Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto, Mozzarella and Tomatoes – With video! You won’t believe how easy this beautiful dish is to make!
Have you ever taken a bite of something that is soooo good, and somebody tries to talk to you and you are so deep into that bite, that you can’t talk? You just give them a crazy lady stare and keep chewing and smiling, chewing and smiling….
This Chicken is chock full of Mozzarella, Pesto and Tomatoes; You could call it Caprese Chicken, even! And not only is it a flavor bomb, it is super easy to make and all in one pan!
This dish is perfect in it’s imperfections! All that gooey cheese and dripping pesto. But yet, it’s not so bad on the fat-o-meter. Just 2 tablespoons of pesto, a few slices of fresh tomato and a quarter cup of mozz!
To start, slice your chicken horizontally, but not all the way through. So it opens like a book. A really tasty book :). Check out the video for a great tutorial!
Spread on the pesto. Add sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of spinach if you like.
Now just fold it over and secure with a couple toothpicks. It’s sloppy and perfect!
Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and give it a quick sear in an oven proof skillet. Cast Iron was made for this dish, but any oven proof skillet will work. You could also move it from the skillet to a baking sheet to finish off in the oven.
If I were a chicken, this is how I’d like to be remembered….
A few tips on making Stuffed Chicken Breasts:
- I used store bought Pesto. Love Costco brand.
- Sear on both sides and finish baking in the oven in the same skillet or move to a foil covered baking sheet.
- Serve with an easy pesto/yogurt dipping sauce if desired.
- You can see all my One Pan Dinners here!
More Stuffed Chicken Recipes
- Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken
- Fajita Stuffed Chicken
- Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta
- Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Another great and easy chicken dinner! Greek Sheet Pan Dinner.
And one more! Tex Mex Chicken Skillet! This 30 minute meal incredibly easy with tons of that Tex Mex flavor we all love!
To the wonderfulness of chicken breasts!
Clink!
Kathi
What do you think about this recipe? Have questions? Comment below! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, and connect with us on Instagram and tag your @Laughingspatula recipes with #laughingspatula, while you’re at it…We love to see your pics!
Pesto Tomato and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 8 tablespoons pesto
- 8 slices tomato
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
Pesto Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons pesto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut chicken breasts horizontally but do not cut all the way through. Open up. (see photo above)
- Spread entire opens surface of chicken with 2 tablespoons pesto.
- Add 2 sliced tomatoes to half of the chicken.
- Top with 1/4 cup of grated mozzarella and a few spinach leaves.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle on a bit of olive oil.
- Heat oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- When olive oil is sizzling, carefully add chicken.
- Sear on each side for 2-3 minutes using tongs to turn.
- Finish baking in oven for about 8 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- For a dipping sauce: Combine yogurt and pesto and serve over the chicken or on the side.
Notes
- I used store bought Pesto. Love Costco brand.
- Sear on both sides and finish baking in the oven in the same skillet or move to a foil covered baking sheet.
- Serve with an easy pesto/yogurt dipping sauce if desired.
Nutrition
Peta Lee says
Amazing!!!!
Laurie says
WOW!! Really yummy recipe!! Everyone loved it!! Made enough for us to have it twice. I think it will become a frequent Sunday dinner for us. Really easy and just so great!!
Thank you!!
Michele says
These were fantastic! Thank you
Michele says
This recipe was fantastic! Thank you!
Cathy says
Going to try this tonight. Can I sear the chicken breast first then quickly stuff then bake? When I make stuffed anything that has to be seared I usually loose half the stuffing no matter how many toothpicks I put in.
Kathi & Rachel says
I have not tried that method. Not sure how pliable the chicken is after seared. May be difficult to stuff?
Harvey T says
I just got done making this, however, I wasn’t sure what to make as a side dish for it, so I just didn’t. I added some broccoli florets as well to give it added color, since we didn’t have Spinache to dress it up. Also I pureed the tomatoes for the inside and put sliced tomatoes on the top.. (Again simply for looks).
Thank you all so much for this recipe!
Joseph says
Lovely meal. Was a winner for the family
Jenna says
OBSESSED. I had a batch of homemade pesto to use up before I left for vacation, and ended up making this recipe two nights in a row. It’s my new favorite! I’ve found that my preference is to cut the chicken into smaller, thinner pieces and stuff it until it’s almost overflowing. The flavor is unreal! Served with roasted Japanese white sweet potatoes tossed in herbs. Yum!
Kathi & Rachel says
Thank you Jenna! We are so glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review 🙂
Laurie Fitzgerald says
This is delicious! BUT it takes a lot longer than 8 minutes to finish cooking in the oven! Maybe if it’s done in a cast iron skillet and put directly in the oven, but my pan isn’t oven safe or big enough so I had to do 2 at a time then transfer to a baking dish. It took 20 minutes to finish cooking in the oven.
Kathi & Rachel says
Hi Laurie! We are glad you loved it and thank you for the note! It could have been the size of the chicken too. Some of the chicken breasts we have been buying have been huge! Whats with that? Also oven temps vary but so happy you made it work. Clink! Kathi