Chicken Pesto Pasta (20 minute meal)
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Chicken Pesto Pasta is a super easy, super yummy weeknight dinner that checks all the boxes. Your family will love it and fight over the last bowl!
Easy? Check. Uses pantry ingredients? Check Delicious? Check.
Try Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake, Pasta Florentine, Penne alla Vodka, or Boursin Pasta, too!
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Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
This creamy, delicious recipe was made on a whim one day using what I had in the refrigerator. Ever since then, it’s been a favorite with the family and on regular rotation in the meal plan. It’s great because it’s done in under 30 minutes! You make the pesto sauce while the pasta is cooking!
This dish is really good, really quick and really easy. This is even better the next day, and is actually really tasty COLD. Who knew?
It’s one of my favorites because it’s so adaptable. You can use leftover chicken if you have it in the fridge. Add different vegetables to round it out (steamed broccoli or sauteed red peppers are great ones to add!)
If you’re into pasta dishes, check out my Skillet Mac & Cheese or my Spaghetti Carbonara!
Why this recipe works
- Pantry Ingredients. When I say “pantry” I mean refrigerator too. I pretty much always have these ingredients!
- Easy to make. No looking up fancy cooking terms. This is good, home cooked food with no airs and graces.
- Done in under 30 minutes. Some nights, you just don’t have time to mess around. Dinner needs to be DONE!
Kylee’s Notes & FAQ
What temperature should chicken be cooked to?
Use a digital thermometer and check your chicken in the thickest part of a piece. It needs to be 165 degrees F.
Substitutions:
- You can switch this up and use shrimp instead of chicken, or even some fish fillets as they’ll cook super fast and will taste great with the pesto.
- Roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes are a great sub for cherry tomatoes, if you have them in your pantry!
- Steamed broccoli or red peppers are also fabulous
Ingredients:
- Pasta – any shape will do. I use farfalle (bow ties), but shells, penne, rigatoni,
- Chicken – I use boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces.
- Salt & pepper, onion powder – season it up!
- Tomatoes – these can be grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes – or even chunked up roma tomatoes. Use what you have!
- Cream cheese – you can use full fat or reduced fat, it won’t make major difference.
- Milk. I use 2% or whole (or half & half if I’m feeling decadent)
- Pesto – homemade pesto is always going to be better, but I buy basil pesto from the grocery store to have on hand for nights when I need to make pesto pasta!
- Parmesan cheese
How to make this recipe:
Step 1: Cook the Pasta
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water.
Step 2: Cook the Chicken
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and onion powder, and heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the garlic to the skillet, then the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through. Add the tomatoes during the last few minutes.
Set aside and keep warm.
Step 3: Make the Sauce
In the same skillet you cooked the chicken in, add the milk, cream cheese and pesto, whisking to melt the cream cheese and thicken the sauce.
Taste the sauce!! If you want to add more pesto, you absolutely should.
Step 3: Assemble – Chicken Pesto Pasta
Add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce, and toss to combine. Add the chicken and tomatoes, and grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top.
Devour.
More delicious chicken recipes:
- Lemon Butter Chicken – quick and easy, and packed full of flavor. Also uses pantry ingredients!
- Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner – just season your food, and add it to a sheet pan. Dinner is DONE.
- Chicken Florentine – a great stuffed chicken with a GORGEOUS pan sauce. You’ll lick the skillet.
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Pesto Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta I use farfalle, but any shaped pasta works
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 ounces prepared pesto this is about 6 Tbs
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook 12 ounces pasta according to box directions. Drain, set aside
- Season 2 chicken breasts with salt and pepper and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder and heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the 2 cloves garlic (minced) to the skillet, then the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through. Add 1 cup cherry tomatoes during the last few minutes.
- Add 1 1/2 cup milk, 4 ounces cream cheese, and 3 ounces prepared pesto, and whisk to melt the cream cheese. Cook for 5 minutes until thickened. Taste the sauce, and add more pesto if you like!
- Add in the cooked and drained pasta and toss until well combined.
- Add the chicken and 1 cup cherry tomatoes over the top.
- Grate some parmesan cheese, add some fresh cracked pepper.
- Devour.
Notes
Use a digital thermometer and check your chicken in the thickest part of a piece. It needs to be 165 degrees F. Substitutions:
- You can switch this up and use shrimp instead of chicken, or even some fish fillets as they’ll cook super fast and will taste great with the pesto.
- Roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes are a great sub for cherry tomatoes, if you have them in your pantry!
- Steamed broccoli or red peppers are also fabulous
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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About Kylee Ayotte
I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Meet Kylee
We love this recipe! It is one of the top requests from my kids for their lunches. I use a pound of pasta and adjust everything else. Extra pesto is so good. My daughter says she eats it really slowly to enjoy every bite!
Kyle, love your dinner recipes. Can I use fresh tomatoes from our garden instead of cherry ones? Also what white fish would you recommend using?
Hi Gwenda! You can use an kind of tomatoes you like. Red bell peppers are also fantastic.
20 minutes? With pantry staples?? YES!!! I love how you used the cream cheese and milk to make a quick and easy cream sauce – a yummy twist on typical summer pesto pasta recipes. And perfect timing to find this recipe, since I have soooo many cherry tomatoes begging to be used up! Thanks!