Pesto Caprese Chicken Casserole

It’s been awhile since I’ve made a casserole.

Though they’re one of my favorite ways to make meals, casseroles don’t really scream keto. All the recipes in old-timey cookbooks call for tons of carbs–like potatoes—or oodles of noodles. Finding a good keto casserole can truly become a chore.

I have been able to make up a few of my own over the past few months, and this is one of them. It’s just kind of a combination of two of my favorite Italian things: pesto & caprese salad. The addition of the chicken makes it a solid dinner. Serve it by itself (like I did) or with a side salad and your meal is made.

I’ve had a small bottle of cherry balsamic vinegar in my cupboard for a while that I got while in Canada over the summer. It’s got some sugar in it, but just a few drops here and there and I can still stick withing my carb-limit of the day. You can easily just use regular balsamic vinegar for this dish, or nix it all together. You still get that caprese goodness from the roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.

I added spinach to the recipe to amp it up even more. It needed something to make it a casserole, and not just a baked chicken dish. Make sure you pile on the cheese, too—everything is better with cheese.

I know a lot of people on low-carb or keto diets make their own pesto sauces, but I ain’t got time for that. I’ve found an ultra-low carb version at my grocery store and have been using it every since. Just make sure you check the ingredients & nutrition lable before you buy a jarred pesto. It really does come in handy when you’re not about that food processor life.

Enjoy!

Pesto Caprese Chicken Casserole

• Servings: 4-8
• Time: 1 hr
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A mashup of pesto chicken and caprese salad, baked into a delicious casserole.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast, cut in half and pounded thin (making 8 cutlets)
• 3/4 cup pesto
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 3 TBS. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Layer half the chicken in the bottom of a greased, 13×9 inch baking dish in the middle. Spoon half the pesto over the chicken and top with half the spinach, half the balsamic vinegar, and half the mozzarella. Repeat layers.
2. Sprinkle tomatoes around the sides of the chicken. Bake, uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until cheese is browned and chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle fresh basil on top and serve.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Layer half the chicken in the bottom of a greased, 13×9 inch baking dish in the middle.

Spoon half the pesto over the chicken and top with half the spinach, half the balsamic vinegar, and half the mozzarella.

Repeat layers.

Sprinkle tomatoes around the sides of the chicken. Bake, uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until cheese is browned and chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle fresh basil on top and serve.