Chicken Pesto Parmesan (Non-Breaded)

ItalianMama's Note:

A non-breaded but super tasty spin on chicken parmesan. This is a recipe I just threw together one day when I was trying to think of something to do with chicken breasts and a little leftover pasta sauce. It's EASY and takes no time at all to prep if you have pre-made sauce and pesto. I make this with Kittencal's Perfect Pesto (#144195) and my own Magic Fresh Tomato Sauce (#388224). I never bother measuring myself, so you might have to adjust the amount of tomato sauce so it's close to but not covering the top of the chicken. Serve this with angel hair pasta if desired. Once again, I will beg you to use real shredded parmesan cheese and not the powdered stuff in a can. This makes a huge difference, and you don't even have to shred it yourself if you don't want to - just pick up a bag of pre-shredded. Any Italian blend cheese works great too.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 4 chicken ...

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (thawed if using frozen)
• 473.18 ml tomato sauce (you can use regular spaghetti or pizza sauce)
• 19.71 ml prepared pesto sauce
• 118.29 ml parmesan cheese, shredded (or a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella)

Directions:

1. Spoon a little tomato sauce in a baking pan to cover the bottom and lay chicken breasts on top. Add more sauce around (but not on top of) breasts as desired, but only enough to come a little way up the sides of the chicken - make sure the top is uncovered!.
2. Divide and spread pesto on each chicken breast, adjusting the quantity depending on how much you like pesto - I use a lot!
3. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until chicken is done (juices run clear). The exact amount of time will vary depending on the size/thickness of your chicken, so you have to watch them (I recommend a meat thermometer).
4. About 5-10 minutes before chicken is done, top each breast with shredded cheese.
5. Serve chicken breasts with or without pasta, spooning sauce from the pan around or on top of chicken.

Reviews

[Susie D]

This used ingredients from the pantry in a new way, was easy to do, and tasted good! What more do you need? There's plenty of sauce to spoon over a pasta too. I served with steamed zucchini, a green salad, and toasted beer bread. Made for Fall 2012 Pick A Chef and I'm glad I tried it.

[Gerry]

Excellent! Always have a large box of chicken breasts in the freezer which makes this recipes a real find! Having a saucy base, topped with the pesto sauce and cheese makes for a company quality meal! Used spagetti sauce, a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella. Was very genereous with the pesto which I made with ingredients fresh from the garden. A real winner!