My eldest son has been asking for Chicken Parmesan for a few weeks now. And I just didn’t want to make the same ol’ same ol’. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with this new twist on Chicken Parm with a creamy homemade pesto sauce instead. Pesto Chicken Parmesan turned out way better than I could have hoped.
You may read this recipe and think I made a typo – but seriously I use cashews in my pesto sauce. For one they don’t cost you first born to get a pound of them and you can always get them at the grocery store. For two, they give a nice creamy texture, And for three, they are yummy to snack on while cooking!
Patience is a key element of making delicious chicken parmesan. You have to make sure you get a good even coating with the panko crumbs. You have to keep the heat just hot enough to toast the chicken to a nice golden brown but not too hot to blacken it. And you have to let them sit a little bit before putting the pesto sauce on top.
We love pesto in our house and I always make it from scratch. It takes an extra 5 minutes or so, but it’s so worth it. I always feel like the jars pesto sauces have too much oil. If you just fell in love with Pesto – check out my other Pesto Recipes!
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Pesto Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Angel Hair Pasta
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
For the Chicken
- 8 pieces Chicken Breast thin sliced
- 1 cup Panko Crumbs
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil
For the Sauce
- 2 cups Fresh Basil rough chopped
- 1 cup Cashews rough chopped
- 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
- 4 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
Instructions
- Prepare all of the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400deg.
- Set up a dredging station: Plate 1 – egg, Plate 2 – panko crumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Coat chicken in egg then panko mix. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil. Fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- In a bowl, combine ingredients for sauce. Using an immersion blender, blitz until creamy. Spoon sauce over each piece of chicken (not enough to cover it entirely – you should have about half leftover). Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese. Place in oven for 25 minutes.
- Start water boiling for pasta.
- In a small sauce pan over medium low heat, add remaining sauce and let simmer.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on package. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water. Return to pot (away from heat) and add sauce from pan. Toss to evenly coat.
- Serve a piece of chicken over a portion of pasta.
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
YUM, hubby would like this! Thanks so much for linking up with me at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 21, open until February 26. Shared on social media.
Ooh, this looks delicious! I love pesto but I cannot remember the last time I had it. I pinned this recipe, too! Thanks for sharing and linking with me.
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com