Pesto Caprese Chicken with Sautéed Spinach
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Pesto Caprese Chicken with Sautéed Spinach is a wholesome, flavorful dish that’s easy to prepare. It’s also impressive enough for guests – it’s gorgeous! It’s packed with protein and healthy greens as well. It has bold flavors of basil pesto, sweet cherry tomatoes, salty mozzarella, and sweet balsamic glaze – this combination just works!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Takes about 30 minutes to make.
- Easy to prepare – has a few simple, straightforward steps.
- High in protein and nutrients.
- Great for meal prep – this recipe can be prepped ahead of time and cooked later.
Pesto Caprese Chicken Ingredients
- Chicken breasts – I slice them in half to make them thinner. I find they cook much more evenly this way.
- Cherry tomatoes – I love the sweetness!
- Fresh spinach – Takes just a few minutes for it to cook down with garlic, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.
- Fresh mozzarella – I like to use the fresh stuff versus the deli slices.
- Balsamic vinegar – it’s reduced down to a thick, drizzable sauce. It’s absolutely delicious and pairs so well with the pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella. You can purchase store-bought balsamic glaze if you’d like!
- Pesto – either make your own or store bought is fine. My pesto recipe is super easy and is a great way to use extra basil.
- Seasoned panko bread crumbs – The bread crumbs add extra flavor and texture to the dish.
- Garlic – a little garlic is sautéed with the spinach to flavor it.
- Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper – just a few seasonings to make sure the ingredients shine.
Instructions:
Pesto Caprese Chicken with Sautéed Spinach requires just a few simple steps. For the full instructions, see the recipe card below.
Step 1: Prepare the chicken & Tomatoes
Marinate the chicken with pesto for 15 minutes.
While the chicken is marinating, add tomatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season them with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Once chicken is marinated, cover it with bread crumbs and place on the rimmed baking sheet with the tomatoes. Roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove, add mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 2: Prepare the Spinach
While the chicken and tomatoes are cooking, add olive oil to a large sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add fresh spinach, garlic clove, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir often while spinach starts to wilt. This only takes a few minutes. Once wilted, turn off heat.
Step 3: Make the balsamic glaze
While the chicken and tomatoes cook, make the balsamic glaze. To make the glaze, pour balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan and place over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer the vinegar until it thickens and coats the back of spoon, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Assemble the dish
You’re ready to eat! Place a bed of spinach on a plate. Top with chicken and tomatoes and a good drizzle of balsamic glaze. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Read through the entire recipe before starting. This helps prevent mistakes.
- Prepare the ingredients before starting – measure, chop, etc. This will help prevent mistakes and make clean up easier.
- There are a few simple steps to the recipe, but if you prepare ahead of time, many of them can be done simultaneously.
Similar Recipes
If you enjoy caprese style recipes, I think you will also enjoy!
Final Thoughts
You can’t go wrong with this Pesto Caprese Chicken with Sautéed Spinach. Whether your meal prepping for the week or making a cozy date night dinner, this recipe is the perfect combination of easy, elegant and nourishing. Enjoy!
Pesto Caprese Chicken with Sautéed Spinach
Chicken breasts are marinated in pesto then covered with panko bread crumbs and baked until perfeclty juicy. They're topped with fresh mozzarealla, sauteed spinach and juicy cherry tomatoes. Balsmic glaze garnishes the dish for a sweet acidic bite!
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half
- 12-16 ounces fresh spinach
- 8-10 ounce container cherry tomatoes
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
- 4 tablespoons pesto (store-bought or fresh)
- 2 cups seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
1. Prepare the chicken and Tomatoes: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and drizzle olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside.
Prepare chicken by cutting chicken breasts in half to make 4 thin chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper. Place chicken into a zip loc bag and cover with 4 tablespoons pesto. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Prepare the tomatoes by placing them on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder; set aside.
Add 2 cups of panko bread crumbs to the bag the chicken is in. Massaage the bread crumbs into the chicken making sure they're evenly coated. Place the chicken on the baking sheet with the tomatoes and bake for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove and place two slices of mozzarella cheese on top of each chicken breast and place back into the oven for 5 minutes to melt. Turn broiler on for a few minutes to toast the cheese if you'd like.
2. Prepare the spinach: While the chicken and tomatoes are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add spinach and 1 garlic clove. Season lightly with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 crushed red pepper. Turn heat to low. Spinach will quickly wilt. Once wilted, turn off heat.
3. Balsamic Glaze: Pour 1 cup of balsamic vinegar into a small sauce pan and place over medium high heat. Bring it to a slight boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer vinegar for about 5-10 minutes or until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn!
4. Assemble entrée: Place spinach in the middle of your plate, top with chicken, tomatoes, and then drizzle with balsamic glaze. Enjoy!
Notes
Bake time for chicken breasts may very depending on how thick the chicken is. Mine took exactly 20 minutes which included time to melt cheese.
Chicken can marinate several hours or even overnight before making the meal.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1055Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 2154mgCarbohydrates: 125gFiber: 40gSugar: 35gProtein: 84g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated. Use as an approximation only.
In total how long do you cook the chicken? Are you cooking for an additional 25 minutes with the roasted tomatoes?
yes that’s correct!
I made this the other day for Tom and me and this was delicious! Thanks for sharing Jess! Love trying new recipes and will try more from your site since they all look so good.
Delicious! I made it last night for dinner. It was very simple to make1 Thanks Jess!
Honestly…this was absolutely delicious!!! Just made it for Mike and I and we both loved it! There is so much flavor and it was very easy to make!
This looks so yummy! I love roasted tomatoes and the way you cooked the chicken looks perfect. I am the same way with stores–Trader Joes & Target get me every time. I was at Target yesterday with a list and came out with a bunch of stuff I didn’t “need.” 🙂