Baked Chicken Breast with Pesto Bucatini, Topped with Arugula & Prosciutto

Quick & easy restaurant style dish, at home

The Chicken Bellagio at Cheesecake Factory is one of my favorite guilty pleasures out there, but unfortunately, the nearest location is a bit of a trek. Cheesecake Factory is kind enough to provide all of their recipes on their website, but they can be very time-consuming.

So today, we’re tackling an abridged version of the Chicken Bellagio, ideally using store-bought pesto (though you’re free to make your own as well). In addition, we’re going to bake the chicken breasts, rather than breading & frying them, to make the recipe slightly healthier.

This is one of my favorite things to make at home and serves as very filling comfort food. It’s also super easy to scale depending on how many heads you’re planning to feed.

The crux of this recipe is preparing your chicken & vegetables all in one pan, and depending on what seasonings you add, you could easily serve this over rice with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce, or serve with potatoes. The choice is yours!

---

Baked Chicken Breast with Pesto Bucatini, Topped with Arugula & Prosciutto

Serves: 2-4 | Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb of Chicken Breast

• 1 oz of Baby Arugula

• 1 lb of long pasta (I prefer Bucatini or Thin Spaghetti)

• Thin sliced Prosciutto

• 1 Tbsp of Butter

• Pesto (I like this one from Trader Joe's)

• Vegetable of your choice (I used asparagus)

• Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan Cheese

• Paprika to taste

• Salt to Taste

• Pepper to Taste

• Lemon Wedge

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise and pound thin until the breasts are equal thickness all around. Drizzle lightly with olive oil & season with Salt, Pepper, Paprika & any other preferred spices.

2. Lay parchment paper or tin foil on a baking pan, add vegetables of your choice, and season (I’m using asparagus), and then add prepared Chicken Breasts on top. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should read 165 degrees, but make sure you don’t overcook it! Once finished, remove and set aside.

   

3. While the chicken is baking, salt a pot of water & boil on the stove. Cook pasta of your choice to al dente and remove from heat. Add butter & pesto and mix in. Set aside.

4. Place the arugula in a bowl. Top with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, salt, pepper & grated parmesan. Toss carefully.

   

To Serve

1. First, make a mound of pasta in the center of your plate and lay asparagus on top

   

2. Then, place chicken breast askew on top of the pasta mound and asparagus, and lay prosciutto on top of the chicken

   

3. Finally, place a bunch of arugula salad on top, to top it off!