Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This setup means cleanup takes five minutes instead of 15, and your pan won't develop stuck-on spots. I learned this the hard way after ruining too many good sheet pans.

In a small bowl, whisk together the basil pesto and 2 tablespoons of olive oil until the mixture becomes loose and paintable. This is the secret step most recipes skip—mixing pesto with oil ensures it adheres to the chicken instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. The warm summer baked chicken absorbs this emulsion as it cooks.

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, then arrange them on your prepared sheet. Brush each thigh generously with the pesto mixture on both sides, making sure the underside gets just as much coverage as the top. Season with sea salt, black pepper, and dried oregano. Let the herbs settle into the creases of the skin for 2 minutes before moving forward.

Scatter the minced garlic around the pan (not on top of the chicken, where it'll burn). Add the halved cherry tomatoes and sliced zucchini in the spaces between the chicken pieces. Squeeze the lemon juice over everything, then distribute the zest evenly. Bake for 35 minutes until the chicken internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest part of the thigh.

Remove the sheet from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes while the cozy pesto baked chicken summer recipe finishes cooking internally. I confess I used to skip this step because I was hungry, but those five minutes make the meat noticeably more tender when you bite into it. The vegetables will continue softening slightly during this rest period.

Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the warm chicken and vegetables while everything is still steaming. The residual heat melts the cheese into the pesto coating, creating an extra layer of richness that tastes like a heartwarming pesto chicken from a trattoria. Serve each portion with 1/4 cup of cooked couscous on the side to catch all those incredible pan juices.