Creamy Pesto Chicken
The 30-minute chicken dinner that makes pesto the whole reason to cook: golden seared chicken tossed in a silky sauce of roasted garlic pesto and cream cheese, crème fraîche, or goat chèvre.
Yield: Serves 4–6 · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hour 15 minutes, including salting the chicken and roasting the garlic · Year-round, with basil at its best from June through September · Cuisine: Italian-inspired · Best eaten: midday or early evening
Serve it over zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, or sautéed spinach for a grain-free dinner, or over fresh egg pasta or sourdough toast if you eat grains. It’s also delicious cold the next day over a green salad.
Ingredients
Chicken
2 large pasture-raised boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ lbs)
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp grass-fed butter, divided
Optional: 1 sprig fresh thyme
Roasted garlic pesto (makes about 1 cup)
1 head garlic, roasted (8–10 cloves), or 2 cloves raw garlic for a sharper, traditional pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
⅓ cup pine nuts (Italian or Spanish)
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, for dairy-free)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
Optional: 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, for brightness
Creamy pesto sauce
½ cup roasted garlic pesto (from above)
½ cup cultured grass-fed cream cheese, crème fraîche, or fresh goat chèvre, at room temperature (or mascarpone)
Optional: 2–3 tbsp heavy cream, to thin (not needed with crème fraîche)
Which creamy base?
Cream cheese: the thickest and richest sauce.
Crème fraîche: a silkier, pourable sauce with a gentle tang.
Goat chèvre: the tangiest, brightest sauce.
Mascarpone: the most luxurious and mild.
Garnish
Fresh basil leaves
Toasted pine nuts
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
Flaky salt and black pepper
A drizzle of olive oil
To serve (choose one)
Zucchini noodles, warmed with a splash of olive oil
Cauliflower rice, sautéed in butter
Sautéed spinach or kale
Grain-free pasta, like Jovial cassava or Banza chickpea
Fresh egg pasta, if you eat grains
Swaps:
Chicken thighs are more forgiving than breasts. Cook them to 175°F.
Dairy-free: Replace the cream cheese (or crème fraîche or chèvre) with cashew cream cheese (1 cup soaked cashews, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and ¼ tsp salt, blended until silky). Thin with coconut cream, use olive oil instead of butter, and use nutritional yeast in the pesto.
Method
Roast the garlic (up to 4 days ahead). Heat the oven to 400°F. Slice ½ inch off the top of a head of garlic, drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, and wrap it in parchment, then foil. Roast 30–35 minutes, until golden and soft. Let it cool slightly, then squeeze out the cloves. Faster option: Cook 8 peeled garlic cloves in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until golden and tender.
Salt the chicken (30 minutes before cooking). Pat the chicken dry, and pound it to an even ¾-inch thickness. Season with the salt and pepper, and let it sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. This helps it stay juicy and brown well.
Make the pesto. Pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano, salt, and pepper in a food processor 8–10 times, until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, until the pesto is slightly chunky. Stir in the lemon juice (if using), and taste for salt. Set aside ½ cup for the sauce.
Sear the chicken. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, and add 1 tbsp of the butter. When it foams, add the chicken, and cook 4–5 minutes per side, until deep golden and it reaches 165°F at the thickest point. Add the thyme (if using) for the last minute.
Rest the chicken on a board for 5 minutes.
Make the sauce. Lower the heat to low, and add the remaining 1 tbsp butter to the same skillet. Add the cream cheese (or crème fraîche, chèvre, or mascarpone) in small pieces, and stir until softened and blended with the pan juices. Stir in the ½ cup pesto, until silky and bright green. Thin with cream if needed, and taste for salt and lemon.
Combine. Slice the chicken against the grain into ½-inch slices, and add it to the sauce. Toss gently, and warm through for 1–2 minutes; don’t let it boil, or the sauce can separate.
Serve. Spoon it over your choice of base, and garnish with basil, toasted pine nuts, shaved Parmigiano, flaky salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve It With
A simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette. If you drink, a chilled Italian white (Gavi or Vermentino) or a light red (Barbera); otherwise, sparkling water with lemon.
Storage
Leftovers: refrigerated, up to 3 days. Cold sliced chicken with pesto is delicious over a green salad.
Pesto: refrigerated up to 5 days (press plastic wrap or a thin layer of oil on top, so it stays green), or frozen up to 1 month. Freezing it in ice cube trays makes easy portions.
Roasted garlic: refrigerated, up to 4 days.
Make ahead: The chicken is best cooked fresh. The sauce can be made up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerated; rewarm it gently, without boiling.
For a crowd: Double the recipe for 8–12, and cook the chicken in two skillets.
A note on raw dairy: If you use raw cream cheese, crème fraîche, or butter, they’re no longer raw once warmed in the pan. They still bring their rich flavor and fat-soluble vitamins.
Nourishment Notes
Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins (especially niacin and B6), and selenium. Truly pasture-raised birds are a different food from conventional chicken, and labels like “free-range” can mean very little.
Roasted garlic — gentle on digestion. Roasting turns garlic’s sharp allicin into gentler sulfur compounds, so many people who find raw garlic harsh enjoy roasted garlic, and this pesto uses a generous amount.
Basil — vitamin K, plus aromatic oils (linalool and eugenol) studied for their antimicrobial effects.
Pine nuts — manganese, magnesium, vitamin E, and pinolenic acid, a fatty acid found in few other foods, studied for its effects on fullness.
Extra virgin olive oil — oleocanthal and oleuropein, polyphenols with well-documented anti-inflammatory effects. Since it’s raw in the pesto, quality matters.
Parmigiano-Reggiano — calcium, protein, and vitamin K2, naturally low in lactose from its long aging.
Cream cheese, crème fraîche, and butter — vitamins A, D, E, and K2, plus butyrate, especially from grass-fed, cultured dairy.
Goat chèvre — calcium, protein, and vitamin K2. Many people who are sensitive to cow’s milk find goat cheese easier to digest.
As a circadian food, this is best at midday or early dinner, when your body digests protein and fat most easily. The pesto is brightest when basil is in season; in winter, a pot of basil on a sunny windowsill beats store-bought.
For your cycle: With protein, healthy fats, and magnesium from the pine nuts, this is a satisfying meal for the luteal phase, and lovely in any phase.
Sourcing
Chicken — pasture-raised and non-medicated, from a local farm or White Oak Pastures
Basil, garlic, and lemons — organic, from a farmers’ market (or grow a pot of basil on your windowsill)
Pine nuts — Italian or Spanish; pine nuts from some Asian species can cause “pine mouth,” a temporary bitter or metallic taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano — DOP, aged 24 months or more
Cream cheese or crème fraîche — cultured and grass-fed, like Organic Valley or Kalona SuperNatural, or from a local dairy
Goat chèvre — fresh, from a local goat dairy, or Cypress Grove or Vermont Creamery
Grass-fed butter and heavy cream — organic, from 100% grass-fed cows
Nutritional yeast (optional) — unfortified
Grain-free pasta (optional) — Jovial cassava or Banza chickpea
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall