Recipe: Avocado Pesto Chicken Sandwich

May 3, 2017

Let's reminisce shall we? When I was in college, my roommates and I would literally eat jars of pesto slathered on top of tomatoes. Breakfast, throw some pesto on eggs. Lunch, pesto on anything you could find in the fridge. Snack or any other meal, pesto. We would buy the large jar at Costco once a week, I wish I was kidding.

Safe to say, my obsession for pesto faded quickly from pure overdose. It's been years since I've had pesto. Minus the pesto pizza from Oregano's. But that doesn't count.

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Ambitious Kitchen and I knew I needed to try it. Ps. If you're looking for great recipes, you gotta check her blog. It's amazing. I modified her recipe a little bit, just to fit our preference and I made my own paleo bread.

I made this recipe for dinner on Monday night and I had it for lunch Tuesday and we had it for dinner last night. My paleo obsession is back people and I'm ready to push my obsession on to you. What's an obsession if you can't share it with your friends?

Three things I love about this recipe: it's (fairly) easy, its colorful and it's so damn delicious. Adam usually isn't a left over lover, but he actually volunteered to eat left overs last night for dinner. This is a huge win in our household. Ps. If you're following me on Instagram, you saw a sneak peek of this recipe yesterday.

And for those that asked - without further ado, the recipe.


Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 4 tablespoons raw pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 2 cups packed basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 small cloves garlic
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more for more spice)
  • Shredded carrots, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, pickles or any other garnish that tickles your fancy
  • Cholula or a great spicy mustard
  • Bread of choice - or my paleo version!
How to Make: 
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper Add chicken breast and generously season with salt, pepper, dried parsley and a touch of cumin.
  2. Bake for 35 minutes or until fully cooked. Shred chicken with two forks; set aside.
  3. While chicken is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepitas and toast until just barely golden; stirring frequently so they don't burn. This should take about 5 minutes. 
  4. Immediately transfer to the bowl of a food processor and add in avocado, basil, lemon juice, garlic, water, chili flakes and salt. 
  5. Process until smooth.
  6. Add pesto to bowl with the chicken and mix to combine.
  7. I pre-made the bread (recipe) below so make that sandwich. If not, grab some delicious bread and load up. 
  8. Enjoy, Eat and Repeat! 
Let's talk bread. The bread makes the sandwich. I LOVE bread. It's my favorite food. Okay, maybe not my favorite, but I love it. Throughout the process of eating paleo, I've tried a lot of paleo bread recipes, some major fails and some wins.

This is my go-to bread recipe - it's the bomb.


Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup almond butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal 
  • 3 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
How to make:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. 
  3. In a large bowl, combine almond butter (I heated mine up a bit to make it easier to stir), eggs, coconut oil, honey and apple cider vinegar together with a hand blender. 
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flaxseed, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. 
  5. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 
  6. Pour the dough into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes until browned. 
  7. Remove from oven and allow loaf to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. 
  8. Enjoy for up to one week. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Happy hump day friends! We've almost made it. Tomorrow I'm sharing my tips on how to become a morning person when you are not a morning person. 

I hope your Wednesday is full of good food and happy thoughts. Let's do this.
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9 comments

  1. I definitely have to try that out as I loooove avocado and pesto. Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Loving the homemade bread and all the fresh ingredients for this sandwich.

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  6. I want one please! Looks deliciously healthy. Thanks for sharing this recipe. :-)

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  7. Oh man that looks so tasty!

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I love hearing from all of you and greatly appreciate all your feedback and comments! xx Kristen