In this quick and easy Creamy Pesto Chicken recipe, tender strips of chicken are sautéed and simmered in a rich, creamy pesto sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, creating a deliciously satisfying dish.
Indulge in this creamy, delicious, and irresistible meal that is the definition of flavorful comfort food. This dish is like receiving a warm hug from a one-pan meal, making it the perfect comfort food for a hectic weeknight, especially after a busy Monday. To streamline the process even further, consider using frozen bell peppers and pre-diced onions. With just a quick sauté and a gentle simmer of the sauce for a few minutes, this Creamy Pesto Chicken not only looks impressive but is also incredibly quick and simple to make.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Ingredients
- Oil: For sautéing. I use light olive oil because it has a higher smoke point than extra virgin.
- Chicken: I use one pound of boneless chicken breasts cut into strips, but you could also use boneless chicken thighs.
- Italian Seasoning: Half a teaspoon of Italian seasoning blend brings a lot of flavor to the pan.
- Salt & Pepper: To taste.
- Onion: Dice one small yellow onion. You can also use a sweet or white onion.
- Garlic: You’ll need 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed.
- Sun-Dried Tomato: Drain and chop half a cup of sun-dried tomatoes in oil.
- Bell Peppers: Cut two small bell peppers into long thin strips.
- Cream: Half a cup of heavy cream adds a ton of richness to the sauce.
- Chicken Broth: You’ll need half a cup of broth; I use low-sodium chicken broth, but you can substitute homemade, regular, or vegetable broth if desired.
- Pesto: A few tablespoons of prepared basil pesto gives the dish its fresh, flavorful bite.
- Chopped Fresh Basil and Grated Parmesan: For garnish.
How To Make Creamy Pesto Chicken
This is a great, easy dish to pull together. Pesto is my go-to ingredient for adding a burst of flavor, and the combination of sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto gives it so much flavor with minimal prep.
- Cook Chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Season the chicken breast strips with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and cook them for minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Prep Sauce Ingredients: Combine the cream, chicken broth and pesto in a mixing bowl; whisk until well combined and set aside.
- Sauté Veggies: Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining oil; stir in the onions and sauté. Then, stir in the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes; cook for just 30 seconds to release the fragrance. Add the bell peppers and continue cooking until fork tender.
- Cook Chicken in Sauce: Add the prepared pesto sauce to the skillet and bring it to a simmer. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes or until heated through and the sauce is a little thickened. Garnish with parmesan and basil, then serve.
Tips for Success
- Don’t Overcook Chicken: Chicken breast is very lean, which makes it easy to accidentally overcook. The recommended temperature for cooked white meat chicken is 165°F, but you can pull it off of the heat at about 162°F since it will continue to cook briefly.
- Use Thighs: You can also substitute a pound of chicken thighs, cut into one-inch pieces; thigh meat is less lean, and it needs to cook to about 170°F.
- Use Kale Pesto: Another delicious option is kale pesto, which tastes similar to basil pesto but has a slightly different taste due to the included kale, but it’s nutritious and delicious.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this chicken with pasta or gnocchi. This No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread is a delicious way to soak up the delicious pesto sauce. One of my favorite sides to serve are these Garlic Butter Mushrooms – they go with everything. Also, the sweet and mellow flavors of Roasted Sugar Snap Peas pair beautifully with pesto chicken.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- To store your leftover chicken, place the meat and sauce together into food storage bags or containers. Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To reheat leftovers, place the meat and sauce in a covered skillet or saucepan over low heat, and cook until heated through. Do not overcook.
More Easy Chicken Dinner Ideas
- Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Soup
- Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken
- Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
- Buffalo Chicken Wrap
Creamy Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
- 2 small bell peppers, cut into long thin strips (any color)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons basil pesto
- chopped fresh basil, for garnish
- grated parmesan, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet.
- Season the chicken strips with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and add them to the skillet; cook over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Combine heavy cream, chicken broth, and pesto in a mixing bowl; whisk until well combined and set aside.
- Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining olive oil; stir in the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and sun-dried tomatoes; cook over medium-high heat for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add bell peppers and continue cooking for 4 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Add the prepared pesto sauce to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes or until heated through and the sauce is a little thickened. Taste for salt and pepper; adjust to taste.
- Garnish with parmesan and basil, serve.
40 Comments
Dorothy Reinhold
Apr 19, 2021 at 8:14 pmLook at that creamy deliciousness! I have everything I need to make this for dinner! Win!
Katerina Petrovska
Apr 20, 2021 at 2:29 pmThat’s great! I hope you enjoy it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
Apr 20, 2021 at 12:35 amThese Tender chicken strips are would disappear in our house!
