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
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 was amazing I loved it! I added extra pesto and cream. I would definitely add more tomatoes next time. I will make this again over and over!
Cindy, your comment made my day! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! And, thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Excellent dish! I have made this several times for guests and family and get rave reviews! My husband had never had pine nuts, he really enjoys them.
I cheated a few times by using chicken from a Costco rotisserie chicken and saved some prep time with nice results. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
Melanie, I love your comment! Love your shortcut by using rotisserie chicken. Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment - it means a lot!
Loved this dish! Thank you for the recipe.
Christine, I am happy you enjoyed it! And, thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Delicious! I did add more pesto sauce and garlic.. I bought a cooked whole chicken at the grocery store. Cut it up into cubes. Sprinkled some chili flakes with salt & pepper. Stirred the chicken in. Sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts. Served with salad and garlic bread. It was a big hit. Everyone went back for seconds. Thank you soo much!
Lourie, I love your shortcut of buying a cooked whole chicken at the grocery store! What a smart move! Glad you tried this recipe and glad you left such a positive comment! 🙂
Its really a nice recipe!
Thanks!
Loved this dish! It is now part of our dinner rotation. I do toast the pine nuts beforehand. Will also use some other veggies in addition to the tomatoes.
Alice, I am glad the recipe was enjoyed! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback - it means a lot! Toasted pine nuts are the best!
This is seriously the best pasta dish ever and has very easily become our new favorite! I've now discovered a newfound love of pesto in so many other dishes as well. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Kirsie, your comment made my day! 🙂 I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it!
This sounds so good. I would like to add it as one of my dishes for a dinner gathering we are having. Do you think I can make ahead and reheat in a casserole dish and then reheat? I am not so good preparing food in front of a crowd of people.
Sharon, I think this will reheat well. You might have to add a small amount of heavy cream or half-and-half when reheating to thin out the sauce to the correct texture.
Super easy and so delicious! I used half n half instead of heavy cream and couldn’t tell any difference. Will be making this again for sure!
Diane, I am so glad you will be making this again - that's the biggest compliment any cook can get! 🙂 And, good to know that it worked well with half-and-half!
This was sooooooo good and the best part, easy and fast recipe, will definitely make this again! 5 stars ⭐️
Mona, I am so happy you liked this recipe! I appreciate that you took the time to share this positive feedback - thank you for this!