Caprese Chicken with Pesto Noodles

It fathoms me every time I go to the grocery store and see yet another veggie product in the produce section. I absolutely love that our grocery store, Sprouts, has so many different options. One of my favorite things, that I believe has been added to the store in the last year (could have been longer and I just didn’t know) is veggie noodles. Sprouts has 3 or 4 different types of fresh veggie noodles you can buy all ready to go. This gives you no excuses not to substitute veggies for those pasta carbs.

I grew up in the country in Wisconsin, where we always had a garden out back and raised so many fruits and veggies. One of my favorite veggies then and now are beets. Gosh, I can’t seem to ever get enough of them. My fiancé never really ate a lot of beets until I come around, and now we usually eat them weekly. It’s a fabulous veggie that can be inserted into a lot of recipes.

This week I picked up a pack of beet noodles from the produce cooler section in Sprouts in lieu of those delectable carb rich homemade pastas, for our Caprese Chicken and Pesto Noodles.  The beet noodles actually turned out better than normal pasta. You know, trying to listen to my healthy conscience over here. It was such a fabulous meal. One which we will definitely make again at our house.

The beet noodles come in the cooler section as they are literally beets cut into long noodles. You can also buy regular beets and Spiralizer to cut them into noodles. If you don’t like beets at all there are numerous other kinds of veggie noodles out there. Go for it!

Caprese Chicken with Pesto Beet Noodles

Ingredients

• 4 Medium Chicken Breasts
• 1-2  Ball(s) Fresh Mozzarella
• 10-20 basil leaves
• 2 Red Tomatoes
• 1 Pack Beet Noodles
• ¾ Cup Pesto
• ¼ Cup Pine Nuts
• 1 Tsp-1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Wash your chicken breasts and cut down the middle, almost all the way through, but DON’T CUT THROUGH. Set Aside.
3. Slice tomatoes, wash basil and slice 1 ball of mozzarella. Set on a plate right next to you.
4. Spray a 9×13 inch glass plan. Place chicken breasts in pan and place tomato, basil and mozzarella in the center of each of them. Fold back over. Sprinkle with Lemon Pepper. Place in oven.
5. Depending on how big your chicken breasts are will vary the cook time. I recommend starting the timer at 30 minutes. When the timer goes off take them out, place your meat thermometer in the center of the chicken (not ingredients) and see if it’s at 165° F. If it is, it’s done, if not, stick back in the oven.
6. Once chicken is done or almost done, place beet noodles in a skillet. Add in pesto and pine nuts. Sautee for 5-10 minutes. If desired cut up a second mozzarella ball and place slices on top. Cover and let melt.
7. Place a bed of beet noodles on a plate and one of the caprese chicken breasts on top and tada you have a fabulous meal.
8. Enjoy!

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