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Pesto Chicken Tortellini and Veggies - healthy, easy Mediterranean-style dinner. Sliced boneless, skinless chicken thighs are cooked with sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. Then, cooked chicken is combined with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, tortellini, and basil pesto!
Pesto chicken tortellini:
- Quick and healthy recipe. This recipe uses 2 of my favorite ingredients: basil pesto and tortellini - and you can buy both in most grocery stores. Which makes this recipe a healthy choice for a quick weeknight dinner. Especially when you don't have that much time to cook. Just buy some tortellini and basil pesto (plus chicken and veggies) in the store, and make this pesto chicken tortellini with veggies in 30 minutes!
- Packed with veggies. This easy chicken dish has lots of colorful vegetables: red and yellow grape tomatoes, asparagus, and sun-dried tomatoes.
- Well-balanced meal. This chicken tortellini recipe has veggies, healthy oils (olive oil and basil pesto), protein (chicken), and a moderate amount of carbs (tortellini). A good balance of various ingredients.
- Mediterranean-style recipe. Everything is generously smothered with basil pesto and olive oil, and this recipe has lots of vegetables - perfect for the Mediterranean diet.
How to make chicken tortellini with veggies:
1) Add 1 pound of sliced skinless and boneless chicken thighs (seasoned with salt), 2 tablespoons olive oil, and ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes to a large skillet.
2) Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through.
3) Remove the cooked chicken and sun-dried tomatoes from the skillet, leaving the oil in.
4) Add 1 pound of asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned with salt, ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes to the same skillet.
5) Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is cooked through.
6) Cook 1 cup tortellini according to the package instructions, drain.
7) In the same skillet combine cooked chicken, cooked asparagus, cooked tortellini, and halved cherry tomatoes.
8) Mix everything with ¼ cup of basil pesto on low-medium heat until the chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes.
Other chicken tortellini recipes:
Pesto Chicken Tortellini and Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless, sliced into strips
- salt
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes drained of oil, chopped
- 1 lb asparagus ends trimmed, cut in half
- ¼ cup basil pesto or use more
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes yellow and red, halved
- 1 cup tortellini uncooked
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.
- Add sliced chicken thighs (seasoned with salt), ¼ cup of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and cook everything on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, turning chicken slices over a couple of times, until the chicken is completely cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and the sun-dried from the skillet, leaving the oil in.
- Add asparagus (ends trimmed), seasoned generously with salt, and ¼ cup of sun-dried tomatoes to the same skillet.
- Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is cooked through. Remove the asparagus to a serving plate.
- Cook tortellini according to the package instructions, drain.
- Add cooked chicken back to the skillet. Add basil pesto. Stir to coat and cook on low-medium heat until the chicken is reheated, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add cooked tortellini and halved cherry tomatoes to the skillet with the chicken. Stir to combine. Add more pesto if desired.
- Season with more salt if needed.
- Add chicken, cherry tomatoes and tortellini to the serving plate with asparagus.
- Want to make basil pesto from scratch? Here is a super flavorful and creamy 20-Minute Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe.
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.
Has anyone tried this with the prepared Barilla Ready Pasta; it's offered in several shapes. I've not checked the package to see how healthy it is, but all you do is mush the bag to separate the pasta, vent a corner, pop it in the microwave for a minute and it's ready to eat. Also planning to use trimmed chicken breast tenderloins as I'm not a huge fan of dark meat. I'll send a rating once I've tried it!
I was going to use fresh green beans instead of asparagus. What do you think??
Great idea!
Have you every made this as a meal prep meal? Wondering how long it keeps and how well it reheats. Thanks!
This keeps refrigerated for up to 5 days. It also reheats very well.
One of my favorite dishes!
This is so delicious. I. Making it again tonight for a dinner party!
So glad you've been enjoying this recipe! 🙂 .
Planning on making for a small group of friends for or lunch. How would it work if I made it the day before?
It would work just fine if you made this the day before. If I made this a day before, I would add only half the amount of pesto, and then add the remaining half of pesto the next day, right before serving. This will ensure that the pesto flavor is vibrant and fresh when you serve the dish!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve made it several times and it’s one of my husbands favorites! Currently making it again for his birthday as it’s what he asked me to make! We love it!
Kassandra, I am so happy to read comments like yours! So glad this recipe has become one of your family's favorites! 🙂
I have made this several times. It immediately became one of my husband’s favorite meals. The besr part is that it is SO easy to have a restaurant worthy meal on the table fast. The leftovers are just as tasty, maybe even better! I have also tried it with broccoli ot green beans, instead of asparagus. It works very well. Thank you so much for a great recipe that I use over and over.
Catherine, you are so welcome! Comments like yours make my day! So glad you've been enjoying this recipe. And yes, it works well with broccoli or green beans, too.
I made this without the pasta and added mushrooms and onions. It was really good!
Thank you! I am so glad you liked it! Mushrooms and onions are great additions!
I made this as a quick and easy midweek dinner and it was both quick and easy as well as absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making this again.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and leaving your comment! 🙂
This was fabulous!! Thank you so much!! My family LOVED it!
You're very welcome! So happy to hear that! 🙂
Oh my goodness I am so disappointed!! The way the pictures are presented is SOOOO misleading!! This is in no way a one pot meal like it appears! I pinned this for an easy weeknight dinner and I'm sitting here chopping everything, and I have to cook the pasta separately?!?!?! Thumbs way down!!
How else do you think pasta gets cooked?
I'm thinking of trying this in the next couple days. It looks absolutely delicious. Wish me luck!!!
I hope you enjoyed it! 🙂
Not sure how you can consider this “healthy” with 52% total daily fat and 41% daily total of cholesterol.
Not to mention all of the "generously add salt" to everything. I'll probably try something LIKE this, but with some alterations to actually make it "healthy". She needs to remove "healthy" from her description or alter her recipe so her readers are actually making something good for their families.
I have made this for several dinner parties with homemade pesto and it is a big hit. I like that lots of prep can be done ahead. (I have already chopped the chicken and wrapped it, made my pesto and chopped the dried tomatoes for a dinner tomorrow night.) When I have not had good asparagus available I have subbed fresh green beans. Great recipe!
Thank you, Mary! So glad you've been enjoying this recipe! Homemade pesto sounds delicious - I used to make my own homemade pesto all the time, which is how I fell in love with using pesto with pasta. And, yes, green beans taste amazing in this recipe in place of asparagus.