Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken
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This 40 minute bacon wrapped pesto chicken looks fancy, but it’s really an easy weeknight dinner! Read on…
I am notorious for making dinners (and breakfasts and desserts) that are quick and easy to prepare, but that are still loaded with flavor and variety and this bacon wrapped pesto chicken is no exception.
We eat a lot of chicken over here, mainly because I am not the biggest red meat fan and I will be the first one to admit that I get bored, like seriously bored to DEATH of bland chicken recipes. So, in order to save myself, I started to get more creative with our chicken dinners. That’s how this bacon wrapped pesto chicken was born! I like bacon and I like pesto! Wa-la!
Don’t let the fancy appearance of this chicken fool you, it really is SUPER easy to put together; all you need are a few toothpicks and some bacon. Just slice the chicken breasts open (creating a pocket), spoon in some pesto, wrap the bacon around the outside, loosely place a toothpick to secure, sear them on each side, cover them with shredded cheese, and bake them up. When this bacon wrapped pesto chicken comes out of the oven, it’s bubbly, crispy, and bursting with flavor!
Note: I often use homemade pesto in my recipes, but you can easily use a good quality jarred pesto too. If you need a great pesto recipe, here’s the one I use. It comes out perfect every time.
Try these weeknight favorites too
Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken
ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 TBS olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 + slices of bacon
- Pesto
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Slice chicken breasts down the center creating a pocket.
- Spoon pesto inside chicken and stuff with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Wrap bacon around chicken breasts and secure with a toothpick.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place prepared chicken breasts in hot skillet for 3-5 minutes on each side.
- Turn breasts right side up, spoon more pesto over the top and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes prior to serving.
Nutrition
Tagged:
- Chicken
- /
- Comfort Food
- /
- Oven
- /
- Summer
- /
- Whole Food
- /
- Winter
Tasty.