Seared Chicken with Creamy Pesto Sauce
with Smashed Carrots & Roasted Zucchini
- Milk
Need a dinner win? This one’s bound to be a smash hit, thanks to seared chicken, creamy pesto, and (literal) smashed carrots. Never mashed a carrot before? Basically it’s just like mashing potatoes—but the result is a bit lighter in the carb department (and a whole lot more orange). Paired with a side of roasted zucchini, the veggies harmonize with herby seared chicken and a velvety pesto sauce for a mealtime medley that’s sure to be a total dinner triumph.
Ingredients
15 ounce
Carrot
1 unit
Zucchini
2 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
4 tablespoon
Pesto
(Contains: Milk)
1 clove
Garlic
10 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
½ tablespoon
Tuscan Heat Spice
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Trim, peel, and dice carrots into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; slice crosswise into 1⁄2-inch-thick half-moons. Peel and mince or grate garlic. • Place carrots in a medium pot with enough salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until very soft, 15-20 minutes. Drain and return carrots to pot. Keep covered off heat until ready to mash.
• Toss zucchini on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 14-16 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pat chicken* dry with paper towels; season all over with 1 tsp Tuscan Heat Spice (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. TIP: If your chicken is on the thicker side, flip and reduce heat to medium. Cook on second side, covered, 5-7 minutes. • Turn off heat; transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Wipe out pan.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Add 1⁄3 cup water (1⁄2 cup for 4 servings), stock concentrate, and cream cheese. Cook, whisking constantly, until combined and thickened, 2-3 minutes. • Remove pan from heat. Whisk in pesto until combined. (If the sauce seems broken, just keep whisking—it will come together!) Season with salt and pepper if desired.
• Add crème fraîche, garlic powder, 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings), and 1⁄2 tsp Tuscan Heat Spice (1 tsp for 4) to pot with carrots. Mash with a potato masher or fork to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Slice chicken crosswise. • Divide chicken, smashed carrots, and zucchini between plates. Spoon sauce over chicken and zucchini and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The creamy pesto sauce is a standout — rich, herby, and delicious over the chicken; many were surprised by how much they loved it.
- Ease of prep: The chicken and zucchini come together easily, but the smashed carrots require extra boiling time — plan for more than the recipe suggests.
- Suggestions: Cook carrots longer than directed (several reviewers needed 15–20 extra minutes) and drain well before mashing to avoid a watery texture. Skip the extra salt in the pesto sauce — it's already quite salty on its own.
- Leftovers: The dish tastes great the next day, though the pesto sauce may separate when reheated and won't whisk back together as smoothly.
- Carrots: Opinions are split — many were pleasantly surprised and loved the smashed carrots; others preferred them roasted or simply skipped the mash. Consider roasting them alongside the zucchini if you'd rather skip the extra pot.
- Zucchini: Several reviewers noted the zucchini shrinks significantly during roasting, so one piece often isn't enough for two people — keep that in mind when plating.
Reviews from our home cooks
Husband was hesitant about both the mashed carrots and the pesto sauce on the chicken. He was surprised at the good taste of both of them and told me to put this meal on my "reorder list". Excellent meal!
Loved this one!!! It was not a quick meal but worth the effort. Mashed carrots were delicious but again, very time consuming. Why not send baby carrots??! Why do I have to peel!! The pesto was dynamite. I had leftover sauce and carrots and used with leftover rotisserie chicken a few nights later.
Absolutely loved this meal. The pesto sauce was incredible. I had never made mashed carrots before, they were so good. (I enjoy anything with the Tuscan heat seasoning!) Please offer this meal again soon!
Delicious meal! I roasted the carrots instead of mashing them because that's how o prefer them- but the variety in cooking styles of veggies is a great way to learn what you like. Loved this meal and the creamy pesto sauce. Rated 3/4 stars because the color of the creamy pesto sauce was so unappetizing- but tasted great!
The chicken was perfectly fine, as was the zucchini. Pesto sauce was heavy. The carrots were, shall we say, curious. Consistency was unpleasant, even after cooking twice as long as suggested, and the flavor was unexceptional. We're glad we tried it, however.
I thought this was be good, it was fantastic! I didn't expect to like the carrots as much as I did and the pesto sauce was a delicious addition.
I loved this recipe! I added cinnamon to the mashed carrots instead of the herbs, so delicious! And that pesto is just yummy!
The pesto sauce and chicken seasoning is delicious. For leftovers we made Orzo pasta and added the remaining pesto sauce and chicken for a little change up. Love love love.
Cook time on carrots was longer than expected I thought they were done, but were difficult to mash, pesto sauce was delicious though.
Pesto flavor is one of my favorites. I would not have thought to make a sauce for chicken with it.
