Listen to this…walnut pistachio pesto, shredded chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, arugula, aaaaaand pecorino romano.
A lovely little bowl, right?
The key is having delish pesto. I shredded chicken that I baked in the oven and tossed it in pesto. Then turned the remaining pesto into a dressing for the arugula.
You can do a bunch of stuff ahead of time with this salad and then it comes together super fast. You could even do the prep over the weekend! And if you roast a bunch of potatoes and bake a whole chicken, then you have extras for other meals (read: quick lunches).
To prep ahead: make pesto, bake chicken, roast potatoes.
Pesto Chicken Arugula Bowl
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups arugula
- 2 sweet potatoes, diced and roasted
- 2 chicken breasts, baked
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pesto
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced chiffonade
- [optional] pecorino romano/parmesan, to top
Directions:
First make the chicken and potatoes.
They can probably be done at the same time depending on how big the breasts are and how small you dice the potatoes.
For the chicken, place the breasts in a greased glass baking dish covered in foil and bake for ~20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Once slightly cooled, remove the foil and shred with two forks.
For the sweet potatoes, dice and toss in olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread out on a greased baking sheet and bake for the same as the chicken, or until done to your likeness.
To serve, add 1/4 cup pesto to the chicken and toss so it’s all coated. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of pesto to a large salad bowl and add 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Toss the arugula in the dressing, then add the potatoes, basil, and chicken. Portion into individual bowls and top with cheese.
I am partial to TJs pecorino romano, but use what you like.
Kyle got a nice shredded parmesan and he loved it, but if you want to keep it vegan you can pulse some nuts in the food processor and top them with that instead. An almond/sunflower/nooch blend wold be especially good since the pesto was walnut and pistachio based.
Extra pesto???
No problem!
Add to a bowl of shrimp and cauli gnocchi and have a partay.
