Roll up a tasty trio of favorite Italian ingredients to make our impressive prosciutto-wrapped chicken with pesto. This recipe features a roasted garlic pesto for a big flavor boost, and though it may look complicated, it comes together quickly with simple ingredients!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Pesto Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Our Prosciutto-Wrapped Pesto Chicken Recipe
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Baked Chicken Recipes
- Pesto Prosciutto Chicken Breasts Recipe
This recipe is…
There are certain ingredients that are so perfect together, you know at first bite that they were meant to go together. Case in point: the Italian-inspired combo of garlic and herb-packed pesto, crispy and salty prosciutto, and tender and juicy chicken. On their own, they’re delicious. But rolled up together and baked until crispy and golden? The tastes, textures, and impressive presentation create a restaurant-worthy dish that you’ll hardly believe came out of your own kitchen.
But be forewarned: once you make our easy, tried-and-true dairy free pesto recipe, you’ll want to slather it on everything. Make a double batch and freeze the extra in ice cube trays, and you’ll always have a shortcut on hand for whipping up other delicious recipes like our Pesto Hummus, Delicious Pesto Chicken Salad, or Fennel Pesto Chicken & Zucchini Spaghetti in no time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Unbeatable combination of tender chicken breast, salty prosciutto, and flavor-packed basil pesto
- Restaurant-worthy presentation makes this recipe perfect for date night, dinner party, or any other time you want to impress
- Our incredibly versatile dairy-free pesto recipe is a flavor booster for all kinds of dishes like pastas, sandwiches, and soups — just for starters!
Pesto Chicken Recipe Ingredients
Once you’ve made the pesto, two other ingredients and some kitchen twine are the only things you need to make this recipe. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Prosciutto – thin slices of this salty, delicious Italian ham get crispy when baked. It’s irresistible.
- Pesto – our dairy-free pesto recipe with roasted garlic is a tried-and-true recipe you’ll want to make again and again.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Pesto – we think the fresh flavor of homemade pesto is totally worth the effort. But if you want to save some time, you can absolutely substitute your favorite store-bought variety.
- Prosciutto – If you don’t eat pork, simply leave the prosciutto off and roll the chicken and pesto up together following the same instructions. You can also try adding some sundried tomatoes to the pesto for another texture.
How to Make Our Prosciutto-Wrapped Pesto Chicken Recipe
Just layer, roll, bake, and slice!
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Once you’ve made the pesto, the assembly comes together quickly. First, lay down some plastic wrap. Then, layer the lengths of kitchen twine, the slices of prosciutto, and the pounded chicken breasts. Spoon pesto down the center of the chicken.
Step 2: Then, use the plastic wrap to help you roll the whole thing into a tight cylinder and tie off the twine.
Step 3: Transfer the cylinder to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and bake for 35 minutes. Once out of the oven, let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve!
Recipe Tips
- No kitchen twine? No problem. Read below (in the FAQ section) for three easy swaps.
- Customize your pesto: one of the best things about making pesto at home instead of buying the packaged stuff (besides the fact that it tastes so much fresher) is how easy it is to make it your own. If you’re short on basil, you can use a combination of any other fresh green herbs or greens, including parsley, spinach, or kale. If pine nuts are too pricey, substitute walnuts or hazelnuts.
How to Serve
Once you take these prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts out of the oven, let them sit for about five minutes before slicing into pretty rounds. This will not only allow them to cool to the point where you can handle them more easily, but it will also allow the juices in the chicken to redistribute for maximum flavor.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any pesto chicken leftovers wrapped in plastic (which will prevent it from drying out) in an airtight container, for up to 2 days.
To reheat, bake uncovered at 350 degrees until the chicken is heated through and warm to the touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pesto is a delicious, flavorful green sauce that is typically made with garlic, pine nuts, basil leaves, olive oil, and (in many cases…but not this one) cheese. It originated in Italy and is SUPER flavorful and versatile!
Our easy vegan pesto recipe isn’t made with cheese or other dairy. And it’s so packed with amazing fresh basil and roasted garlic flavor, we don’t think you’ll miss it one bit. But if you’d like, it’s easy to customize our dairy-free pesto to your liking, either by adding nutritional yeast if you want to keep it vegan, or with grated Parmesan if not.
Don’t sweat it if you don’t have a roll of twine in your kitchen. There are lots of creative substitutes for kitchen twine that you probably do already have one on hand. Toothpicks or wooden skewers are the easiest swap: just thread several of them through the skinny side of the chicken, leaving the tips out on both sides so they’re easiest to remove once cooked. If you have unwaxed, unflavored dental floss, this will work too (although don’t use any other kind — you don’t want any “extra” cinnamon flavor or wax with your chicken dish!). Or, you can use aluminum foil: simply roll a few lengths of foil up into coils, and wrap them around the chicken as you would have the twine (that way, it will all stay together, but the chicken will bake as usual. But don’t wrap the entire thing in foil, which will steam the chicken instead). No matter which method you choose, be sure to lay the chicken on your baking sheet seam-side down, which will also help keep all the ingredients together.
More of Our Best Baked Chicken Recipes
If you tried this Pesto Prosciutto Chicken Breast recipe, or any other recipe on the website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Pesto Prosciutto Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic Pesto Ingredients:
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 1 garlic bulb
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- cracked pepper to taste
Pesto Prosciutto Chicken Breast Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts pounded to 1/2”-thick
- 12 pieces prosciutto
- 4 tablespoons roasted garlic pesto
- kitchen twine
Instructions
- Roasted Garlic Pesto Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- To roast the garlic: peel the outer layers of the garlic skin off leaving the cloves still attached. Cut the top of the bulb off. Cut the tops of cloves hiding on the side. Wrap in aluminum foil with the cut side up. Bake at 375 F (muffin pans work great to keep them upright) for 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before you handle.
- Toast the pine nuts in a medium-sized pan over low heat. Stir them constantly and remove from heat when they’re slightly brown and fragrant. Careful, they can burn easily.
- Add basil, lemon juice, roasted garlic, ½ the EVOO, and toasted pine nuts to a food processor. Pulse until it’s evenly combined.
- Add the salt, pepper, and remaining EVOO to the food processor. Pulse until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Use right away or spoon into an ice cube tray to freeze and store in a Zipoc bag for easy access in the future.
Pesto Prosciutto Chicken Breast Directions:
- Lay several cuts of 8”-long kitchen twine down on a piece of plastic wrap first. Lay the 12 pieces of prosciutto on top of the twine and the chicken breast on top of the prosciutto.
- Spoon the pesto along the long center of the chicken and then use the plastic wrap to help you roll the whole thing together. It will resemble a small pork tenderloin when you’re finished.
- Place the stuffed breasts on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 F for 35 minutes.
- Let it rest for about 5 minutes, cut the twine away, slice and serve!
Nutrition
Love this recipe! The chicken came out so moist and tender and the prosciutto add a nice bit of saltiness to the chicken. I’m adding this into my meal rotation. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
So glad you loved it Sandra! Thanks so much for trying it 🙂