Pan Seared Chicken with Cilantro Pesto
This is a lazy mans dinner. Or a frazzled moms dinner. And some nights, a little bit of both. When I’m feeling frazzled or short on time, a dinner similar to this is my go to. I always have chicken breasts in either my fridge or freezer and pan searing them takes less than 10 minutes. This version is light, summery and bursting with fresh flavor.
This cilantro pesto is so good. I’ve think I’ve made it 3 or 4 times in the last month. To say I’m digging it is an understatement. I like to top my scrambled eggs, slather it on a grilled cheese, or top on some seared chicken to make a quick dinner when I’m short on time.
I have a feeling this up coming week is going to be one of those when I’m feeling the crunch. School is winding down, I’m catering twice, and we’ve got t-ball, soccer or hockey every night. It’s nice to have dinners like this in the arsenal.
Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend and have an even better week ahead!
Yield 2 servings:
Pan Seared Chicken with Cilantro Pesto
For the Pesto:
Directions:
Place the cilantro leaves, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and parmesan in the base of a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are roughly incorporated. With the food processor on, slowly add grapeseed oil until the pesto is smooth. Season with salt and adjust if necessary.
For the Chicken:
Directions:
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Liberally season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. When pan is hot, place chicken in pan and cook chicken about 4-5 minutes per side. You want to get a nice sear on both sides of the chicken but take care not to burn it. Turn heat down if necessary. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and allow to cool a bit. Place the greens in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Divide the greens between two plates and place a chicken breast on top of each plate of greens. Spread 2-3 (or desired amount) of cilantro pesto on each chicken breast.
11 Comments
Oh yes please! I would love this for dinner.
It’s so quick and easy, you’ll love it!!
This looks delicious! I don’t have grapeseed oil on hand at the moment. Would olive oil have too strong of a flavor for the pesto?
I think olive oil would be fine! You could also use a vegetable or canola oil too. They are both great alternatives to grapeseed oil. Let me know how it turns out!
Great idea to change pesto up with cilantro. So many possibilities.
Thanks, Barbara! It’s so yummy. I think it would be great on a lot of things!
OMG. I’m so in love with that pesto.
Great site. Loved the kale salads and the chicken cilantro pesto dish. Next time i may try lime juice and more garlic in the pesto. I always look fwd to what your coming up with next. John
Thank you for the kind comment! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes!!
I love easy quick meals like that! I have a similar recipe that I use, but I usually leave out the pine nuts. I think next time I will try it with the nuts in!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks for all the kind comments, have a great week!!