Allyson Reed Zea
Apr 20, 2021 at 7:32 amSuper flavorful and very easy to make! 10/10 thanks!
Katerina Petrovska
Apr 20, 2021 at 2:29 pmI’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Cathy
Apr 20, 2021 at 10:07 amWhat a delicious flavor combination!!
Katerina Petrovska
Apr 20, 2021 at 2:29 pmThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Beth
Apr 20, 2021 at 3:19 pmThis is such an amazing dinner and very tasty! My family and I love love loved this recipe! So excited to make this again!
Katerina Petrovska
Apr 21, 2021 at 11:38 amThat’s great! I am very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Catalina
Apr 21, 2021 at 3:50 amI cook very often chicken for dinner. But I’ve never tried pesto chicken. Sounds so tasty!
Katerina Petrovska
Apr 21, 2021 at 11:37 amThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Kevin
May 13, 2021 at 8:49 amThese flavors are calling my name! Looks so good!
Katerina Petrovska
May 13, 2021 at 12:30 pmThank you so much! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Janet
Jun 23, 2021 at 6:20 pmThis is my new favorite chicken dish. Outstanding!
Katerina Petrovska
Jun 24, 2021 at 10:36 amThat’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Katerina Petrovska
Jun 28, 2021 at 2:19 pmThat’s great to hear! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
anne
Aug 4, 2021 at 1:03 pmdid you guys pair it with pasta?
Katerina
Aug 5, 2021 at 7:32 amYes, it’s great served over pasta.
Tiffany
Oct 29, 2021 at 7:46 pmThis was so good! Only thing I did differently was bump up the amounts of the sauce ingredients a little because it sounded so good I wanted to make sure I had extra sauciness! And I’m glad I did because it was delicious!
Katerina Petrovska
Nov 3, 2021 at 10:41 amI’m very happy you loved it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂
Juliya Moskalenko
Feb 6, 2022 at 3:58 pmMade this today and it was absolutely delicious! It was my first time cooking with pesto so I did one tablespoon instead of 3 and it was perfect! Sun dried tomatoes were also delicious in this. Paired with linguine pasta. My husband approved 🙂
Katerina Petrovska
Feb 9, 2022 at 1:11 pmI’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Angie
May 6, 2022 at 6:24 pmMy family loves this! It’s earned a spot in our fav recipe rotation. I had it over broccoli to cut calories and it was still awesome. I recommend over rice though 😊
Katerina Petrovska
May 9, 2022 at 2:44 pmThat’s great! I’m very glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Chantel
Sep 6, 2022 at 5:57 pmLoved it!! Super easy recipe. Used Tomato pesto instead of basil and skipped the dried tomatoes. Added spinach to the veggies. Amazing!!!
Katerina Petrovska
Sep 7, 2022 at 1:16 pmThat’s great! I’m very happy you loved it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Judy
Sep 23, 2023 at 5:30 pmAbsolutely delicious. My husband said this recipe is a keeper.
Thank you.
Judy
Oct 5, 2023 at 5:34 pmDelicious. It’s a keeper. Love all the flavors!!
Thanks.
Katerina Petrovska
Oct 19, 2023 at 1:02 pmThank YOU! I hope you love it! 🙂
April
Jan 31, 2024 at 2:14 pmLoved the sun dried tomatoes in this! So many layers of flavor, and every one as bit as good as the last. Loved every bite!
Gina
Jan 31, 2024 at 4:15 pmOMG – the sauce – it’s so good with the juicy chicken.
Katerina
Feb 1, 2024 at 12:38 pmSo glad to hear you loved the sauce and how it paired with the juicy chicken! It sounds like a delicious combination. Thank YOU! 🙂
Sandra
Jan 31, 2024 at 8:31 pmThis is such a meal that you would enjoy every bite of it! So glad I tried it, it was incredible!
Katerina
Feb 1, 2024 at 12:37 pmIt’s fantastic to hear you enjoyed the meal so much! Thank YOU! 🙂
Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert
Jan 31, 2024 at 8:58 pmSuch a fantastic meal1 Always a favorite on our table!
Katerina
Feb 1, 2024 at 12:35 pmThank you so much! I am very glad you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
Catalina
Feb 1, 2024 at 1:38 pmThe creamy pesto sauce was so flavorful and complemented the chicken perfectly. It was a hit with the family and will definitely be added to our dinner rotation!
Katerina
Feb 2, 2024 at 2:36 pmGreat to hear the creamy pesto sauce with chicken was a hit with your family and will be a regular at your dinners! Thank YOU! 🙂
Janelle
Feb 1, 2024 at 5:28 pmDang, this was seriously tasty. Thanks!
Katerina
Feb 2, 2024 at 2:23 pmI’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