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Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta is a great choice for a simple weeknight dinner. The recipe uses basic everyday ingredients and is perfect for family meals. You can use homemade or store-bought basil pesto.
Chicken Pesto Pasta - versatile and easily adjustable recipe
This chicken pesto pasta is one of those recipes that you can easily adapt to what you have on hand. The main ingredients, of course, include the basil pesto, chicken breasts (seared and thinly sliced), and pasta. Basil pesto always goes well with tomatoes, so I highly recommend that you incorporate fresh tomatoes in this recipe. I used cherry tomatoes that I roasted in olive oil and garlic at the same time I prepared the pasta - they were a wonderful addition! You can also add sliced fresh tomatoes without roasting them, use sun-dried tomatoes, or skip them altogether.
You might also like this pesto chicken pasta with mushrooms or pesto chicken tortellini.
What type of pasta to use
Because this recipe uses small-size ingredients, such as sliced chicken and roasted tomatoes, I recommend that you use short pasta, such as farfalle (bow-tie pasta), fusilli (spiral pasta), penne, or rigatoni.
How to make Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Prepare the chicken by seasoning it with paprika, salt, and pepper. Use thinly sliced chicken breasts - this will shorten the cooking time considerably. This recipe uses 1.5 lb chicken which usually equates to 2 large chicken breasts. Slice each one in half horizontally before searing.
- Sear the chicken in olive oil, seasoned with paprika, salt, and pepper, on medium-high heat until it's no longer pink in the center. When the chicken is done, remove it to a plate and slice it thinly.
- Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package instructions. That usually means 10 or 15 minutes. Drain.
- Make the sauce by adding basil pesto and cream, to the pan. Add cooked and drained pasta. Toss and reheat gently.
- Roast cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil and minced garlic while you prepare the chicken pesto pasta.
- Assemble the pasta adding sliced cooked chicken and roasted cherry tomatoes on top of pasta with pesto sauce.
Below are some photos illustrating the cooking process:
What to serve with chicken pesto pasta
- A slice of garlic bread or olive bread.
- A side salad, such as this simple spinach salad or arugula salad with pine nuts.
Cooking Tips and Recipe Notes
- This is a great recipe to use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. Just throw it together with the pasta, heat it through, and serve!
- The cream is optional. The heavy cream adds creaminess to the sauce and also balances out the basil pesto flavor which can be quite strong. However, you can omit the cream altogether. Either version of the pasta will be delicious!
- Add cheese. You can add freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top of chicken pesto pasta.
- Add pine nuts as a topping. Since basil pesto is usually made with pine nuts, it's only logical to use whole pine nuts as topping for the pesto pasta, if you wish. I did, and they added an amazing extra flavor touch!
- Add veggies. Tomatoes roasted in olive oil and garlic are a great addition to chicken pesto pasta. You can also use regular tomatoes (without roasting them first), sun-dried tomatoes, or mushrooms.
- Make it spicy. Add red pepper flakes if you would like to make your pasta spicy.
- Serving size. The recipe uses 8 ounces of pasta which makes a total of 4 servings.
Other chicken pesto pasta recipes
Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
Roasted Tomatoes
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Chicken Pesto Pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 lb chicken breast (2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 8 oz pasta (bow-tie, penne, or fusilli)
- ¼ cup basil pesto
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and minced garlic. Spread in a casserole dish. Roast for about 20 minutes while you prepare the pasta.
- Prepare the chicken. This recipe uses 1.5 lb of chicken breasts which usually means 2 large chicken breasts. Make sure to use thinly sliced chicken breasts. Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally. Season them with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet until hot. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per each side until it's cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate. Slice it thinly.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
- Add cooked and drained pasta, basil pesto, and cream to the same skillet that you used to sear chicken. Stir gently and bring to simmer to coat pasta with sauce.
- Top with sliced cooked chicken, roasted tomatoes and pine nuts (optional). Season with extra salt and pepper or add crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
Notes
- Want to make basil pesto from scratch? Here is the best, the most flavorful, and the creamiest 20-Minute Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe.
- Adjust the amount of basil pesto. This recipe uses ¼ cup of pesto. Feel free to add extra tablespoons of pesto to your taste.
