Chicken Pesto sliders with leftover garlic knots + Meal Prep

Skillet baked chicken thighs, basil pesto, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes are sandwiched between homemade garlic knots. Delicious and easy chicken pesto sliders with leftover garlic knots are great for lunch, dinner or your next game day.

We are talking another easy lunch, dinner, after school bite, game day bite!!!

These chicken pesto sliders with leftover garlic knots are

• Easy
• Great for meal prep
• Kid favorite
• Perfect for school lunch
• DELICIOUS

It begins with these amazing Homemade Garlic Knots <—– The Best garlic knot EVER!!!

My favorite part? These are great frozen and re-heated on a rainy day.

Chicken pesto sliders are easy and every component can be prepared ahead and baked at the last minute, making it a great candidate for parties or game day.

1. Homemade Garlic Knots – These garlic knots are made with Homemade pizza Dough, which is a very easy recipe if you have a Stand Mixer. Make a batch of pizza dough, and then make a batch of garlic knots and enjoy them HOT. Freeze leftovers in a zip lock bag for up to two months (thaw completely at room temperature for proceeding with the recipe). If you know that you are gonna be making chicken pesto sliders in the next few days then store garlic knots in the refrigerator.
2. Skillet baked chicken – Toss couple of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a teaspoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 18-20 minutes, until cooked through (alternatively, cook over the stove top over medium heat on both sides). Cool and cut chicken into small chunks. If you are in a time crunch, then leftover rotisserie chicken will work too. Cooked chicken can be stored in the covered container for up to a week.
3. Basil pesto – We are using regular store-bought basil pesto for convenience. Have leftover pesto? Try making this delicious Instant Pot Chicken Pesto Rice or Instant Pot Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce ( 5 Ingredient recipe) or Creamy pesto chicken pasta or Pesto Caprese Toast
4. Cheese – Two classics – Shredded mozzarella and Parmesan
5. Sun-Dried Tomatoes – An optional ingredient, but it adds a lovely hint of chewiness and tartness here and there. My kids are not a big fan of sun dried tomatoes, so I tend to leave it out when I make for them.

Let us see how to make the Chicken Pesto Sandwiches:

Step-1: Cook Chicken – Toss couple of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a teaspoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 18-20 minutes, until cooked through (alternatively, cook over the stove top over medium heat on both sides). Cool and cut chicken into small chunks. If you are in a time crunch, then leftover rotisserie chicken will work too.

Step-2: Make chicken pesto filling – Toss chopped cooked chicken, basil pesto, shredded mozzarella and chopped sun dried tomatoes together (refer pictures above).

Step-3: Slit garlic knots in half, snug the bottom halves in a medium size cast iron skillet (refer picture below-left), top with chicken pesto filling (refer picture below-middle) and then the top halves (refer picture below-right). Sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Cover pan loosely with foil and bake in a pre heated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until cheese melts.

How to meal prep chicken pesto sliders with leftover garlic knots?

1. Make Pesto Chicken sliders and cool to room temperature.
2. Pack them in covered container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I have assembled all things together for the photos but, it is best if they are stored separately, since sliders need to heated up before eating.
3. Store raw or steamed veggies in seperate container. I have used carrot and cucumber sticks with ranch on the side for dipping.
4. Before eating – Warm sliders in the microwave just before eating and enjoy with a side of raw/steamed veggies.

More awesome sandwich ideas:

Potato Pesto Grilled Cheese – Easy and delicious grilled cheese!! With skillet roasted potatoes, basil pesto and pepper jack cheese! 

Cucumber Sandwiches Meal Prep – Prep your lunch boxes for the week with this easy cucumber sandwiches. Made with a flavorful minty, lemony butter-mayo mixture and a hint of jalapeño pepper, this cucumber sandwiches meal prep are perfect for school lunch or snack. 

Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Meal Prep – Instant pot chicken parmesan sandwich meal prep is a great make ahead recipe for those busy weekdays. Make a batch of easy peasy one pot chicken parmesan and enjoy for lunch, dinner and lunch boxes. Microwave until hot before eating!

Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – These Instant pot BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches are loaded with tender, succulent pulled chicken and topped off with a cabbage & sweet potato slaw. 

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