This easy low carb dinner recipe is made with chicken, cream cheese, pesto and mozzarella! Simple ingredients that the entire family will love. Serve it with cauliflower rice, pasta, salad, veggies or anything else you'd like.
Fall is the season for comfort foods. I have professed my love for baked ziti before, but I have to say, it’s the perfect comfort food—it’s cheesy goodness calls to me. There are so many possibilities and I’m thrilled to share another of my favorite twists on this classic Italian dish.
The end of summer left me with a bounty of basil, and like any “good” Italian, I made pesto. With baked ziti on my brain, as usual, I decided to incorporate a cheesy pesto sauce into the dish. It’s creamy, cheesy and so flavorful. Topped with red sauce and more cheesy goodness it’s enough to put me over the top. Chicken really rounds the baked pasta dish out and adds a dimension of texture.
The whole family is crazy for this baked pasta, and my two-and-a-half-year-old “mini me” is an official taste tester. The last time I made it I let her taste it by giving her a forkful. She proceeded to go get her little helper stool and pulled it up to the counter. She grabbed the fork I had been using, helped herself, then looked over at me and said “Mommy, it’s very tasty.” I still can’t get over it—with an endorsement like that, I’m positive you’re going to love it too! Clocking in at 30 minutes from prep to plate, I couldn’t ask for much more!
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken, keto, low carb
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds)
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1/3 cup store-bought basil pesto (I like the Giovanni Rana brand)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Garnish
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 4-6 basil leaves (chopped)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and grease a large baking dish.
Mix the softened cream cheese and basil pesto together.
Lay the chicken breasts flat into your greased baking dish, and top them with the cream cheese pesto mixture.
Top with 1 or more cups of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered in the center rack of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Garnish with your fresh chopped tomatoes and basil. Enjoy!
