This is one of my favorite Whole30 recipes, and once again, it is very easy to make. For my birthday, my mom gave me the spiralizer attachment for my Kitchen-aid Mixer, and this recipe gives me the perfect excuse to use it. So fun! While the pesto is not traditional pesto because many of the ingredients are not compliant, this Whole30 pesto is delicious– slightly tangy, extremely tasty.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 cup arugula, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 2 teaspoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 zucchini, julienned or spiralized

Preparation:

Dry the chicken thighs. Sprinkle the skin side with salt, pepper and seasoning. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and heat a large stainless steel or cast-iron skillet over high heat. Once hot, add your oil and then add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Reduce the heat on your stove to medium-high, and cook the thighs for about 10 minutes. The chicken thighs release a lot of juices, so there will be splatter. Be sure to use a splatter guard. Turn over and allow to cook for about 5 minutes on the skinless side. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate, discarding all the chicken juices.

While the chicken is cooking, make your pesto. To do so, place the arugula, parsley, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil in a food processor and mix until well combined.

Add zucchini noodles to the pan and and toss with the pesto. Place the chicken pieces on top of the zucchini, skin side up, and place the entire pan in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken pieces are cooked through (165 degrees).