Caprese Chicken with Pesto, Tomato and Cheese
| 2 | chicken breasts boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1-inch thick |
| ½ cup | pesto |
| ½ cup | Tomatoes - About 10 slices of fresh tomato, sliced in half |
| 8 oz | Fresh Mozzarella 5 slices of mozzarella cheese, cut in half, for a total of 10 slices |
| ½ tsp | salt - salt and pepper to taste |
| ½ tsp | Italian seasoning |
| ½ tsp | garlic powder |
| Prep the Chicken Breast You'll need boneless and skinless chicken breasts. Approximately 1 inch thick. To make a pocket in the chicken, use a sharp knife and carefully cut through the thickest part of the chicken breast. Make about 5 slits in each piece of chicken. Do not cut all the way through. |
| Season In a small bowl combine oil, Pesto, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, and garlic powder. Using your hands or food-basting brush, rub the seasoning mix all over the chicken, including the inside of the slits. |
| Add the Tomato and Cheese Cut fresh tomatoes into thin slices (approx 3 mm thick) and cheese sliced into 1/4 inch slices. Fill the chicken pockets with tomato slices, and cheese: place a piece of cheese into each slit, followed by a piece of tomato (cut in half to fit, if needed) |
| Cook Preheat the air fryer to 190°C. Place the chicken in the basket and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly. You don’t need to flip halfway through. If you have a meat thermometer, use it to check the chicken's internal temperature. Once it reaches 74°C, it's ready to be taken out of the air fryer. |
| Using a large spatula, remove each stuffed chicken breast from the air fryer and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot by itself or with your favorite side dish and enjoy! |
| Notes |
| Make sure to preheat the air fryer before adding the chicken to ensure even cooking. |
| Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken breast. It should reach 165°F before you take it out of the air fryer. |
| You can use any type of cheese that you like instead of mozzarella to customize this recipe as per your preference. |