Pesto Chicken Bake

Pesto Chicken Bake is another one of my go-to recipes! Its as easy and healthy as my other fan favorite Buffalo Chicken Bake. It has spaghetti squash as the base and is packed with chicken and veggies. This is the perfect lunchtime meal that won’t leave you feeling sluggish afterwards.

NUTRITION

Per serving this pesto chicken bake has 320 calories, 15g fat (mainly from pesto – so healthy fat), 10g carbs and 38g of protein. It’s a winner in my book if you ask me!

COLORFUL!

You can use whatever color bell peppers you prefer, however I use red and orange for color.  The spaghetti squash is yellow, the spinach is green,  so using red and orange bell peppers round out the color profile! Keep this in mind when cooking. Colors make the plate look fun! So experiment a little!

HOT TIPS

Don’t let the pesto fool you. A little bit goes a long way. It is naturally oily so you don’t want to overdo it. Test the waters. You can always add more next go round.

Pro Tip: I make the spaghetti squash in advance and let it strain before mixing all the ingredients together. I do this to get rid of all the excess water that the vegetable naturally holds. *Do not overcook the spaghetti squash*. Click here for how to cook.

SAUTE/GRILL CHICKEN

You also want to saute the chicken and drain so that you don’t have excess liquid in the baking dish. Click here for how to saute chicken.  Another option is to grill the chicken. Simply season with some creole and pepper and throw on the grill for about 13 minutes flipping halfway through. It will still be slightly pink. Do not worry you are still going to cook it in the oven. You can also cook the peppers/spinach at the same time as the chicken in another saute pan to cut down on prep time, however I like to use the same saute pan (to cut down on cleaning time LOL).

Even though this has cheese mixed in, I top with grated Parmesan cheese. (Hey! what do you want from me?? I’m Italian!)

Products I love to use when baking this dish:

Flexible cutting boards

Calphalon Knives

4Qt Saute Pan

13×9 Baking Dish

Strainer (for draining Squash and Chicken)

Oxo Mixing Bowls

Pampered Chef Chicken Scissors

Print

Pesto Chicken Bake

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

a delicious and healthy spaghetti squash chicken pesto recipe! 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 med Spaghetti Squash (about 4 cups)
• 4 bell peppers, cubed (red/orange for color)
• 2 lbs chicken breasts cubed
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 8 handfuls spinach
• 1 1/4 cup low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp creole (to season chicken)
• 2 tsp ground pepper (split - season chicken & peppers)
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (to saute with peppers)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (split - cook chicken & peppers)
• salt to taste

TOPPING

• grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Cook and drain spaghetti squash. Click here for instructions on how to cook spaghetti squash.
   

   

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

   

3. While spaghetti squash is cooking. Heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil over medium high heat. saute chicken for approximately 5 minutes . While sauteeing, season (1 tsp pepper & 1 tsp creole) . Click here for instructions on how to saute chicken. (alternatively you could also season & grill the chicken breasts and cube after)

   

4. in a large mixing bowl toss diced chicken with pesto sauce. 

   

5. In a saute pan over medium heat, saute cubed bell peppers with 1tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic and 1 tsp ground pepper for about 3 minutes.  add baby spinach for and saute for another 2 minutes. drain any liquid if present. 

   

6. add sauteed veggie to bowl and mix. 

   

7. add spaghetti squash to bowl. I use about 4 cups but just look at the ratio to see how much you want to add. 

   

8. add low fat mozzarella to the bowl and mix well. add salt to taste. 

   

9. lightly grease a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. add contents of the bowl to the baking dish. 

   

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

    

11. Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!