Meal Bite: 2 Ingredient Pesto Chicken

Hi Busies,

Yes, the 2 ingredients in this meal are pesto and chicken.  Is it cheating if you don’t make your own pesto?  I won’t tell if you won’t!  Of course, store-bought doesn’t compare to homemade (or even homegrown, if you’re a real overachiever), but as a Busy Girl, I have to pick my battles.  A high-quality store-bought pesto sauce does the trick for me, and saves me from dirtying a food processor during my meal prep mega weekend.  

Oh, pesto sauce.  Normally a pasta dish might be too heavy for a hot summer day, but summer squash and pesto keep this dish nice and light.  Serving suggestion:  eat on your back porch, fairy lights strung overhead, with a glass of chilled white wine, dogs napping at your feet, watching the summer sun go down.  Or, (like me) enjoy in the comfort of your air conditioned, mosquito-free house, letting the taste transport you to backyard fantasy land.  

The meal prep here is super simple – just season and pan-sear the chicken (along with the chicken you’ll need for other recipes in my meal prep plan), cover it in pesto sauce, and freeze.  On the perfect summer night, thaw and reheat, then serve with pasta and sautéed summer squash, which both cook in about 10 minutes.  Cheers to summer!

Post freezer shot of the bag – description got a bit lost but the calligraphy practice stayed intact!  Thanks again, Maghon @ ASWN for the calligraphy lesson! 

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2 Ingredient Pesto Chicken

Pan seared chicken smothered in delicious pesto sauce.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes

Servings 4

Author Sam - Busy Girl Bites

Ingredients

• 2 large or 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 jar high-quality pesto sauce

Instructions

1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, cook chicken 5-7 minutes per side or until cooked through.
3. Remove from heat and spoon pesto sauce over both sides of chicken.

To Freeze

1. Place in freezer-safe storage, let cool in fridge for at least 1 hour, then freeze, making sure individual chicken breasts are spread out for quick freezing.

To Eat

1. Thaw overnight. Boil water for pasta and slice squash. Cook pasta according to package directions and sauté squash in 1 tsp olive oil, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Add additional pesto sauce to the pasta. Reheat chicken in individual bowls, then serve over pasta and squash. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Check out my meal prep tips page for even more meal prep advice!