One Pan Arugula Pesto Baked Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes – A healthy easy meal for any weeknight! Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo
Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend????
Ours was filled with packing up boxes, emptying closets, and multiple trips to drop stuff off at Goodwill. The whole time we were packing I was thanking my lucky stars that a few months ago, way before we knew we would move so soon, we decluttered like crazy.
A few weekends in a row we spent hours going through stuff and organizing, which has saved us seven times the number of hours in packing now. Packing now is relatively easy, the stuff that goes to goodwill now is in its third round of decluttering.
Other than that, we hung out and relaxed by the pool. I got in a four mile run Saturday morning which was great and terrible; I think I averaged a 10:40 pace, not surprising given it was like 85 degrees out.
We are now approaching heat advisory warnings in the afternoons when the temperatures reach 120. I avoid going outside past 12 pm at ALL costs unless it’s into the pool, even then I hang out in the shady part of the pool.
In any case, to keep up my positivity work, I’ve decided to direct my efforts at avoiding it (the heat) instead of hating it. Why hate something you can’t control I guess? Right?
Today I feel like a total rockstar because I made some sweet potatoes and a tortilla quiche for meal prep, I swear even 30 minutes of meal prep makes all the difference! I also still have some of this arugula pesto left which is a great way to add flavor to just about anything – spaghetti squash, eggs, tuna, salmon and, of course, chicken.
We ate this chicken all last week for the meals we were able to eat at home, so any meal we didn’t have to be out of the house during a showing. So. Freaking. Happy. That part is OVER. Hopefully.
So anyway, this is a bake once, eat many times, as it should be in the summer right?!? All I did for this chicken was stuff it and slather it with pesto, then bake it.
Half way through baking I threw in some cherry tomatoes to roast up. Dinner super easy, healthy, and done. Mr. Hungry ate it as is with the onions and tomatoes; he LOVES cherry tomatoes in any form.
I’m not a huge fan of roasted tomatoes (soggy type food grosses me out, the crunchier, the better) so I ate mine with random veggies in the house. The parchment paper made it super easy to clean the dish too. Still, cracks me up that I waited 28 years to bake chicken when it’s so easy…
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One Pan Arugula Pesto Chicken & Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- ½ cup arugula pesto
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a casserole dish with parchment paper.
- Cut a slit in the middle of the chicken breast and add pesto. Slather another tablespoon of pesto on top of each chicken breast. Place chicken breasts side by side in the casserole dish. Top each one with a slice of lemon (optional).
- Sprinkle the top with ½ cup chopped onions.
- Bake chicken for 20 minutes. Take out the casserole dish and add cherry tomatoes. Bake dish for another 10-15 minutes longer until chicken is cooked throughout and reaches 165F.
I now get ALL my meat and poultry from Butcher Box. The taste and quality are absolutely unbeatable. Get $10 off your first box and FREE uncured all natural bacon using my link, here!
Looking for more one pan meals? Here is another baked chicken recipe…
I always love coming across dinner recipes that don’t require 50 ingredients. This looks delicious!
Stay cool/indoors! I can’t believe how hot it’s going to be this week.
Heck yeah for pesto. That stuff is SO DARN GOOD!
I love bake once eat lots meals! Perfect easy dish!
Woah! These look AMAZING!