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    Chicken Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms

    By Julia | Updated: Sep 12, 2022 | Published: May 21, 2018 | 95 Comments

    162.7K shares
    • Facebook4.4K
    Jump to Recipe Print SaveSaved!
    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.

    Chicken Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms is pure comfort food and an easy-to-make family friendly dinner!  Perfect any time of the year but especially during the Summer, when fresh basil abounds. The delicious creamy pesto sauce is made with milk, basil pesto, red pepper flakes.

    Chicken basil pesto pasta with mushrooms

     

    I love pesto, and cook a lot with it in the Summer. I've been making this chicken pesto pasta for years, and only now finally posting the recipe on my blog. It combines some of my most favorite flavors: basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh basil, red pepper flakes. And, the whole recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish. Perfect amount of time since you want to spend most of the time in the Summer outdoors and not cooking, right?

    Types of pasta to use with creamy pesto sauce

    • I use penne because pesto sauce covers more surface with short pasta like penne.
    • Long strands of spaghetti pasta are also perfectly suited for a creamy and oily sauce like basil pesto sauce.
    • Angel hair pasta is an excellent choice for this sauce, as thin noodles will be perfectly smothered with this creamy pasta sauce.

    How to make basil pesto from scratch

    There are lots of great recipes for homemade basil pesto, and below are my favorites from trusted sources:

    • This beautifully green basil pesto is everything that a pesto should be:  pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.
    • Another classic recipe is this fresh basil pesto.
    • And this recipe for homemade pesto is amazing!
    • There is always option #4 - purchase a pre-made basil pesto in the store!

    chicken pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and pesto, pasta with vegetables

    How long can you store basil pesto

    • Store freshly-made pesto in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 1 week. Add a thin layer of olive oil on top of the surface of basil pesto - this will help prevent the pesto from turning brown.
    • You can freeze fresh basil pesto for up to 3 months.  It freezes really well.

    Can you freeze basil pesto?

    For long term storage, use ice cube trays.  Fill clean ice cube tray with basil pesto.  Allow the basil pesto to freeze.  Release basil pesto "ice cubes" from the ice cube tray.  Add basil pesto "ice cubes" into small baggies and keep them frozen for up to 3 months.  This way, when it's time to use pesto in a recipe, you don't have to thaw a whole container of basil pesto.  Just take an ice cube or two and use them for your recipe.

    How to defrost pesto

    • Allow frozen pesto to sit at room temperature for about an hour or until it's completely thawed.
    • Place frozen basil pesto in the refrigerator in an air-tight container overnight so that it gets defrosted.
    • If you use basil pesto in the sauce, like in this recipe, you can just add basil pesto "ice cube" directly to the sauce and stir on medium heat, allowing the heat to defrost the pesto.

    best chicken pasta, chicken pasta with vegetables, chicken recipes, easy chicken dinner, quick pasta recipes

    I use skinless and boneless chicken thighs in this recipe and highly recommend you do too! They are so flavorful, moist, easy to chop and perfect for this kind of recipe.

    Chicken Basil pesto pasta

    How to make chicken pesto pasta:

    Below are some step-by-step photos and instructions demonstrating the key steps for how to make this delicious pasta dish.

    First, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken (chopped up) with sun-dried tomatoes (chopped into smaller bites) to the skillet, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Saute for about 1 minute on medium heat.

    cooking chicken and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, gluten free

    Next, add sliced mushrooms (add another 1 tablespoon olive oil if needed):

    chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms in a skillet

    and saute for about 2 more minutes (or a little bit more), until chicken is cooked through and mushrooms are softened:

    chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms with olive oil in a skillet

    Then, add garlic, pesto, milk, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil, immediately reduce to simmer and simmer, stirring until everything is well combined. Remove from heat. Taste, and add more salt, if needed.

    creamy pesto sauce with chicken, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes

    Finally, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Add cooked pasta to the sauce, reheat.
    Top with chopped fresh basil.

    chicken pasta, pasta recipes, best chicken recipes, best pasta recipes, pesto pasta, gluten free pasta recipes

    Other chicken pasta recipes featuring basil:

    Tomato Spinach Chicken Spaghetti with Basil

    Chicken and Zucchini Tortellini with Basil Pesto Sauce

    Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Sauce

    Chicken Basil Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms
    4.79 from 130 votes

    Chicken Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms

    This chicken pesto pasta recipe combines some of my most favorite flavors: basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh basil, red pepper flakes.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American, Italian
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories per serving 550 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • ½ lb chicken thighs , boneless, skinless, chopped
    • ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes , drained of most oil, chopped
    • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • 4 oz mushrooms , sliced
    • 3 garlic cloves , minced
    • ½ cup basil pesto
    • 1 cup milk
    • ¼ teaspoon salt and more
    • 8 ounces penne pasta (use gluten free for gluten free version)
    • fresh basil chopped
    US Customary - Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions 

    • Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken (chopped up) with sun-dried tomatoes (chopped into smaller bites) to the skillet, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Saute for about 1 minute on medium heat.
    • Add sliced mushrooms (add another 1 tablespoon olive oil if needed) and saute for about 2 more minutes (or a little bit more), until chicken is cooked through and mushrooms are softened.
    • Add garlic, basil pesto, milk, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to boil, immediately reduce to simmer and simmer, stirring until everything is well combined. