Keto Pesto Chicken Bake (Low-Carb)

This easy Keto Pesto Chicken Bake is sooooo tasty and sooooo easy to make! And the best part? It is a Keto and Low Carb meal.

The Keto pesto chicken bake is easy to assemble. You just have to layer sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic, and pesto over chicken breasts and bake until the chicken is cooked through. What an easy Keto chicken breast recipe!

My kids even enjoy eating this easy low-carb pesto chicken bake. It is a kid-friendly Keto dinner. The pesto is packed with flavor, but the Keto chicken breast recipe it is still approachable enough for kids.

You can serve this Keto pesto chicken bake with a diet appropriate side dish. Aldi sells both plain and garlic flavored frozen riced cauliflower. A lot of people use riced cauliflower as a low-carb alternative to rice. You can buy fresh cauliflower and make your own cauliflower rice. However, I find the process a little messy and time consuming when I'm trying to quickly make a healthy meal for my family of 5.

Another great side dish option for this easy pesto chicken bake recipe is Aldi's Simply Nature Red Lentil Rotini. The rotini isn't low carb or Keto, but it is gluten free, high in fiber, and high in protein.

Keto Pesto Chicken Bake Ingredients

Five main ingredients are combined to make this easy low-carb pesto chicken dish: chicken breast, fresh mozzarella, pesto sauce, tomatoes, and minced garlic.

• Chicken breast. I prefer to use fresh chicken breast whenever possible when I'm cooking. However, if you use frozen chicken breast, make sure to completely thaw it before assembling this recipe.
• Fresh mozzarella. Aldi sells a pre-sliced mozzarella log that is perfect for this recipe. Since it is already pre-sliced, it saves time when assembling the pesto chicken bake. An alternative would be to cut a fresh mozzarella ball into ¼" slice or even use shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Pesto sauce. Aldi sells two types of pesto: Priano Pesto alla Genovese and Priano Pesto Rosso. The traditional classic basil flavored pesto is Pesto all Genovese, which is green in color. Pesto Rosso is a sun-dried tomato pesto and is red. This recipe would work with either variety, but I prefer to make this Aldi pesto recipe with Pesto all Genovese. 
• Tomatoes. Large, juicy red tomatoes like beef steak tomatoes or tomatoes on the vine work well in this easy pesto chicken bake recipe. Roma tomatoes are another good option.
• Minced garlic. I always keep a jar of Aldi's Stonemill Minced Garlic in Water in my refrigerator. You could press your own garlic, but I prefer to keep meals as simple as possible.

Is pesto sauce Keto friendly?

Yes, typically pesto is Keto friendly. If you are buying store-bought pesto, check the label to verify the total carbohydrate count. Typically the pesto carb count is 1g-3g of carbohydrates per serving, which makes it a Keto friendly and low-carb ingredient. Basil pesto (green pesto) is typically made from basil leaves, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and olive oil.

Pesto Chicken Bake Cost Breakdown

• Chicken breast: $5.07 total [$1.69 per pound]
• Fresh mozzarella log: $2.65 total
• Pesto: $2.45 total
• Tomatoes (roma): $0.99 total
• Minced garlic: ≈$0.20 [$2.15 per jar]
• Approximate total cost: $11.36

All costs are approximate and are based upon the cost found on Instacart for Aldi products. Pricing can be geo-specific and Instacart tends to have small variations in pricing when compared to in-store Aldi prices.

📖 Recipe