Reviewers Say Ree Drummond’s 16-Minute Pesto Chicken Skillet Is the ‘Perfect Summer Meal’

TL; DR: 

• Ree Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet is a 16-minute meal.
• The Pioneer Woman combines seasonal vegetables with chicken and store-bought pesto for a quick, hearty dish. 
• Ree Drummond’s recipe averages five stars on Food Network’s website.

Use up all those summer vegetables with a Pesto Chicken Skillet from Ree Drummond. The Food Network star puts a variety of seasonal produce in a skillet with pesto and chicken. And, perhaps best of all, it’s a 16-minute Pioneer Woman meal.

Ree Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet is a combination of fresh vegetables and storebought shortcuts

Similar to many of her other PDQ, or “pretty darn quick,” meals, Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet is a dish all in one pot. She browns chicken in a pan (her recipe calls for cubed boneless, skinless chicken breast). 

Once it’s cooked, she adds seasonal vegetables such as corn, squash, and tomatoes. Then she layers on flavor with pesto, more vegetables, and, finally, parmesan cheese and freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

What she’s left with is a dinner bursting with the flavors of summer. And it only takes her 16 minutes to do, meaning she can spend less time inside the Lodge and more outside enjoying the sprawling Drummond ranch located in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. 

The Pioneer Woman skillet recipe has 5 stars, reviewers love the fresh produce

Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet didn’t land a spot on the list of the top Pioneer Woman recipes of 2021. Nor is it one of her most popular recipes on the Food Network.

However, it gets a lot of love from Pioneer Woman fans. At the time of writing, Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet averages five stars on Food Network’s website. The recipe’s been reviewed more than 80 times and the majority of the comments are glowing. 

I’ve been making Food Network recipes for over four years and in all that time there’s never been as delicious a recipe as this one!!” one person wrote. “I think it must be the freshness and seasonality of the veggies.”

Another described it as a “perfect summer meal,” praising the garden-fresh vegetables and store-bought pesto combined with heavy cream. 

Elsewhere in the comments, reviewers called it everything from a “great way to use garden produce” to “summer on a plate,” and “super easy and delicious.”

Additionally, they praised the versatility of Drummond’s skillet recipe. “You can use so many different veggie combinations,” one reviewer wrote. Another highlighted how it got the approval of even their “pickiest eaters,” who had seconds. 

How to make Ree Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet

Make Drummond’s Pesto Chicken Skillet in five steps, according to Food Network. The Super Easy! cookbook author sprinkles chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast with salt and pepper before browning the meat in a skillet with olive oil. 

Once the chicken’s browned, after about five minutes, Drummond removes it from the skillet and sets it aside. From there she puts onions, zucchini, and squash in the skillet. After a few minutes, she pushes them to one side to make room for kale, tomatoes, corn — taken off the cob — and minced garlic. 

While the vegetables cook, Drummond uses a kitchen shortcut in the form of store-bought basil pesto. She mixes it together in a bowl with heavy cream. Next, she returns the chicken to the skillet, pouring in the pesto cream mixture. 

After a couple of minutes on medium heat, Drummond takes the skillet off the stove and tops it with fresh lemon juice and parmesan cheese.