Italian Prosciutto Wrapped Pesto Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Sheet pan dinners are a great way to prepare easy, delicious, and healthy meals for your family and friends.  This Italian Pesto Chicken Sheet Pan dinner is packed with flavor.  The balsamic marinated vegetables provide a nice contrast to the basil and prosciutto flavor of the chicken.  Once everything is chopped, stuffed, and wrapped, you can have dinner on the table in 30-minutes.  If you know you will be short on time in the evening rush, the chicken and vegetables can be prepared in the morning.  Just spread everything on the sheet pan and roast in the oven.

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Prepare vegetables

Slice the potatoes into halves or quarters.  I prefer red potatoes or a bag of tricolor new (baby) potatoes.  Clean and snap or cut the end off the asparagus.  Mince the garlic (I used 4 cloves for one bunch of asparagus and 1 pound of new potatoes).  Slice the lemon, which will be used for the marinade.

Marinade

While I prefer to marinade in a casserole dish, I used a gallon Ziploc Bag to keep clean-up simple.  Here’s what I put in the Ziploc Bag or casserole dish before adding the potatoes and asparagus: 4 cloves garlic (minced); juice of 1 lemon; 4 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt; and a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper.  Ideal marinade time is 1-2 hours, but I have prepared this recipe successfully marinating the potatoes and asparagus for about 8-hours (yep, prepared the veggies while chugging down my morning coffee).

Prepare Chicken

I always have chicken breasts in the freezer.  A great ingredient for so many quick, delicious, healthy recipes.  I can stick them in the refrigerator the night before I plan to prepare this Sheet Pan recipe. I slice the chicken in half not only to stuff it with yummy ingredients, but to help it cook faster.  For this recipe I smeared the insides with prepared pesto sauce and mozzarella.  Be sure you don’t contaminate the jar of pesto. I usually transfer about a tablespoon per breast into a small bowl and use a spatula to spread the pesto in the chicken breasts.  For food safety purposes, discard any remaining pesto.

Prepare and roast the chicken and vegetables

Wrap the stuffed chicken breasts in prosciutto.  Transfer the wrapped chicken and vegetables to a sheet pan.  I have an old cookie sheet dedicated to sheet pan dinners and baked appetizers.  If I want to keep clean-up easy, I cover the sheet pan in aluminum foil. Bake the chicken and vegetables for 30-minutes at 400 F.  Ensure the chicken has reached 165 F before serving.

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Slice 1 pound red or tri-color new potatoes in halves or quarters.
3. Clean asparagus and remove ends
4. Prepare balsamic marinade
   •  4 cloves garlic (minced)
   • juice of 1 lemon
   • 4 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
   • 2 tablespoons olive oil
   • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
   • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
   • a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper
5. Add potatoes and asparagus to marinade (ideal marinade time is 1-2 hours, but you can marinade longer)
6. Slice chicken breasts lengthwise.  Spread inside with prepared pesto and stuff with shredded mozzarella.
7. Wrap stuffed chicken breasts with 1-2 slices of prosciutto.
8. Spread wrapped chicken, potatoes, and asparagus on sheet pan.
9. Bake approximately 30-minutes.  Ensure chicken is no longer pink (165 F).
10. Serve with a salad.
11. Enjoy!

TIP: Risotto is a delicious alternative to the potatoes if you don’t mind the extra work. Do you have a great sheet pan recipe to share?  Let me know if you tried this recipe or created your own variation.  I’m always open to tips.