Let's Fix Lunch! Pesto Chicken Sandwich

There’s nothing like fresh pesto to make any meal sing — and that’s why Stasher Founder Kat Nouri put this mouthwatering recipe in our first-ever cookbook, Let’s Fix Lunch!

Research shows that lunch baggies and takeout containers are some of the biggest contributors to plastic waste. Let’s Fix Lunch! features 30 planet-friendly recipes, helpful sustainability tips, and more to help you achieve a litter-free lunch. Plus, a portion of the proceeds go to No Kid Hungry, to ensure kids get the meals they need. 

Snack on this little sneak peek — and if you love it, feast on the whole cookbook! 

Reprinted from Let’s Fix Lunch! by Kat Nouri with permission by Chronicle Books, 2020

Pesto Chicken Sandwich

Serves 2

ECO TIP Buy your bread fresh from a bakery instead of the supermarket. Buying local is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and you’ll avoid the plastic that most supermarket bread comes in. If you’re going to use it in sandwiches, you can ask the bakery to slice it for you.

1 cup [130 g] shredded roast chicken

2 Tbsp Nut-Free Basil Pesto (below) or prepared pesto 

2 Tbsp chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread

2 slices provolone cheese

¼ cup [55 g] roasted red bell pepper strips

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and pesto; set aside. 

In a small bowl, stir together the sun-dried tomatoes and mayonnaise. 

Spread the sun-dried tomato mayonnaise onto each slice of bread. Top the bottom bread slices with cheese, followed by the pesto chicken and bell pepper strips. Cover with the remaining bread slices, mayo-side down, to close each sandwich. Pack each sandwich in a Stasher bag, a hard-sided container, or reusable wrap.

 

Nut Free Basil Pesto

MAKES 1 CUP [180 G]

¼ cup [35 g] pepitas, toasted

1 medium garlic clove

¾ tsp kosher salt

2½ cups [50 g] firmly packed basil leaves 

½ cup [120 ml] extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup [15 g] grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Place the pepitas, garlic, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the basil and olive oil and process until smooth. Add the Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest and pulse until combined.

Use immediately, or freeze in ice cube trays in 2 Tbsp increments for up to 2 months.

Variation

Customize your pesto by using different nuts in place of the pepitas, experimenting with other soft-stemmed herbs or greens, such as arugula or watercress, to replace some or all of the basil, and swapping in another hard cheese, like Pecorino Romano, for the Parmesan.