Pesto Chicken Saltimbocca
Have you ever heard of chicken saltimbocca? For those of us that haven’t, it’s a delicious Italian dish in which chicken is wrapped in prosciutto and sage prior to being sautéed. Well, I’ve decided to put my own twist on this dish for this week’s recipe: pesto chicken saltimbocca. This dish has quickly climbed the ranks with my weeknight meals and I think you will enjoy it too.
What do I need?
You really don’t need a whole lot to pull this dish off. The ingredients required are as follows:
- Chicken breasts
- Pesto (homemade or store bought)
- Prosciutto
- Panko
- Salt
That’s it – only 5 ingredients! Just like with our Italian Chicken Cutlets recipe, I recommend using thin-sliced chicken breasts. If you cannot find thin-sliced chicken breasts, you will need to butterfly and pound out the chicken breasts so that they are flattened. For the pesto, you can use any store bought brand that you like. I like to use this one from Whole Foods. It’s not required but you could certainly make homemade pesto.
Preparing the chicken
Preparing the chicken is not difficult at all. Add the pesto and panko separately to two shallow dishes or something similar to these coating trays from Pampered Chef. You’re going to dip a piece of chicken into the pesto so that it is coated on all sides. Then, wrap a piece of prosciutto around that same piece of chicken and then dip it into the panko. Make sure to press the panko into the chicken and then set aside. You do not need to worry about the prosciutto falling off as it will stick to the chicken once you press the panko into it. Continue this process with all of your pieces of chicken.
Sautéing the chicken
With our chicken ready to go, it’s time to sauté! Heat some oil in a large pan over medium-high heat – the oil will shimmer once it is hot enough. Add the chicken to the pan (working in batches to not overcrowd) and cook for 3 minutes per side. Once done, remove the chicken from the pan, set aside, and immediately hit it with a little bit of salt on top. Repeat those same steps with your remaining chicken and just like that, it’s time to eat!
Eat and enjoy!
Do you see how easy it is to make this dish? This chicken dish has become one of my go-to weeknight meals. The prosciutto and panko make it nice and crispy while the pesto flavor compliments and elevates this dish. There are numerous side dishes that go really well with this too. Here are some suggestions:
- Sautéed tomatoes
- Burrata
- Garlic bread
- Couscous
- Orzo
- Asparagus
Give this recipe a shot and enjoy! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Buon appetito!
Pesto Chicken Saltimbocca
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Chicken Breast
- 6 oz Pesto
- 1/3 lb Prosciutto
- 1.5 cups Panko
- Salt to taste
- Avocado oil (or any neutral cooking oil) for sautéing; add as much as needed
Instructions
Chicken Preparation
- Butterfly each chicken breast and add (one at a time) to a ziplock bag. Pound the chicken breast out with a meat mallet, rolling pin, or pan until it is flattened out to ~1/4 inch thickness. Alternatively, you can purchase thin-sliced chicken breast if your grocery store carries it.
- Using two shallow pans, add the pesto to one and the panko to the other. Lay the prosciutto pieces out on a cutting board or dish so that they are ready.
- Dip a piece of chicken in the pesto so that it is coated on all sides. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around that same piece of chicken. Then dip it into the panko, coating all sides. Make sure to press the panko into the chicken. Set aside and repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.
Cooking the Chicken
- Heat some avocado oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Working in batches, add the chicken to the pan (do not overcrowd). Cook for 3 minutes per side.
- After both sides have cooked, remove from the heat and immediately hit it with a little bit of salt on the top side. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
