Chicken with Cilantro Lime Pesto

Ryan and I are huge cilantro and lime fans. So, when I spot a recipe with the ingredients, I can almost guarantee I’ll like it.

And if you are a cilantro and lime fan, you just have to make this meal. It’s a bit of a mixture of a few recipes I’ve found on Pinterest. I made baked pesto chicken with this recipe last month and we loved it. (Check it out here.)

So, when I saw a recipe using cilantro lime pesto, I thought I could probably make it work in a similar recipe to the baked chicken. Let’s just say that I may have licked my plate. It was that good. I would eat it every night.

I’m clearly a food photographer. But my mouth was watering just looking at the picture. It was that good.

Here’s the scoop:
Cilantro lime pesto
via What’s Cooking, Chicago?
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup shredded asiago (Parmesan or Romano can be substituted too)
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth

Pulse all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until it reaches the desired consistency.

Baked chicken with cilantro lime pesto
adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup cilantro-lime pesto (See above)
1/2 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken pieces, then cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces.

Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a baking dish with a tight-fitting lid) and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, just until chicken is barely firm and cooked through. (Don’t cook too much at this point, or the chicken will be overcooked by the time the cheese is melted and browned.)

When chicken is barely cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted.

Serve hot. There will be some flavorful juice in the bottom of the dish when this is done, so you may want to serve with rice. (I made cilantro-lime rice and it was divine.)

Will you try it?