chicken pesto parm bowl 🌿

& a little road trip recap!

hi friends! I am FINALLY back in LA after doing a week and a half long, cross country road trip with my best friend and her dog. we listened to music, went on runs in new cities (or small towns), laughed a LOT, met some friends to ski in Vail (except not me cuz I don’t ski but now I want to learn), drove through what felt like 45 different climates, saw the most beautiful landscapes in Utah, suntanned in Arizona and just had the BEST time. if you’re still in a phase of your life where you’re able to, this is your sign to go on a road trip with your bestie because it was honestly just the best.

I will say, I’m definitely excited to finally get settled and back into my routine here in LA. although I never really feel THAT settled because I’ve moved like 4 times in the past year (one day soon I will tell the whole story around that lol) but that’s okay! all this to say — I promised you the crispy chicken pesto parm bowl almost a week ago and have only had time to actually sit down and write it out for you now. OOPS!

if you’ve been waiting for it, I love you and here it is :) this bowl is loosely based on my favourie sweetgreen bowl, the chicken pesto parm, but with all the modifications I make: spicy broccoli instead of tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes instead of quinoa, romaine instead of spinach, and a combo of the pesto dressing AND the spicy cashew dressing (trust me). if you only feel like making one dressing, it’ll still be good though! I also made my crispy chicken cutlets to elevate this bowl a little bit and because I’m simply obsessed with them.

enjoy this one! I filmed another bowl for you today as well and it is FIIIRE (and based on another popular fast casual chain) so I’m excited to share it. hope you all had an excellent weekend and a relaxing sunday!

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crispy chicken pesto parm bowl

for the chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise and pounded thin

• ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free or regular)

• ¼ cup tapioca starch or cornstarch

• ½ tsp each: garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt

• 1 egg, whisked

• avocado oil, for frying the chicken

for the dressing:

• ½ cup pesto, homemade or store bought

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• juice of ½ lemon

• salt + pepper, to taste

for the rest of the bowl:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, cubed

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets

• olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili flakes, to taste, for the veggies

• chopped romaine lettuce

• lots of freshly grated parm

• spicy cashew dressing, if desired

first roast your veggies: coat sweet potatoes generously with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder in one bowl, then do the same with the broccoli in another bowl and add some chili flakes if you want it a bit spicy like the sweetgreen broccoli. place veggies on a large baking sheet and roast at 400F for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until veggies are lightly browned and tender. set aside to cool.

to make the chicken, start by preparing two bowls for your chicken: one with the whisked egg, and another with the panko, starch, spices and salt. take a chicken cutlet and dip it first in the egg until evenly coated, shaking off the excess, and then into the panko mixture. make sure to press the mixture evenly on the chicken so it’s well coated. repeat with remaining chicken cutlets and place them on a piece of parchment.

heat a large skillet over medium and add about 1 inch of avocado oil. once oil is hot, add 2-3 pieces of chicken (depending how big your pan is — don’t overcrowd it). let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes until deeply golden brown on the underside, then flip and finish cooking for another 3-4 minutes on the other side. remove cutlets, place on a clean wire rack to drain and repeat with the remaining chicken. sprinkle them with flakey sea salt and let cool for several minutes.

make your pesto dressing by whisking together pesto, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. it should be thick but pourable — add a bit more oil as necessary!

when ready to serve, divide romaine between bowls and top each bowl with a scoop of broccoli and sweet potatoes. drizzle generously with pesto dressing, then slice a chicken cutlet and place one on top of each bowl. finish with lots of fresh parm and enjoy!

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