Last Updated on February 28, 2024
The Sweetgreen chicken pesto parm is a flavorful and healthy recipe to make at home for any chef; novice or expert.
It’s the perfect way to start your day! You can make this delicious and filling recipe for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
The Sweetgreen chicken pesto parm recipe originates in the United States; inspired by the Sweetgreen restaurant in New York City. Sweetgreen is known for its fresh, nutritious menu, and this recipe is classic comfort food, similar to the one served at the restaurant.
If you love chicken pesto meals, but want to make them healthier (all that cheese makes it not so healthy!), then opt to make it without the cheese. This is an easy, and nutritious dish that can be served as part of a main course or appetizer.
Sweetgreen Chicken Pesto Parm Recipe
Ingredients:
The salad
The roasted chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp umami seasoning
The roasted broccoli
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp umami seasoning
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Za’atar breadcrumbs
- 1 slice of bread
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp za’atar
Pesto vinaigrette
- 1 cup basil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp umami seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic
Step-by-step guide:
Step 1: The roasted chicken
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix the chicken breasts in a bowl, with olive oil and umami seasoning. Place them onto a lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for at least 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through. The chicken should be at least 165 degrees F internally if you are checking the temperature. Once ready, slice the chicken into bite-size cubes.
Step 2: The roasted broccoli
Mix broccoli with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and umami seasoning. Transfer them to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. You can cook both the broccoli and chicken at the same time, at the same temperature.
Step 3: The salad
Put water in a pot over medium heat and leave to boil. Add quinoa when the water is boiling. Now cover and turn to low heat and leave to cook for around 20 minutes. Wash the cherry tomatoes and slice them in half or quarters; whichever you’d prefer.
Learn more about Zoe’s Kitchen Chicken Salad Recipe
Step 4: The Za’atar breadcrumbs
Add slices of bread to a food processor and pulse until they become small breadcrumbs. Transfer them into a small pan and cook them over medium heat. Now, add olive oil and za’atar to the pan. Stir and continue cooking until the breadcrumbs are toasted.
Step 5: Pesto vinaigrette
Add the olive oil, umami seasoning, basil, apple cider vinegar, and garlic to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Put spinach and quinoa into a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and mix them well.
Divide the greens between 2 bowls and top each with roasted chicken, roasted broccoli, cherry tomatoes, za’atar breadcrumbs, and parmesan.
Step 6: Enjoy!
Sit back, relax and enjoy your meal!
Tips To Make The Sweetgreen Chicken Pesto Parm Recipe
- Getting high-quality ingredients for this recipe will help to make it even tastier.
- Use spinach or any other greens that you love, and you can season them to your tastes.
- Seasoning preferences are different for everyone. For this reason, you can add other seasonings that we have not mentioned to make the recipe more suited to you.
- You are free to choose whichever breadcrumbs you’d like. They are all breadcrumbs at the end of the day, and you can season yours in whichever way you like.
- You can add any other ingredients you want in the salad; though be sure they work well with chicken pesto.
- The chicken is the most important part of this recipe. For this reason, choose to work with the breast as it has more meat than any other part.
- Leftovers should be refrigerated and used at a later date. But be sure it’s not over 3 days because the salad will lose its freshness.
Take Home
The Sweetgreen chicken pesto parm recipe is one of the best recipes you can make on a Friday night when you want to start your weekend off with a tasty bang!
The flavors are all so good and simple, but you really don’t have to do anything difficult or special to make this dish. It’s a quick and easy recipe to throw together, but it’s also incredibly flavorful. And let’s be honest – who doesn’t like recipes with pesto and chicken? You can make it with any cut of chicken you’d like, and the pesto will still be amazing.
You can make it as a snack, dinner, or lunch – however, you wish. You can eat it with a couple of pieces of bread and a small salad; but if you’re feeling a little more ambitious, you can have it on top of pasta, in wraps, or even over rice. It’s absolutely delicious. This is one of our favorite recipes to share with friends and family, and it’s so versatile!
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes well with chicken parm?
A range of sides go well with chicken parm, but some of my personal favorites are pasta, noodles, salad, garlic bread, mashed potatoes or rice.
How do you make the sauce?
Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The sauce can be made up to 1 week ahead, but be sure it's kept refrigerated.
What makes pesto stand out?
Pesto is made from fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. It's a classic flavor combination. And we've taken the traditional basil-based pesto and given it a more contemporary spin, with our version that uses arugula instead of basil.
How do you make the arugula pesto?
We blend arugula leaves with pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan cheese until it has a texture similar to pesto. We then finish the sauce by adding freshly chopped basil.
What’s the difference between pesto and basil pesto?
Arugula has a slightly peppery flavor that brings a new dimension to the classic basil pesto. The freshness of arugula also makes it a great addition to pasta dishes, salads and pizzas. It is a very popular green in Italian cuisine and is used to add color, texture and a peppery flavor to many dishes. Basil pesto is the most popular version of pesto. In fact, it is one of the most popular sauces in the world. There are many variations of basil pesto, but they all use the same basic ingredients.
| Preparation Time | Cook Time | Servings |
| 20 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 |
Sweetgreen Chicken Pesto Parm Recipe
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- The salad
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup parmesan
- The roasted chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp umami seasoning
- The roasted broccoli
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp umami seasoning
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- Za’atar breadcrumbs
- 1 slice bread
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp za’atar
- Pesto vinaigrette
- 1 cup basil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp umami seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic
Instructions
- How To Make The Sweetgreen Chicken Pesto Parm Recipe
The roasted chicken
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix the chicken breasts in a bowl, with olive oil and umami seasoning.
- Place them onto a lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for at least 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through. The chicken should be at least 165 degrees F internally, if you are checking the temperature.
- Once ready, slice the chicken into bite-size cubes.
The roasted broccoli
- Mix broccoli with olive oil, red pepper flakes, and umami seasoning. Transfer them to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. You can cook both the broccoli and chicken at the same time, at the same temperature.
The salad
- Put water in a pot over a medium heat and leave to boil. Add quinoa when the water is boiling. Now cover and turn to a low heat and leave to cook for around 20 minutes. Wash the cherry tomatoes and slice them in half or quarters; whichever you'd prefer.
The Za’atar breadcrumbs
- Add slices of bread to a food processor and pulse until they become small breadcrumbs. Transfer them into a small pan and cook them over a medium heat. Now, add olive oil and za'atar to the pan. Stir and continue cooking until the breadcrumbs are toasted.
Pesto vinaigrette
- Add the olive oil, umami seasoning, basil, apple cider vinegar, and garlic to a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Put spinach and quinoa into a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and mix them together well.
- Divide the greens between 2 bowls and top each with roasted chicken, roasted broccoli, cherry tomatoes, za'atar breadcrumbs, and parmesan.
Notes
My name is Ania and I’m very glad to have you here. I have always loved cooking; even some of my earliest memories are flipping through a cookbook and making pudding standing on a stool because I was too small to reach the stove.
You should know that I am not a professionally trained chef, just a big food lover who grew up in a family obsessed with cooking and focused on what we eat.
