Keto Pesto & Feta Chicken Casserole - Recipe (Video)

Mediterranean superstars — feta cheese, olives, and pesto — unite in this creamy, easy-to-make keto chicken dish. Whether using low carb, store-bought, or your own home-made pesto, give it a go. Your taste buds — and your family — will thank you!

December 16 2015 recipe by Anne Aobadia, photo by Naomi Sherman, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE in Recipes, Dinner, Meal

USMetric

4 servingservings

Ingredients

1½ lbs 650 g boneless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
2 tbsp 2 tbsp butter or coconut oil
¹⁄₃ cup (2¾ oz.) 80 ml (80 g) red pesto or green pesto
1¼ cups 300 ml heavy whipping cream
3 oz. (²⁄₃ cup) 85 g (150 ml) pitted olives
5 oz. (1 cup) 140 g (220 ml) feta cheese, diced
1 1 garlic clove, finely choppedgarlic cloves, finely chopped

To serve

5 oz. (2½ cups) 140 g (600 ml) leafy greens

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Making low carb simple

Instructions

Instructions are for 4 servings. Please modify as needed.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
Add butter or oil to a large skillet and fry the chicken pieces in batches over medium-high heat until golden brown.
Combine pesto and heavy cream in a bowl.
Place the fried chicken pieces in a baking dish together with olives, feta cheese and garlic. Add the pesto/cream mixture.
Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, until the dish turns bubbly and light brown around the edges.

Tips

A number of low carb, store-bought varieties of pesto are available in most grocery stores.

Red pesto is typically made with basil leaves, tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic. Green pesto is typically made with basil leaves, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, pine nuts, and garlic. Look for ones with real olive oil, not soybean oil or canola oil, no sugar, and less than 5 net carbs per serving.

A simple side dish of field greens or crunchy romaine lettuce complements the rich flavors. Lightly sautéed asparagus or green beans work, too.

If you feel like making this dish even heartier you can pair it with cauliflower rice, roasted cauliflower or fried broccoli.

Meal prep

This dish can be prepared by frying the chicken ahead of time. You can assemble the entire casserole and keep in the fridge for a day before baking it. Just make sure you let it come to room temperature before placing in the oven. It's also good to give it a stir since the pesto can sink to the bottom.

If you have chicken or turkey leftovers, they are perfect for this dish. Just skip the first 3 steps of the instructions and take it from there. If you're short on time you can also use a rotisserie chicken. Take the meat off the bones and divide it into bite-sized pieces. Follow the instructions from step 3.

Storing and reheating

If you intend to eat the casserole within 2-3 days you can store it in the fridge. Otherwise it's better to place the casserole in the freezer where it will last up to 3 months. Make sure your casserole dish is suitable for freezing.

If freezing, let thaw in the refrigerator the day before you plan on serving it. Don’t place a cold baking dish straight from the fridge into a hot oven as this can cause your dish to crack. Reheat the casserole in the oven at 300°F (150°C) until thoroughly warm.

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💬 Have you tried this recipe?

What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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460 comments

