of baby spinach to the sauce and stir in.

• When the spinach is wilted, taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Storage

Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat the chicken, add a sprinkle of water over the sauce and reheat slowly in the microwave. Once warm, stir the water into the sauce well to reincorporate it and make it nice and creamy again.

Serve This With

This recipe is perfect served with your favorite pasta. A tube-shaped noodle like penne pasta or cavatappi is great for holding onto all that creamy sauce. You can sprinkle some chopped sundried tomatoes and pine nuts over top, like I did, or garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Any type of fresh salad or roasted vegetable side dishes would be great with this chicken too!

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken

Creamy sundried tomato pesto chicken is a delicious and simple dinner that your whole family will love. Tender chicken breasts are simmered in a luxuriously creamy sun-dried tomato pesto sauce, for a restaurant-quality dish that takes less than 30 minutes.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 347 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 6 ounces sun dried tomato pesto (approximately 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 ounces baby spinach

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness and season each side with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side until it has a nice golden brown color. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the diced onion to the pan and sauté for a few minutes until fragrant and translucent. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté for one more minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add the sun dried tomato pesto, cream and water to the pan, and bring the sauce to a light simmer.
• Return the seared chicken breasts to the pan, and let them simmer in the sauce until cooked through, approximately 5-10 minutes. Cooking time can vary depending on the size of the chicken breasts, so make sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Stir the sauce occasionally and spoon it over the chicken breasts as they cook.
• Just before removing the sauce from the heat, add a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves, and stir them into the sauce until wilted.

Notes

Substitutions: You can use store-bought or homemade sun-dried tomato pesto in this recipe. Substitute regular basil pesto for an equally delicious meal with a different flavor!

Serving suggestions: This is perfect served over noodles, or with a side of crusty bread and roasted veggies. 

Storage: Leftovers store well in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat slowly in the microwaver, and add a little bit of water or broth to reconstitute the sauce if needed. 

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 27gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 550mgPotassium: 610mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2740IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 96mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Pesto Chicken, Sun Dried Tomato, Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

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