- Add extra toppings. Lightly toasted pine nuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese add extra flavor and texture.
- Use extra veggies. If you want to add more vegetables, add sliced fresh tomatoes, sliced cooked asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, or mushrooms.
- Add spiciness. Add red pepper flakes if you would like to make your pasta spicy.
- Adjust seasonings. Even though the basil pesto tends to be salty, do taste the final dish before serving and season it with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is super delicious and a keeper for sure! Thank you!
I am happy to hear that! Thank you for the 5-star review - I appreciate it!
Are the calories per serving? Or is it for the entire dish?
The calories are per 1 serving. There is a total of 4 servings.
Really amazing! I added some chopped onion and red bell pepper that I sautéed with sun-dried tomatoes and a splash of dry white wine (I was a bit short on cream). Big hit! Thanks for posting!
You substitutes wine for dream. Is there anything else I can use besides cream?
Use chicken broth instead of cream in this recipe.
Stacie, I love your additions, especially the chopped onion and red bell pepper! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
I have made this a couple of times! It is delicious!! The last time I made I used tortellini instead of the bowtie pasta. I over it!!
So glad you've enjoyed this recipe several times. Thank you for such a positive comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
Made this last night for girls night…huge hit!! Everyone love it! I did my chicken in the crockpot, made preparing so much easier and chicken was really tender.
Kim, your comment made my day! Glad the recipe was enjoyed! Thank you for such a wonderful comment!
Hello do you think this would work well as a cold pasta salad?
I wouldn't serve this cold - but at room temperature, it would work great!
I would serve it cold but change the cream out for a mayo or aioli or keep it olive oil only. Very similar to chicken pasta salads I've made before.
Heather - great feedback about using mayo, aioli, or olive oil instead of cream to turn this into a pasta salad!
Is there whole roasted garlic cloves?
No, those are toasted pine nuts! But, whole roasted garlic cloves would be a delicious addition!
Made this last night. Very tasty and a pretty dish. Will probably add a bit more salt next time but everyone really liked it!
Glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! And, thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Made this with penne pasta. Didn't use pine nuts - too expensive for me. Was delicious without the nuts. Will make again
So glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Yes, this recipe works equally well without the pine nuts - you can totally skip them!
Looks fabulous, hot and/or cold, can’t wait to try. Has anyone ever tried it with salmon or any other protein?
Serve this warm or hot, not cold. I think this will be delicious with salmon, trout, black cod.
This is really good with fettuccine pasta as well.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you have a pesto recipe?
I don't (I should!). I used store-bought pesto (Buitoni brand) for this recipe.
Here is a good basil pesto made from scratch: Basil Pesto Recipe
Amazing ❤️ I made the recipe for 8 people. I used Prego basil pesto and it was perfect! You had mentioned adding veg…. About a cup (a bit more) of frozen spinach went in at the “add cream” stage. We do carb dinners every other Sunday… THIS will be done again! Thank you!
Lisa, I am so glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it. Adding spinach sounds delicious! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your positive comment! 🙂
Delicious!! I did add spinach and EVERYONE LOVED it!!!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Love the addition of spinach!
This was very good…I’ll make it again! My men approved of it, next time I’ll add some spinach or asparagus to it! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah, you are very welcome! Glad you liked it! 🙂
Do you think it would work to make this a day in advance and then reheat?
Yes, you can. Refrigerate it in an airtight container and add toasted pine nuts right before serving.
This recipe was amazing and so easy!! I used the vegan kale cashew basil pesto from Trader Joe's. I will definitely be adding this to the dinner queue!!
Brynne, I am so happy you liked this pasta! Good to know vegan kale cashew basil pesto worked well here. Thank you for stopping by and sharing a 5-star review. 🙂 I appreciate it!!!
Absolutely delicious!! Everyone loved it!
So glad to hear that! Thank you for the comment and a 5-star review! 🙂
Hi there!! This sounds amazing - but I'm curious, do you have any suggestions for a non-dairy replacement for the heavy cream? Thank you!!!
You could try coconut cream in a can. We use that in replace
of anything dairy/cream. It will probably require you to increase the seasonings/spices since it doesn’t have that cream flavor.
Coconut milk works well!