Chicken Pesto Ciabatta
A delicious Chicken Pesto Ciabatta made with juicy chicken cut into slices, a creamy pesto sauce, and slices of fresh mozzarella and tomato. An easy and quick dinner or lunch!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Homemade pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil (30g)
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (50g)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (60g)
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil (80ml)
Chicken ciabtta
- 1 ciabatta
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 large handfuls baby spinach
- 2 large tomato sliced
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella sliced, (125g)
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°/F180°C. Warm the ciabatta in the oven for around 3 minutes, remove and set aside.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil then fry for around 8 minutes on each side on a hot griddle pan or skillet until cooked through and juicy. Set aside on a cutting board to rest.
- Next prepare the tomato and mozzarella by cutting into slices and mix the prepared pesto with sour cream until well combined. Cut the chicken into strips.
- Cut the ciabatta in half lengthwise then spread some of the pesto cream on the bottom half. Top with spianch then slices of chicken and drizzle over some more pesto cream.
- Top with mozzarella and tomato then the other half of ciabatta bread then cut into portion sizes, serve and enjoy.
To make the pesto
- Put all ingredients in a bowl and blitz to a smooth saucy consistency with an immersion blender. You can also use a food processor or mortar and pestle.
Notes
- Chicken - Cook the chicken first and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before cutting it into slices so it stays juicy, tender, and full of flavour. Make sure to season the chicken with salt before cooking.
- Pesto sauce - homemade pesto makes a huge difference compared to using store-bought jarred pesto. Check out our step by step guide on how to make basil pesto.
- Fillings - instead of spinach you could use arugula (rocket) or any salad leaves you like. You can also swap the tomato and mozzarella for any other cheese and vegetables you prefer.
- Preparing and storing - you can prepare this in advance by cooking the chicken and making the pesto cream then assemble later. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 784kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 1108mg | Potassium: 778mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3084IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 376mg | Iron: 2mg
