Chicken seems to be a staple food on most healthy diets because it’s low in calories and fat and high in protein. However, chicken can be boring if you eat it every day.
I’ve found a way to decorate a chicken breast using healthy ingredients that won’t ruin your diet yet will satisfy your need for something new!
This Hasselback chicken with ricotta spinach and pesto sauce is a complete meal. You can serve it as-is for lunch or dinner, or enjoy it with a side of low-carb veggies.
Chicken has a mild flavor that seems to go well with most vegetables. I use a mixture of tomatoes, ricotta cheese and spinach pesto as a “stuffing” in the chicken. It adds moisture and immense flavor to your chicken, but it also contributes a wide variety of nutrients.
Tomatoes contain an excellent source of lycopene, which is a carotenoid that gives tomatoes it a vibrant color.
In the body, lycopene acts as a powerful antioxidant that contains antihypertensive, antiatherosclerotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, antiplatelet and endothelial-protective effects. It also has been shown to reduce arterial stiffness and improve the metabolic profile in humans to keep your heart healthy (1).
Spinach pesto is a great way to get your greens in. It provides an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K as well as iron and manganese. It’s similar to regular pesto sauce but you’d use spinach instead of basil.
Pesto is made with cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, basil, and more. It contains healthy fats that help enhance the bioavailability of the nutrients in the spinach, which means that you absorb more of the antioxidant nutrients when you eat them with fat.
Ricotta provides a good source of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and essential amino acids. It also tastes great with tomatoes, pesto, and chicken!
You can use feta cheese too if you prefer. I used it in this Keto Pesto Chicken Casserole recipe.
How to Make Low Carb Hasselback Pesto Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta and Spinach
Mix the ricotta and spinach pesto (or regular pesto) in a bowl. Stir well and set aside. Slice the tomato into thin slices.
Using a sharp knife, slice four to five deep cuts into each chicken breast. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Add a teaspoon of the ricotta-pesto mixture into each slit. Add a tomato slice. Transfer the chicken breasts to a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked all the way through.
Chop parsley and sprinkle over the top when the chicken is done. Serve hot!
More low-carb chicken breast recipes you can try:
- Caprese Hasselback Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
- Baked Cheddar Cheese Garlic Chicken Breast
- Low Carb Pesto Chicken
Keto Hasselback Chicken with Ricotta Spinach Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts small
- 1 tomato medium, sliced into half-moons
- ½ cup ricotta
- 2 tbsp spinach pesto (or regular pesto)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or prepare a silicone mat.
- In a bowl, mix ricotta with keto spinach pesto. Stir well until smooth. Slice the tomato thinly.
- Make 4-5 deep slits in each chicken breast. Season both sides with salt and black pepper.
- Stuff a teaspoon of ricotta mixture and a tomato slice into each slit in the chicken. Transfer to the baking sheet.
- Drizzle olive oil over the chicken.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, chop parsley.
- When the chicken is ready, sprinkle with parsley on top right before serving.
