My love of pesto is no secret by now, right? I don’t really need to reiterate it at this point, do I? That’s what I thought. :)
I knew we’d like this chicken, which is dunked in a mayonnaise/pesto mixture and coated with panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. It was so moist and flavorful, and I credit this meal with breaking Andrew’s week-long strike against any foods other than mac and cheese.
I’ll definitely make this chicken again. The only drawback for me was that it didn’t get as crispy as I would have liked (I think due to the wet coating underneath the bread crumbs), so next time I’ll give it a quick fry in some olive oil and then finish it in the oven.
Pesto Parmesan Chicken
seen on My Recipe Box and originally from Progresso Foods
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds)
3 tablespoons basil pesto
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Between pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper, place each chicken breast smooth side down; gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/2-inch thick.
2. In shallow dish, mix together pesto and mayonnaise. In another shallow dish mix together bread crumbs and cheese. Dip chicken into pesto mixture then dip in panko mixture. Place on baking sheet.
3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut and coating is golden brown.
7 comments:
This sounds great. I love pesto too!
P.S. If you bake the coated chicken on a wire cooling rack, it will prevent the bottom of the piece from getting soggy because the air can get all the way around the piece of chicken.
Sounds Wonderful!
I read somewhere recently that if you use a (cookie) cooling rack ontop of your baking sheet, and place the chicken/fries/whatever, on it, that it will cook more crisp than just laying it on the sheet to bake. I haven't tried it yet, but I can see the sense in it that the hot air flow would be all around the food baking... just thought I'd share!
I just bought pesto, parm and mayo last night at the grocery store. Is that a coincidence? I think not! I'm gonna make this this week. Thanks.
P.S. I saw this recipe and it totally reminded me of you :-) http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/mac-cheese-spaghetti/
Well HELLO there yumminess! I am a sucker for pesto too.....sounds like a great chicken dinner!
I have this in the oven as I type. I did mix in a little olive oil with the bread crumbs so they'll crisp up. I also baked them on a rack as the other readers suggested. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Okay, so I'm back to tell you how we liked them. I didn't pound out my breasts, so I baked them longer (about 35-40 mins). I did put them on a rack on a cookie sheet so they'd crisp underneath, but they still got soggy once plated. We really enjoyed them (and Mr. H is not a fan of parm).
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