Easy Chicken Pesto & Veggies Recipe

3 minutes

Tasty, healthy, and literally designed to be a mid-week meal prep recipe. We love this easy Chicken Pesto & Veggies Recipe because it simplifies life.

This dish is a lovely fusion of Italian and American cuisines. It combines the classic Italian basil pesto sauce with delightful chicken strips on a layer of green beans and succulent cherry tomatoes. Mmmmmmm!

How to Make Veggies & Chicken Pesto

Step 1: Prep and measure all your ingredients.

Step 2: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add your chicken thighs and cook them until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) or until they’re no longer pink in the center. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest while you cook the green beans.

Step 3: Add green beans to the pan and cook until tender-crisp. While cooking, slice your rested chicken into strips.

Step 4: Place the chicken strips, pesto, and cherry tomatoes into the pan and stir until the pesto is fully incorporated into the dish.

Step 5: Either serve and enjoy right away, or prep the food for freezing (full instructions below in “Storage” section).

Tweaks

You’ll find several delightful tweaks that simultaneously elevate this dish and help keep it feeling “new” for those mid-week meals.

• Chicken Breasts: Looking for a slightly healthier cut of chicken? Give it a try with chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs.
• Marinate the Chicken: Marinate your chicken thighs in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper for added flavor.
• Pasta: Serve the veggies and chicken pesto over cooked pasta for a more filling meal.
• Add Garlic: Sauté one clove of minced garlic in the olive oil before adding the chicken to infuse the dish with a rich garlic flavor.
• More Veggies: Instead of just green beans and cherry tomatoes, consider adding other veg like bell peppers, zucchini, or broccoli for more color and texture. If that’s too many veg, try switching out the tomatoes and green beans with the other veg listed above.
• Cheese: I love this one! Sprinkling freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese over the dish before serving really freshens it up and gives it a lovely cheesy finish.
• Nuts: Elevate your dish by adding toasted pine nuts (or almonds) on top. Not only do they add a nice crunch and depth of flavor to the dish, it’s a nice way to give your mid-week meal that “new” flavour all over again.

Storage

Refrigerate: Place your portioned-out servings in air-tight containers, and they can safely be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Freeze: You can freeze this entire meal for up to 3 months. However, for the best quality, we recommend eating it within 1-2 months. Rigid plastic (or glass), freezer-safe containers work best.

Here’s how to freeze it…..after cooking, divide the meal into serving sizes and place it into rigid plastic (or glass), freezer-safe containers. Label the lid (don’t put it on yet), let it cool for about 20 minutes, secure the lid, then freeze.

Reheat: It’s easiest to reheat individual portions in the microwave. Place a portion on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a damp paper towel to prevent the chicken from drying out. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through, stirring halfway through cooking.

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