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This easy one pan pesto baked chicken with tomatoes is bursting with Italian flavors! Pesto marinated chicken breasts bake in a skillet with sweet tomatoes, shallots, and pesto. Topped with gooey mozzarella, it’s a meal the whole family will love!
If you love baked chicken, try this chicken with feta and tomatoes or salsa verde baked chicken.
Why You’ll Love Pesto Baked Chicken
Juicy and flavorful – This baked chicken recipe is special because the chicken breasts marinate in a flavorful pesto and balsamic vinegar marinade. It keeps them juicy while they bake with the garlicy cherry tomatoes.
Skillet dinner – This is a skillet dinner meaning it all cooks in one pan. It’s great for weeknights when you need a quick and easy dinner, but it’s also impressive enough to serve when you have company.
Family-friendly – Both kids and adults will love the cheesy baked chicken and the sweet and savory tomato sauce that forms as the tomatoes bake.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts – Boneless skinless chicken breasts are lean and packed with protein.
- Pesto – Jarred pesto is not only a great time saver, but adds a ton of flavor to whatever you add it to.
- Balsamic vinegar – Adds a sweet, tart, acidity to both the chicken and tomato mixture.
- Italian seasoning and garlic powder – Added to the chicken marinade for extra Italian flavor.
- Cherry tomatoes – Sweet, juicy and easy to work with in this recipe.
- Shallots – They have a more mellow onion flavor and soften quickly during the cooking process.
- Maple syrup – If you’re tomatoes aren’t super sweet, maple syrup will help them out. It also balances out their acidity.
- Mozzarella – Who can resist gooey melted mozzarella on top of chicken?
How to Make Pesto Baked Chicken with Tomatoes
This is an overview of the recipe with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Add the pesto, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into a freezer bag. Add in the chicken breasts and massage the marinade into the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for 30-60 minutes.
While the chicken is marinating, halve the tomatoes and combine them with the shallots, pesto, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and garlic.
Add the chicken to a large oven-safe skillet. Scatter the tomato mixture around the chicken. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Top with the shredded mozzarella and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and serve.
Substitution and Variations
- Use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Keep in mind the cooking time may differ.
- Substitute mozzarella cheese with fontina, burrata, or smoked mozzarella.
- For a slightly different flavor, try swapping basil pesto with sun dried tomato pesto.
- Cherry tomatoes can be swapped with an equal amount of grape tomatoes or roma tomatoes.
Recipe Tips
- If your chicken breasts are really thick or different sizes, pound them out a little to shorten the baking time and so they cook evenly.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken doesn’t over-bake, but is cooked through. Chicken should be cooked to 165° F.
- If you’re short on time, the chicken will still have good flavor after 15 minutes of marinating. If you have extra time, let it marinate 2-3 hours.
What to Serve with Pesto Baked Chicken
I love serving this pesto chicken on top of pasta or with a side of crusty bread or garlic bread to sop up the cherry tomato sauce. For a gluten-free option, try serving it with this baked parmesan risotto.
It also pairs well with a simple salad such as this lemon parmesan brussels sprouts salad or this white bean, arugula and prosciutto salad.
Other side dishes to serve with this Italian baked chicken are creamy mashed potatoes, lemon parmesan asparagus, parmesan pesto roasted cauliflower, or these easy parmesan pesto roasted potatoes.
More Chicken Recipes
Did you make this pesto baked chicken with tomatoes? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Pesto Baked Chicken with Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
Pesto Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, I used approximately 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Tomatoes
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup finely sliced shallots
- 1/3 cup pesto
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Chopped fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the pesto, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a freezer bag. Add in the chicken breasts, press out the air and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken and let it marinate for 30-60 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, preheat the oven to 425° F. Halve the cherry tomatoes (you can leave some of them whole as well) and combine them with the shallots, pesto, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and garlic.
- Place the chicken in the middle of a 12″ oven safe skillet. Skatter the tomato mixture around the chicken. Bake in the oven for 18-24 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, 165° F.
- During the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time, add the mozzarella cheese to the top and continue to bake until it’s melted. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh chopped basil.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
