Easy One-Dish Baked Pesto Chicken and Vegetables
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Easy one-dish baked pesto chicken and vegetables. Just five minutes prep time and you can do other stuff while it’s cooking in the oven.
Every busy parent needs a quick and easy meal that’s healthy, cheap and that the kids will eat, but is not a lot of fuss.
It’s a tall order, ticking all those boxes, but this dish does just that which is why it’s the best chicken and vegetable bake and one of my favourite mid-week meals.
When you come home after a long day, the last thing you want to be doing is juggling food prep along with helping the kids with their homework and doing all the other little home admin tasks.
That’s where a chicken and veggie tray bake comes in handy.
The beauty of a tray bake is it only takes about five to ten minutes to get ready, and then you can spend the next forty minutes or so doing all the other things you need to do, without watching the pot or stirring or adding extra ingredients.
Or, if you’ve cut your veggies ahead of time, it takes even less time to get dinner in the oven.
This meal is super simple because it only has three main ingredients: chicken, pesto and vegetables.
Use bottled pesto for convenience (although you can make your own pesto if you have an abundance of basil and a little extra time), chicken (thigh, breast, drumsticks or chicken pieces all work) and whatever vegetables you have in the crisper.
Vegetables that work well include potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini (squash), pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, capsicum, asparagus (although add that in a little later), onion, mushrooms, parsnips, Brussel Sprouts and probably more that I can’t think of.
Toss your chicken in the pesto, roughly chop your vegetables to around the same size – no need to peel, just wash – and bung it all in the oven. Ten minutes and dinner is in the oven.
Then set the oven timer and come back to a cooked dinner.
And the one pan – that means less washing up!
You might also like: complete guide to roasting vegetables.
Easy One Dish Tray Bake Pesto Chicken and Vegetables
Every busy parent needs fast, easy, healthy meals that the kids will eat. This one-dish baked pesto chicken ticks all the boxes - ten minutes prep time!
Ingredients
- 4 skinless chicken thigh fillets
- 1/2 jar of pesto about 1/3 cup
- 6 cups mixed vegetables of choice (see note)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C or 190°C fan-forced.
- Place chicken thighs in a bowl and spoon pesto over. Toss to cover.
- Chop selected vegetables into bite-size pieces approximately all the same size.
- Pour olive oil into a baking dish. Place vegetables in the dish, season with salt and pepper and toss through the oil to coat.
- Place chicken on top of the vegetables and spread any pesto that’s still in the bowl onto the chicken.
- Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour until chicken is cooked through.
Notes
Some vegetable ideas include potatoes, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, capsicum, onion, mushroom
6 cups of veg is for the nutritional panel. Use more or less according to your tastes. Cook extra for roast veg wraps for lunches during the week.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 388Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 442mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 33g
Nutritional information is calculated automatically using the Nutritionix database. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, serving size or the source of nutrition data. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Thank you for this recipe – I made it tonight using chicken drumsticks and broad bean pesto. Everyone loved it.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. Broadbean pesto…yummy!
This is a new family favourite! Thanks
Great to hear.