Pesto and chicken is a winning combination, but pesto, chicken and bacon = heaven. This Pesto Chicken Salad has all the goodies, with Balance it out with some chickpeas and baby spinach for a delicious dinner.
This Pesto Chicken and Bacon salad is perfect for when you want something fresh and healthy but still very, very tasty. Like all good salads, it has lots of yummy bits - avocado, crispy bacon, pesto chicken, sundried tomato and a pesto yoghurt dressing, balanced out with peas, chickpeas and wilted spinach. It’s really easy to put together, you don’t have to chop raw chicken and it uses just 10 ingredients, so you’ll have it on the table in a flash.
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Pesto Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Pesto
- Greek yoghurt
- Lemon
- Ripe avocado
- Sun Dried tomatoes
- Bacon
- Chickpeas
- Olive oil
- Frozen baby peas
- Baby spinach
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Pesto Chicken Salad
1. Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray.
2. Spread pesto over your chicken breasts, place on the tray and in the oven for 22 minutes.
- 350g chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoon pesto
3. Make a dressing by mixing pesto, yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- 2 tablespoon pesto
- 3 tablespoon Greek yoghurt
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper
4. Peel, deseed and slice avocado. Slice sun dried tomatoes. Slice bacon. Drain chickpeas.
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ cup drained sundried tomatoes
- 250g bacon
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas
5. Place a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and add a little oil. Cook bacon, stirring, for 4-6 minutes or until browned to your liking.
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 250g bacon
6. Lower the heat and add chickpeas, baby peas, spinach and sundried tomato. Mix until the spinach wilts and the frozen peas are defrosted.
If you want to serve components separately for your child, add a portion of chickpeas, baby peas, sundried tomato and cooked bacon (opt.) to their plate now.
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas
- 1 cup frozen baby peas
- 200g baby spinach
- ½ cup sliced sundried tomatoes
7. Once the timer goes for the chicken, take it out of the oven and rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve over the salad with avocado and generous dollops of pesto dressing.
If you served your child their components separately then add sliced chicken and pesto yoghurt to their plate now.
- Sliced avocado
Substitutions
- Vegetarian - Replace chicken with a block of feta or halloumi instead of chicken and bacon for a delicious baked cheesy topping. For something lighter you could bake tofu and add something salty in place of the bacon - olives, capers or feta.
- Gluten Free - This recipe is gluten free.
- Dairy Free - Simply leave out the yoghurt and add a little water and oil to the pesto lemon dressing.
- Alternatives - You can serve this just as it is or with short pasta like risoni or pasta spirals, or a grain like barley.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- To serve - Add elements to your child’s plate as you prepare them (e.g. chickpeas, peas, chicken) so they can eat elements separately if they prefer. I skipped the bacon with my 2 year old.
Equipment
You will need an oven, a baking tray, a deep-based frying pan, a stovetop.
Top tip
I recommend using bacon with a fairly decent fat content, like Middle Bacon, this will give you extra flavour in your salad.
Recipe
Pesto Chicken and Bacon Salad
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking tray
- Deep-based frying pan
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 350 g chicken breasts
- Pesto 5 tablespoon total
- 3 tablespoon Greek yoghurt
- ½ lemon
- Salt and pepper
- 1 avocado ripe
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes drained
- 250 g bacon
- 1 can chickpeas 400g
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup frozen baby peas
- 200 g baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C and line a baking tray.
- Spread 3 tablespoon pesto over your chicken breasts, place on the tray and in the oven for 22 minutes.350 g chicken breasts, Pesto
- Make a dressing by mixing 2 tablespoon pesto, yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.Pesto, 3 tablespoon Greek yoghurt, ½ lemon, Salt and pepper
- Peel, deseed and slice avocado. Slice sun dried tomatoes. Slice bacon. Drain chickpeas.1 avocado, ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, 250 g bacon, 1 can chickpeas
- Place a large, deep frying pan over medium heat and add a little oil. Cook bacon, stirring, for 4-6 minutes or until browned to your liking.1 teaspoon olive oil, 250 g bacon
- Lower the heat and add chickpeas, baby peas, spinach and sundried tomato. Mix until the spinach wilts and the frozen peas are defrosted.If you want to serve components separately for your child, add a portion of chickpeas, baby peas, sundried tomato and cooked bacon (opt.) to their plate now.1 can chickpeas, 1 cup frozen baby peas, 200 g baby spinach, ½ cup sun dried tomatoes
- Once the timer goes for the chicken, take it out of the oven and rest for a few minutes, then slice and serve over the salad with avocado and generous dollops of pesto dressing.If you served your child their components separately then add sliced chicken and pesto yoghurt to their plate now.1 avocado
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