Giada De Laurentiis Spruces up Grilled Chicken Fast With Pesto

Take grilled chicken to the next level with Giada De Laurentiis’ Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut and Pesto. The celebrity chef has many chicken recipes, from chicken chili to lemon honey dijon chicken, but with this particular recipe, De Laurentiis elevates otherwise plain grilled chicken with vibrant pesto.   

Spinach gives Giada De Laurentiis’ grilled chicken a ‘superfood boost’

Unlike traditional pesto that’s signature green color comes from basil, De Laurentiis uses spinach. As she noted on Giadzy, pesto can be made in a variety of ways. 

“Pesto is such a delicious condiment, and one of my favorite things about it is that you can use so many different greens,” she said. “Don’t have basil? I have a recipe for arugula pesto, and even parsley pesto!” 

“In this version, I opted for spinach, which gives it a superfood boost – and just tastes good, too, especially with the addition of lemon to brighten things up,” she continued. 

“Pesto is a great way to turn something simple like grilled chicken into a more complete, gourmet and flavorful meal!” she added. “Additionally – if you don’t have pine nuts, I find that almonds and walnuts work well instead.”

Prep the Food Network star’s grilled chicken in 15 minutes

Not only can De Laurentiis’ grilled chicken and pesto be made using whatever greens are available, but it also doesn’t take long to prepare. According to the Giada at Home host’s Food Network recipe instructions, it requires approximately 15 minutes to prep. Add another eight minutes for cooking and the dish is ready in 23 minutes. 

Seen on the “Power of Pesto” episode of Everyday Italian, De Laurentiis’ grilled chicken recipe starts with none other than the chicken. She seasons the chicken and puts it on the grill. “The trick to the grill marks is not to move that chicken around,” she said before noting that “once you set it down, let it sit.”

While it cooks she makes the pesto in a food processor. She pulses baby spinach together with toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon zest. 

Don’t skip the lemon because, as De Laurentiis said, it’s the “trick” to the recipe. “Lemon peel has even more flavor and more kick to it than the actual juice does so between the two we’re going to have lots of flavor,” she said. 

Not only does the lemon add more flavor but it also “helps the spinach keep that green color,” she explained. Finally, she adds in olive oil (her go-to brand is Lucini). What the Eat Better, Feel Better left with is a “beautiful, vibrant” pesto to spoon over the chicken.

De Laurentiis’ grilled chicken has 5 stars 

Reviewers love De Laurentiis’ grilled chicken. At the time of writing, 228 people have reviewed the recipe giving it an average of five stars. One reviewer described the chicken as “absolutely amazing” and “fairly easy to make.”

Others praised the pesto before noting they added garlic to the original recipe. “This pesto is different,” wrote a reviewer. “It absolutely makes the dish, and I will definitely be coming back to this recipe, even if just for the spinach pesto part.” 

Another called it the “perfect way to turn plain dry grilled chicken into a very satisfying meal!” Someone else said they “could have eaten up that pesto with a spoon!”