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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.
This has been one of my staple recipes for a while now. Easy and very tasty 🙂 The sundried tomatoes are real superstars in this dish!
Do you have any video of that? I'd love to find out more details.
No video, unfortunately.
Recipe sound truly amazing ! All of my favorite ingredients. I'll use my homemade pesto on it. Just wondered how it would so as a cold dish? Our temps have been rediculously high and hoped cold would be as delish.
Hi Emma! I am sorry for the very late response, but this recipe would work well as a cold dish or better yet, at room temperature. It doesn't have butter, just olive oil, so these kind of dishes tend to work well when served at room temperature.
Hi Julia, can I grill the chicken breast ? It's so HOT here in California to heat up house ?
Hi Michelle, you can definitely grill chicken breast and then just add basil pesto on top when serving.
Can u sub the asparagus for green beans how long u cook the green beans
Hi Jennifer. If using fresh beans, I would bring a pot of water to a boil, and boil (blanch) them for 2 minutes. Drain, and proceed with the recipe as is. 🙂
Okay listen.. this was easily one of THE best recipes I’ve tried thus far! Not only is it on the healthier side and filling, but it’s packed with so much flavor! If you haven’t tried this one yet, do yourself a favor and add it to your dinner list for this week!
Chassity, thank you for your rave review - I so appreciate it!! 🙂
Such an easy and delicious meal! One of my favorite go-to recipes for weeknights.
Hannah, I am so happy this is one of your favorites! 🙂
YUM! Made the recipe as is except I cut in half for just the two of us and used chicken breast instead of thighs. We really enjoyed this. We both said we would have it again. Thank you so much for sharing. I was initially going to serve with a salad but once we saw all the food combined we decided to skip it. This was filling and delish!
It’s almost 100° in California today and I was looking for a quick dinner idea and searched Pinterest for “easy summer dinner recipes” and the picture of your recipe popped up. Reading the ingredients and feeling good about what goes into it and decided to give it a try. I multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2 since I was serving 6.
I’ll quantify my review by saying that I’ve been through culinary school and have worked as a personal cook for years for a couple clients, in addition to feeding my large family. My verdict…. A+!!!
My two small tweaks was that I used boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips instead of the thighs. I always prefer the boneless skinless chicken thighs but they were ridiculously expensive at the grocery store today; $5.99 lb!! And the chicken breasts were only $1.99 a pound. The other tweak was just that I made my own pesto from basil growing in the garden. I love everything about your recipe. The colors of fresh asparagus and colorful tomatoes just popped. And the great flavors from the pesto, the sun dried tomatoes, just tied everything together beautifully! I was initially unsure about using both sun-dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes in the same dish. But it just works! I’m so happy I ran across your recipe! Thank you for sharing it. I’ll be sure to take a look at your others. When the price of chicken thighs comes back down I’ll use that next time, but the chicken breasts worked out fine too. I had planned to serve a salad with this but there’s plenty of vegetables already in it so I just served watermelon slices and sourdough garlic bread. Three of us were already talking after dinner about who gets to take leftovers for lunch!
You’ve knocked it out of the ballpark with this one Julia! I love easy, healthy and delicious recipes in my repertoire. Thank you!
Made this recipe with ground Italian sausage and it did not disappoint! Thank you for sharing an easy, healthy delicious recipe!
Lindsey, I am so glad you loved this recipe. Sausage sounds so good with these flavors!
Made this and it was so yummy and flavorful. However, and this is my error...I cooked a lil too hot.
I tried this recipe last night. Simple to make. Very delicious and tasty. Will definitely be making it again. 5 star
Lynn, your comment made my day! ❤️ Thank you for this positive feedback.
this has become a go-to recipe in my house and a great option during our fitness journey - thank you so much!
Zan, I am so glad you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for the 5-star review! ❤️
I’ve made this recipe twice so far and it is my absolute favorite group meal and it’s fast and easy to make, which I like being a momma of two little boys. I plan on making this tomorrow night for two other couples and I’m stoked to eat this delicious meal again! Do yourself a favor and make this for your family!
Ashley, I am so flattered by your comment - thank you! Glad it's one of your favorite meals. Thank you for taking the time to share this wonderful feedback! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My 14 year old loves this meal and asks for it often!
Carrie, I am so happy the recipe was enjoyed! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
Loved everything about this recipe!
Patty, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
If you’re on an anti-inflammatory diet would olive oil and balsamic vinegar be a good sub for pesto?
Ashley, I know nothing about an anti-inflammatory diet. But, if you want to use balsamic vinegar and olive oil instead of basil pesto here - it's a wonderful and delicious substitution that will work really well!
Love this recipe, I was thinking of providing this as a meal for a new mom; however, I would need to freeze it. Do you think I could freeze it all together and write directions to thaw then warm in the oven covered with foil?
I think this will freeze well. I would use skinless boneless chicken thighs in this case because, in my experience, they reheat better chicken breasts when frozen.