Pesto Pan-Fried Chicken

Pesto Pan-Fried Chicken is made with boneless chicken breasts coated in basil pesto and bread crumbs and pan-fried in olive oil and butter until golden and crispy. It’s a really quick and easy way to add lots of flavor to chicken and put a quick weeknight meal on the table.

How To Serve 

I love to serve Pesto Pan-Fried Chicken with a side of Cream Cheese Noodles or Parmesan Rice or even Buttered Noodles along with peas or green beans.

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Pan searing chicken breasts takes less than 10 minutes making this chicken perfect for a busy night.

The chicken is first slathered with pesto, then dusted with flour, dipped in egg wash, and coated in a mixture of Italian bread crumbs and grated or shredded Parmesan cheese. Not only does the Parmesan cheese add more flavor, it helps the chicken fry up super crispy and golden.

Recipe Tips

You can use homemade pesto for even more flavor, but I typically use store-bought.

If your chicken breasts are really large and thick, I recommend either cutting them in half into 2 thinner pieces or pounding them out so they are less thick. They will cook more evenly this way.

Chicken is such a great weeknight meal. This oven fried chicken is another weeknight favorite.

More Chicken Recipes

• Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
• Bourbon Pecan Chicken
• Baked Parmesan Chicken
• Southern Sticky Chicken
• Company Chicken
• Italian Dressing Chicken

Pesto Pan-Fried Chicken

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Pesto Pan-Fried Chicken is made with boneless chicken breasts coated in basil pesto and bread crumbs and pan-fried in olive oil and butter until golden and crispy. 

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 boneless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1/2 cup pesto sauce
• ▢ 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• ▢ 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp butter

Instructions 

• Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper and coat in pesto sauce.
• Coat both sides of chicken in flour, dip in egg mixture, and then coat with seasoned bread crumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese.
• Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, set over medium heat.
• Add chicken and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Nutrition

Calories: 624kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 946mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 996IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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