Pesto Chicken Recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a large 11 x 8-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the chicken breasts to your baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper to season, and turn to coat.

Add the prepared pesto sauce over the top of the chicken breasts. Use a silicone spatula to evenly distribute the pesto sauce over each chicken breast, and use kitchen tongs to flip each chicken breast 1-2 times to really cover the entire surface in sauce.

Tent your baking dish with foil and transfer it to the oven. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Then uncover and continue to bake for an additional 5-15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees as measured with a digital meat thermometer.

Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Add the pine nuts, garlic, and fresh basil to the bowl of a food processor and process until finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed.

With the motor running, slowly drizzle the oil in the food processor, slowly and steadily. Process until mostly smooth - you may need to remove the lid and scrape down the sides once halfway through adding the oil.

Add the cheese and process just until combined. Stir in salt, to taste.