Pesto Grilled Chicken

Pesto Grilled Chicken is a quick and easy weeknight preparation this is tasty served cold or hot, which means you can make it in advance!

My older son (he is in 1st grade) started cross-country this week. He LOVES it. So much so, he is pre-sad about it ending around Halloween and already asking when he will be able to sign up again.

The only downside to cross-country practice is that it ends at 4:45 PM. Yep, rush hour. Our house is about a 12-minute drive to his school (you know I’ve timed it multiple times lol) but with traffic can easily be 30 minutes or more.

Add our 20-month old sitting in his rear-facing car seat to the equation and you have a very un-fun drive home 2x a week.

My solution is to pack up our dinner and stop at a park very close to his school and have a picnic dinner. This allows us to avoid the worst part of rush-hour, lets the boys play a bit outside and gets them dinner earlier instead of after a frustrating ride home.

This means packing easy foods that can be prepared in advance, travel well and aren’t complicated to eat.

Enter this Pesto Grilled Chicken. I used a variation of my Dairy Free Paleo Pesto with extra pine nuts pulsed in but you could use any Pesto (including store bought) that you like.

Either way, you are going to love this and appreciate that it tastes just as good the next day (hello packed lunch)!

Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

Pesto Grilled Chicken

Prep Time: 3 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 23 mins

 

These 5-Ingredient No-Bake Honey Nut Truffles are the perfect little treat to have on hand for after-school, after-sports or anytime you want to satisfy your sweet tooth with a healthy bite!

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Pesto Grilled Chicken

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 605 kcal

Author: Alyssa Brantley

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Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil divided
• pinch kosher salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1/4 cup Paleo Pesto or any pesto you like

Instructions

1. Toss chicken with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, salt, and pepper to coat.

2. Use remaining 1 tablespoon avocado oil to oil grill grates. Preheat grill to medium heat.

3. Once grill reaches medium heat, reduce heat to low over one burner (this will be your cooking area). Increase heat to high on remaining burner(s). This is for "Indirect Heat Cooking"
4. Place chicken pieces on low burner area and close the lid.
5. Turn every 4 to 5 minutes and continue cooking with lid closed until chicken reaches internal temperature of 160F to 165F. Total cooking time will vary depending on size and type of parts used.
6. Remove chicken from grill and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Once cooled, toss with pesto. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Pesto Grilled Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 605 Calories from Fat 360

% Daily Value*

Fat 40g62%

Saturated Fat 9g56%

Cholesterol 280mg93%

Sodium 460mg20%

Potassium 677mg19%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Protein 54g108%

Vitamin A 450IU9%

Calcium 55mg6%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.