Pesto Bacon Chicken for our anniversary dinner tonight because it combines several things I love (pesto. bacon.) in an easy delicious bundle. Whole30, Paleo, Keto, gluten-free, dairy-free. Looks so fancy, taste is on point, but I didn’t have to slave in the kitchen forever for it! #winwin.
Works great in the oven, on the grill, or in the airfryer. If you have pesto on hand, it becomes a 3-ingredient recipe!
Pesto Bacon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast cut into strips
- 1 package bacon sugar-free if doing a Whole30
- 1 batch pesto*
Instructions
- Marinate sliced chicken breast in pesto for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you have a cooling rack, place inside a rimmed baking sheet - cooking the chicking on the cooking rack will allow the grease to drip underneath and the chicken to get crispy. Don't have a cooling rack? Just use parchment paper and flip halfway through.
- Wrap in your favorite bacon, tucking ends of bacon inside of itself or under the chicken as you place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes (depending on how big the chicken strips are, until cooked through), broiling on high for 5 minutes at the end if you love crispy bacon (I do!)
- AIRFRYER modification - prepare in same way, but cook in an air fryer (bacon seam down, single layer) at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes, flipping once as needed, until chicken is cooked and bacon is desired level of crispy. Chicken can also be cooked on the grill!
- That's it. Could this recipe get any easier?!
Notes
Find my dairy-free Whole30 Compliant pesto recipe here.
Super easy. Threw it on the traeger on a sheet pan for 10 minutes per side at 375. Last 5 minutes transferred off the pan directly to the grill. Smokey pesto chicken goodness. This is going into the rotation.
Mmmm, I love that you did it on the traeger, that sounds amazing! Happy this is going on the rotation, thank you!
Love this air fryer recipe! It so easy to make, delicious and just “extra” enough that it feels like a special meal, my husband and I use it for our Friday date night ins at least once a month!
It makes my heart happy this one comes to your date nights, thank you!