The EASIEST Baked Pesto Chicken Recipe | Julie Blanner (2024)

FAQs

How many calories are in baked pesto chicken? ›

1 serving of baked pesto chicken contains 542 Calories. The macronutrient breakdown is 3% carbs, 66% fat, and 31% protein.

Because its ingredients include olive oil, nuts, and cheese, pesto can be high in calories and fat. However, the fat is primarily unsaturated and may have heart health benefits. Pesto is also full of antioxidants that can help protect your cells from damage.

Pesto is flavorful and bright and can liven up vegetables, pizza, potatoes and pasta. It's also high in healthy fats, which help keep you satisfied. Fat may be higher in calories, but it also takes longer to digest (read: satisfying) and allows your body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K.

That's largely down to the fact that most pesto sauces contain generous amounts of oil, nuts, and cheese. All three of these are high in fat and calories, so eating too much pesto, too regularly, and not getting enough exercise can ultimately be fattening.

Daylesford Organic tops our list of high-calorie pestos with a staggering 654 calories per 100g. Looking at the ingredient list, you can see that they don't skimp on any of the expensive, high-calorie ingredients that budget pestos simply cannot afford to include.

For the pasta sauce, we're allowing just over 100g per person. So, as you can see, even though both sauces contain olive oil, garlic, and basil, the pesto contains over six times more calories than the traditional pasta sauce.

What does chicken pesto taste like? Pesto chicken has all the delicious flavors of pesto - fresh basil, olive oil, nutty Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts - in a tender, juicy chicken breast. Pesto has a generally mild flavor but it really elevates a plain old chicken breast.

Traditional pesto is a blend of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. With a food processor, it comes together in just a few steps: Pulse the nuts, lemon juice, and garlic in the food processor until they're finely chopped.

What does pesto taste like? Traditional pesto is a thick, green sauce that tastes bright and herby from the basil, and salty and rich from the cheeses and pine nuts. It should be garlicky, with pleasant grassiness from good quality olive oil.

Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa, located in Italy's northern region. It originated around the 16th century and traditionally consists of crushed garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with Parmesan cheese and olive oil.