I must confess that weeknight dinners can be a major struggle in my house, which probably seems contradictory coming from someone who writes about food! It's true that my refrigerator is often filled with an eclectic group of ingredients—most of which cannot be transformed into any sort of suitable meal. I often find myself scavenging the pantry for anything I can pass off as adequate, and trust me when I tell you that a starving girl + Nutella does not equal dinner.
I, like a lot of you, am in constant search of weeknight recipes that are quick yet delicious for those days when nothing seems to be going as planned. It helps that I don't consider canned and frozen ingredients to be the root of all culinary evil; in many cases they have come to the rescue in my greatest moments of need. One of the amazing convenience foods I discovered last year was frozen puff pastry. (I know, I know. I am yet again the last one on the wagon.) I went from being totally skeptical to thinking it was the most genius time-saver known to man. In fact, a few boxes now maintain full-time residency in my freezer.
Which brings us to this easy pesto chicken "tart." Ever since my love affair with this delicious recipe, I have found countless other ways to eat puff pastry for dinner. Of course you can use any assortment of ingredients to accomplish this recipe, both fresh or store-bought, but the classic basil-chicken-cheese combination never gets old to me—not to mention I usually have all of those ingredients lurking somewhere in my fridge.
As my fiancé and I devoured every last flaky bite, I made a mental note to keep this one in regular rotation. It is definitely not winning any points for creativity, but this flavorful tart sure gets extra credit for taste!

Pesto Chicken Tart
Makes dinner for 2, appetizers for 41 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 small head of peeled garlic cloves (optional)
3 heaping tablespoons basil pesto, homemade or store bought
1 scant cup cooked, diced chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove one sheet of puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes. If using garlic, place cloves on a baking sheet and cook in the oven until soft and light golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Allow the cloves to cool and then chop finely.
Unfold the puff pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, pressing and pinching to close any holes in the seams. Using a fork, prick the dough all over—including the edges—to prevent it from puffing during baking.
Brush the pesto in a thin layer over the dough. Scatter the roasted garlic across the pesto. Toss the chicken with a tablespoon of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Layer the chicken on the tart, followed by the mozzarella and the Parmesan. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Bake until the the cheese is melted and light golden brown, approximately 15-25 minutes (start checking early). Remove the tart from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve immediately.
Note: You can easily sub pizza or flat bread dough in this recipe, or any other bread base you can think of. Also, I scattered some diced tomatoes on one of my slices for some extra color (see last photo); feel free to do the same if you have some ripe ones lying around.

Related: Summer Flavor: 10 Ways to Use Pesto
(Images: Nealey Dozier)
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Comments (16)
The puff pastry could be substituted for pizza dough (which is always lurking in my fridge/freezer) and lighter in terms of fat. Also, how did diced tomatoes end up in the bottom photo?
we doo this with pita bread... not as much calories!!
This is great for a cocktail party or appetizer as well! Thank you.. I've save this recipe!
My local pizzeria has this as a pizza on their menu. I only buy it every once in a while though, because I'm generally inclined to eat the whole thing in one sitting… ;)
They also add roasted red pepper to it. Very good addition.
@ABANANA - I added some diced tomatoes on a couple of slices for extra color while photographing. This "tart" is fair game for ingredient add-ons, although I loved it just as much without them.
Doesn't the chicken get dried out when it's cooked a second time?
Add some orange peppers , tomatoes and feta cheese and it sounds perfect..
Candide5, I wouldn't think so, with the protective layer of cheese, and only a 15-20 minute stint in the oven. If you're worried, you could use chicken thigh meat, which is a little juicer.
@candide001 - That's why I tossed it with a little olive oil before throwing it on the tart—more as a precautionary factor than anything. And yes, the cheese keeps it pretty protected. Just be sure to keep an eye on it! It does go from golden to brown pretty quickly ;)
Oh wow. Yum. Save me.
This looks divine! I always keep puff pastry in the freezer too, and definitely adding this to my list of uses! I make a sort of chinese variation using hoisin sauce, spring onions and whatever leftover meat I have shredded, if you'd like to try it my recipe's at http://www.mrsellwood.co.uk/2012/07/hoisin-tart.html :)
Anyone know where I can buy these pastry sheets in Japan? Man, Japan is sure behind the times!
Then again, most people don't have ovens, and I've never seen an American-sized pie here, it's no wonder. Still, I would love to make stuff like this, but making pastry and pie crusts and whatnot from scratch is my least favorite part of cooking.
I make this pizza (with pizza dough) all the time, believe it or not both of my children prefer this to 'regular' pizza. However I use Fontina cheese rather than mozzarella.
Making this tonight for "Date Night" :) Pairing it with a little wine
Finally got this made using some of the pesto I froze last summer. Made an awesome light supper for us. Think it would also be great as an appetizer. Sure wish I'd had some diced petite tomatoes to add, next time. The puff pastry complimented the rest perfectly. BTW, we grill five pounds of chicken breasts at a time always leaving some a bit under done for casseroles and dishes like this. Definitely will be making it again.