451
Louise
April 26 2021
One of my faves, really tasty dish, I like it with rocket/arugula leaves.
452
Sandy Bachik
May 3 2021
My husband and I have modified this recipe over the years.
We grill our chicken and broccoli and add a little smoky flavor.
We also cut up the chicken (after grilled - before baked)
Baby arugula has been my favorite green to serve it over, so far.
Mushrooms are good, but they make the dish very watery.
453
Katherine
July 23 2021
What kind of olives do you suggest?
Reply: #454
454
Reply to comment #453 by Katherine
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
July 23 2021
What kind of olives do you suggest?
If you like the tang and more obvious taste, you can use green olives. If you prefer a more mild taste, you can use black olives. You can use whichever kind you prefer.
455
Mel-eficent
July 27 2021
Made this last night - left the olives out as didn't have any. Everyone LOVED it - fussy kids and husband included. He actually complimented it which means it is a number one! Served it with cauliflower rice and green veg.
456
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Bunny
August 4 2021
It's delicious and very very saucy. Plan to put it over some roasted veggies and it'll be delish too!
I'd cook the garlic with the chicken as it didn't soften much at all in the oven. Honestly, the sauce is so good my family is already planning to make pizza and calzones with the leftovers!
457
Amy
September 18 2021
I wanted to cook this but the total calories scared me off for awhile. I ended up making it with only 45g pesto and 200ml of cream to reduce the calories and it was just devine and still plenty (if not still a little too much) sauce. I had mine over baby spinach and I served it to my family over spinach and ricotta ravioli. They loved it too!
458
Martha
September 19 2021
This is an amazing recipe. It is very high in calories but with keto-friendly ingredients. I too was intimated initially but went for it. No weight gain! Amazing! I have to say, I made the four serving size because I like cooking once and having more meals and getting more meals out. But here's the thing. I can only eat about 1,300 calories a day, any more or less and I gain weight. So I've already had 4 servings of this but it appears there are about 3-4 more servings in the bowl. So I'll have to actually measure out the finished meal to find the actual calorie and macro count. This is where my fitness pal comes in very handy. Will use it next time. Fabulous meal and it gets better as it mellow in the fridge.
459
Ketodid
October 24 2021
It would be fantastic if the page loaded properly so half the words were not cut off. Or the print button to work in order to make any of these recipes.
Reply: #460
460
Reply to comment #459 by Ketodid
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
October 25 2021
It would be fantastic if the page loaded properly so half the words were not cut off. Or the print button to work in order to make any of these recipes.
I am sorry you are experiencing technical issues with our website. If you need to contact technical support, please visit our Help Center.
https://dietdoctor.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
461
Keith
October 27 2021
Very similar to a quick lunch meal I used to make with chicken, red (chilli) pesto, olives and full fat cream cheese.
462
4aip48
December 8 2021
I’m not an olive fan, but working on developing a taste for olives. This recipe was delicious use for olives. I added mushrooms, and the sauce was a bit soupy and delicious. Definitely an excellent recipe. Can be hard to find commercially prepared pesto using olive oil, not soybean or seed oils. I buy Mezzetta basil pesto with olive oil when not making my own. Consistently delicious.
463
Pat
February 12 2022
Good a nd easy to make . I added marinated artichoke hearts and sprinkled parmesan cheese on top. My husband raved that the artichokes just completed this casserole and told me to write the recipe down for future meals. I made it with a bought rotisserie chicken
464
Karen
June 15 2022
This is our favorite recipe! I use black olives filled with garlic. We also love garlic so I use 5 big garlic gloves . I find it very saucy, so I use less cream as suggested. This recipe is so lovely, thank you so much!
465
Emily
November 16 2022
What can I use instead of cream? My oven is broken at the moment, so planning on trying it in the slow cooker!!!
Reply: #466
466
Reply to comment #465 by Emily
Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor
November 16 2022
What can I use instead of cream? My oven is broken at the moment, so planning on trying it in the slow cooker!!!
Hi, Emily! We haven't tried a sub here, but you could likely use something like sour cream, cream fraiche, or even cream cheese.
467
Norma Epley
January 8 2023
This is a delicious, unique recipe that, like most of the recipes here, comes together quickly. Used red pesto this time, made from home dried garden tomatoes. Next time I'll try green basil pesto. Great recipe!
Reply: #468
468
Reply to comment #467 by Norma Epley
Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor
January 9 2023
This is a delicious, unique recipe that, like most of the recipes here, comes together quickly. Used red pesto this time, made from home dried garden tomatoes. Next time I'll try green basil pesto. Great recipe!
Great! So glad you love it!
469
Cam
May 3 2023
We're not keto so I cooked up 8 oz. of spiral pasta and mixed some pesto in the pasta. Mixed the chicken and pasta and put on the bottom of a 7x11 baking dish and poured the cream mixture over the top. I had 1-1/2 cup heavy cream so I used it all. Covered with foil and baked for 20 minutes then removed the foil and baked for another 10 minutes. I used 4 chicken thighs but would use 6 next time. Didn't use the olives. This will be a go to recipe. So yummy!
470
Leslie
May 25 2023
I’m tracking my protein intake. How many grams of protein per serving?