Low Carb Italian: Chicken Pesto Ricotta Bake with Caprese Salad

This hearty low carb casserole and salad are easy to put together for a quick weeknight dinner. It’s reminiscent of a lasagna without the pasta. I served this chicken pesto ricotta bake with a Caprese salad made with sweet grape tomatoes, fresh basil and mini mozzarella balls, but green salad will go with it just as well. Enjoy!

Chicken Pesto Ricotta Bake

Ingredients

Meat from one Rotisserie chicken (white and dark – just take it off the bone and chop it up into bite size pieces)

1 large yellow onion roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

3 tablespoons prepared basil Pesto

1/2 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I used Muir Glen organic Tomato Basil)

15 oz container low fat Ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in garlic oil. After a minute or so, add the garlic and saute for a couple of minutes until onions are translucent then add chicken. After a couple of more minutes, add the Pesto sauce, mix together well and cook for about a minute more, mix in the Parmesan cheese then remove from heat and transfer to a 9×9 glass baking dish, covering the bottom of the pan in an even layer of the mixture. Spread Ricotta cheese on top of the mixture as your next layer; make sure the cheese is spread as evenly as possible. You can use a spatula or the back of a tablespoon to spread the cheese. Next, add the pasta sauce over the Ricotta cheese, making sure it’s evenly spread. Top off with a layer of mozzarella cheese then bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the mozzarella cheese is fully melted and slightly browning on the edges. After the casserole is done, let sit for about 5 – 7 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients

1 1/2 containers grape tomatoes

1 1/2 containers mini mozzarella cheese balls (plain not seasoned)

1 cup of roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Rinse and dry tomatoes then transfer to a large bowl. Drain the mozzarella balls and add to the tomatoes. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar then gently mix together. Chop up basil leaves and add to the mixture along with the sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Mix together and serve.

Mina Frannea is an online media professional. She is the editor and social media manager at North Texas Kids Magazine as well as the Marketing and Public Relations Director for Actor Richard Hatch. Mina enjoys the Arts, Sci-Fi, new technology, cooking, enlightening discussions and sharing relevant information on her blog TheMomsJournal.  Mina also provides PR services for conventions and other events.