Pesto chicken on one pan: a weeknight you can actually keep

Some nights the best thing on the menu is simplicity itself. Everything goes into one bowl, then onto one pan, and the oven does the rest. Meals like this, easy and repeatable, are what make a whole week of good eating actually sustainable.

The food is working while it cooks. The chicken gives you lean, complete protein and B vitamins your body uses to rebuild. The basil and parsley in the pesto are a source of vitamin K and folate, and the broccoli and asparagus bring vitamin C and fiber that support a healthier gut community. The olive oil carries monounsaturated fat that helps your body take up the fat-soluble nutrients in the greens.

Choose a bird raised well, and let that be part of the meal. When it comes off the pan, take a few minutes to make it look like something: the green pesto over the chicken, the carrots and florets in their own colors, a squeeze of lemon and a scatter of parsley. Sit down, breathe, and eat it slowly. The state you eat in is part of how the food serves you.

Ingredients

Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh basil
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp unfortified nutritional yeast (a reintroduction item; omit on strict elimination)
• 5 tbsp water

Chicken and vegetables:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, in bite-size pieces
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 1 head broccoli, in florets
• 1 bunch asparagus, cut in thirds
• parsley and lemon to finish (optional)

Method

Blend all the pesto ingredients in a food processor until smooth. This is a nut-free, dairy-free pesto: parsley and water stand in for pine nuts, and a little unfortified nutritional yeast stands in for parmesan. The nutritional yeast is optional. The pesto works without it, which is useful since clean-label, unfortified nutritional yeast is hard to find, so leave it out if you are unsure of your label.

Toss the chicken, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus with the pesto in one bowl until everything is coated.

Spread it in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon, a little fresh parsley, and salt to taste.

Air fryer variation

This works well in the air fryer, and you will likely cook it in two batches so nothing crowds. Toss the chicken and vegetables in the pesto as written, then air fry at around 380 F for 12 to 16 minutes, shaking the basket once or twice, until the chicken is cooked through and the florets have browned at the edges. The carrots want the most time, so start them a few minutes ahead if your basket has the room. The batch sizing is untested in our kitchen, so treat the time as a starting range and check for doneness.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*