Pulled pesto chicken jacket potato
Pesto on everrrrrything
Who doesn’t love a dollop of pesto? It’s amazing stirred into pasta, spread in a sandwich, or now…piled gloriously high on a jacket potato. Yep, we’re levelling up lunch with a combo that’s creamy, herby, cheesy and full of big, bold green flavour.
My pulled pesto chicken jacket potato is the perfect excuse to sneak a crispy-skinned, fluffy-inside spud into your weekly lunch rotation. It’s comforting, filling and honestly feels like a bit of a treat, perfect for the midweek slump where you need a treat to help you get to 5pm.
Homemade or store-bought?
I’m typically team homemade pesto (and I’ve got a delicious basil pesto recipe that was used in this dish for you to try), but I’m also not above grabbing a jar when life gets super busy and you need an easy win. If you’ve got time, fresh pesto is the way—especially when blended with a double cream, soft pulled chicken, toasted pine nuts, and finished with a generous shower of parmesan for this jacket.
Leftovers? Other ways to use the pesto chicken
Made extra pesto chicken? Always wise. It’s insanely versatile. Here’s what else you can do with it:
Toss it through pasta (especially short shapes like rigatoni or fusilli)
Use as a filling for a toasted sandwich or panini with mozzarella and tomato for that Italian feel
Spread over flatbreads or pizza bases for a quick pesto pizza. Extra points if you can whack it in a pizza oven
Add to salads or grain bowls with rocket, sundried tomatoes, and avocado
Serve with garlicky rice and roast veg for a midweek dinner with minimal effort
The jacket love continues
If you follow me on social, you’ll know I did a whole jacket potato series not long ago. And am I over it? Absolutely not. Each week I dream up a new filling that needs to be shared. The humble jacket is overlooked as a lunch, as it’s cheap, comforting, and easy to prep. We need more of them in our lives, and this pesto chicken version is a nice way to start your jacket potato journey.
Grab a fork, get your jacket crisped to perfection, and don’t hold back on the filling. Enjoy!
Find more of my recipes here.
Pulled pesto chicken jacket potato
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/pulled-pesto-chicken-jacket-potato/
Ingredients
For the pesto chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 300ml chicken stock
- 100ml double cream
- 1 x recipe of my basil pesto (linked above)
- 30g pine nuts
- 30g parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper
Metric
Imperial
For the jacket potato
- 2 large Maris Pipers
- Knob of butter for each potato
- Oil and salt
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- Make pesto (from my link above), pan fry chicken, add stock, cook, pull, mix together, serve on jacket
- Roast your spuds however you like - you can pop them in the airfryer or chuck them in the oven, just make sure they have a good coating of oil, salt and pepper all over.
- While the potatoes are in the oven, preheat a frying pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of oil. Season the chicken breasts well with salt, then pan fry until golden brown on both sides, around 5-7 minutes.
- When the chicken is golden, pour in the chicken stock and bring to a bubble. Gently poach for around 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through (it will depend on the thickness of your chicken breasts).
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and shred using two forks. Pour any remaining chicken stock into a jug, and return the pulled chicken to the pan.
- Add the pesto and double cream to the pan with the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then loosen with a splash of reserved chicken stock, to make it all lovely and saucy.
- Mix through the pine nuts. Slice the jacket potatoes and use a fork to fluff up the insides, then mix in a knob of butter for each potato. Scoop in plenty of your pulled pesto chicken mix and garnish with a handful of grated parmesan on top.