Creamy Pesto Chicken Skillet with Homemade Pesto
Homemade Pesto
Before anything else, have you ever tried making homemade pesto? It’s really easy! Just follow the entire process below.
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups of fresh basil
- 1/3 cup salted peanuts
- 1/3 cup toasted cashew nuts
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 2-3 tbsps of parmesan cheese
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
How to Make Homemade Pesto
It has always been a challenge to grow and maintain herbs. However, of all the herbs, basil has surprisingly been one of the easiest to keep alive. This is what fresh basil looks like.
- Combining ingredients: In a food processor, combine all ingredients. Firstly, chug in all your nuts and about 2 tbsps of olive oil. Your first choice might be pine nuts, but you can use several alternatives without changing the taste.
2. Adding basil: Add your garlic and fresh basil leaves. Rinse your basil leaves and dry them with a paper towel before adding them.
3. Adding more ingredients: You should achieve this look and consistency after adding in your parmesan cheese, pepper, lemon juice, and a bit more olive oil. You can add more oil depending on the consistency you want. Likewise, you can add water, salt, or oil if you want it to feel like sauce and not paste.
4. Storage: This mixture makes over one heaping cup of authentic homemade pesto. After processing, put your pesto inside an airtight container or jar and store it in the fridge.
Other Ways to Use Homemade Pesto
As a bread spread
Use 1 tbsp of homemade pesto mixed with 1 - 2 tbsps of salted butter, soft and melted.
As a pasta sauce
Slather 1tbsp or less onto one serving of cooked pasta, add some olive oil, and mix.
As ravioli filling
Using small amounts of pesto is perfect! You may also mix it in with some ground chicken or beef.
As a veggie dip or dip for chips or nachos
Just mix it in with cream cheese.
As a replacement for gravy with mashed potatoes
Your homemade pesto will be perfect because of its creamy, herby taste. Likewise, you can add butter, salt, and lots of freshly ground pepper for the best results.
If you’re a pesto lover, you want to use your homemade pesto on or with many other dishes.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Skillet
Now that you’ve made your homemade pesto, you can start cooking creamy pesto chicken skillet.
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg of chicken
- 250mL of all-purpose cream
- 1 onion (sliced thinly)
- 1 bulb of garlic (minced)
- 7 cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
- 1 green bell pepper (sliced thinly)
- 1 red bell pepper (sliced thinly)
- 1 big potato (sliced thinly, then cut in half to make smaller slices)
- 1 to 1&1/2 cups of pesto paste
How to Make Creamy Pesto Chicken Skillet
1. Seasoning the chicken: Season your chicken with equal parts of salt, chicken powder, and ground black pepper.
2. Marinate: Let that sit for about ten minutes.
3. Frying chicken: Fry all your chicken, skin faced down, in a heated pan. Drop in all your sliced red and green bell peppers and onions along with your chicken. Flip your chicken once the other side turns golden brown.
3. Adding potatoes: You may now add your potatoes and about half a cup of water. Cover your pan and let it simmer. You can also use chicken stock instead of water. Without chicken stock, you may use chicken broth cubes or season with salt, making your chicken more tender and flavorful.
4. Open the pan: Once your potatoes are soft enough, you may leave the pan open to let the liquid evaporate more quickly.
5. Add all-purpose cream: Once the liquid has been reduced, you may pour in your all-purpose cream. Mix well.
6. Add homemade pesto: Add as much of your pesto as you wish. Typically, you can use about 1&1/3 cups of homemade pesto.
8. Pepper and tomatoes: Add your pepper and cherry tomatoes last to retain the juicy crunch from the tomatoes.
9. Enjoy! You’re now ready to serve.
If you want a thick and creamy pesto chicken skillet, this recipe is good. However, if you prefer your sauce to be more smooth and runny, you can gradually add water and stir until you’re done.
Add a new hit recipe to your repertoire and impress your family and friends!