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. Â But yet, it’s not so bad on the fat-o-meter. Â Just 2Â 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. Â Add sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of spinach if you like.
Now just fold it over and secure with a couple toothpicks. Â It’s sloppy and perfect!
Drizzle with olive oil. Â Sprinkle with salt and pepper and give it a quick sear in an oven proof skillet. Â Cast Iron was made for this dish, Â but any oven proof skillet will work. Â 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. Â 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 TomatoesÂ
Another great and easy chicken dinner! Â Greek Sheet Pan Dinner.
And one more! Â Tex Mex Chicken Skillet! Â 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!Â
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. Â 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
Hi! I have a question. This weekend I’m having some quests over for dinner. Would love to try this, however, I don’t want to be in the kitchen all evening. Do you think it would be okay to sear the chicken & then put away in fridge for a few hours, then when the guests arrive I can throw it in the oven. I just don’t want it to dry out before I cook it completely.
Hi Lori – My suggestion would be to make the dish and have it ready and warm rather than reheat. I agree with you that the chicken could become tough and the tomatoes soggy after reheating. I would have it done right before your guests arrive and keep warm in a low temp oven, covered with foil. Hope that helps!
For the sauce is it served hot or cold please
cold…like a dip!
Have you ever made it with fresh mozzarella instead of packaged grated mozzarella? I”m thinking that would kick it up a notch if I sliced a big ball of hand-made mozz instead.
I have not tried fresh but it should work great and be fabulous!
I will definitely make this recipe. Always looking for healthy recipes ( especially chicken, we love chicken ).
Thank you, and will also try some other dishes you posted ….
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I added mushrooms as well because I’m kind of addicted 🙂
Thank you so much, I know this will become a regular dish in our home. I’m looking forward to mixing up the stuffing ingredients as well.
We are so glad you loved it Michelle and the additions of mushrooms sounds fabulous! Love it when folks add their own spin to one of our recipes. Clink!
Hi! This looks delicious. I don’t have a skillet that can go in the oven, could I just transfer it to a dish or will that change the way it turns out?
Hi Jackie – Yes, you can just transfer to a baking dish or sheet pan and it will turn out great! Hope you love it!
I made this dish tonight. It was quick and yammy. I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
I was hoping to make this amazing sounding recipe this week! What do you recommend as well paired sides? I have brand new to cooking! I need all the help I can get 🙂
Hi Cathy! If you are new to cooking, I am so glad you found us! This dish has big flavors so I’d keep the sides simple. Steamed broccoli and rice would be my first pick. Baked potato would fare well with simple toppings. Good luck, let me know how you do!
Looks relish! Will be trying this tonight
LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEEE!! And so so easy!!!! Oh thank you so much. Stumbled on your website as I was driving home from work, trying to get some dinner inspiration. This was perfect and quick. Chicken was moist and tender and LOVE the sauce and pesto flavour in the chicken.
Can’t wait to check out the rest of your site!
Thank you for the rave reviews Tanya! I love this dish and am making it for my BFF next week because it’s soooo easy and what a flavor huh? Hope to see more notes from you!
This was easy to make. Didn’t have yogurt so I used sour cream instead. We loved it. Chicken was moist and tender, served the sauce on the side will make it again.
Hi, can I use tomato pesto in teas of the green?
Yes! Sounds yummy!