Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan

By zhanghengshuo

4 Person

40 Minutes

0 Calories

Here one of my favorite Italian-American dishes -- chicken parmesan -- gets a healthy twist thanks to being baked and the addition of pesto makes it even more flavorful! So, these days I use more egg whites than eggs and oven bake it but, I'm sorry, I just can't cut out the cheese – I am Italian-American after all! Oh, and my favorite part? This is actually a twice sauced Chicken Parm as it's topped with both tomato sauce and pesto – try it once and then tell me, it's addicting isn't it?

Ingredients

3 cups Cooked quinoa
4 slices Low-moisture mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Pesto
4 cups Marinara sauce
2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 Large egg
2 Large egg whites
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
1/2 cup All purpose or white whole wheat flour
2 Boneless, skinless fresh chicken breasts

Method

01

Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange rack in the middle. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally. Set a cooling rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper in a shallow bowl, mix until well combined; set aside. Combine Panko with the parsley, the olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a separate shallow bowl, and toss until evenly combined; and set aside. Whisk together egg whites, egg, and cheese in a shallow bowl until evenly combined; set aside.
02

To coat chicken, dredge a piece in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Then dip into the egg mixture, let excess drip off, and finally roll in the breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere as necessary. Place a chicken piece on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken. Bake until coating is golden and crispy, juices of chicken run clear when poked, and internal temperature is 160°F, about 20 to 25 minutes.
03

Remove from oven, turn on the broiler. Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on the top of each chicken breast then add one spoonful of pesto so the top of each piece of chicken has half pesto and half tomato sauce. Top with a thin slice of mozzarella and broil until cheese is bubbly, watching closely to make sure it doesn't burn. Serve over a bed of quinoa and additional tomato sauce and add some grated Parmesan just before serving.

Related Tags

Chicken Recipes

Chicken Breast Recipes

Baked Chicken Recipes

Chicken Parmesan Recipes

Dinner Recipes

Lunch Recipes

Baked Pesto Chicken Parmesan

4.7

( By zhanghengshuo )

01 Information

Grade easy
Serving 4 servings
Cook Time 40 Mins
Total Time 40 Mins

02 Ingredients

3 cups Cooked quinoa

4 slices Low-moisture mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Pesto

4 cups Marinara sauce

2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons Finely chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1/3 cup Finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 Large egg

2 Large egg whites

Freshly ground black pepper

Kosher salt

1/2 cup All purpose or white whole wheat flour

2 Boneless, skinless fresh chicken breasts

03 Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange rack in the middle. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally. Set a cooling rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper in a shallow bowl, mix until well combined; set aside. Combine Panko with the parsley, the olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a separate shallow bowl, and toss until evenly combined; and set aside. Whisk together egg whites, egg, and cheese in a shallow bowl until evenly combined; set aside.

Step 2

To coat chicken, dredge a piece in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Then dip into the egg mixture, let excess drip off, and finally roll in the breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere as necessary. Place a chicken piece on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken. Bake until coating is golden and crispy, juices of chicken run clear when poked, and internal temperature is 160°F, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Step 3

Remove from oven, turn on the broiler. Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on the top of each chicken breast then add one spoonful of pesto so the top of each piece of chicken has half pesto and half tomato sauce. Top with a thin slice of mozzarella and broil until cheese is bubbly, watching closely to make sure it doesn't burn. Serve over a bed of quinoa and additional tomato sauce and add some grated Parmesan just before serving.

04 Author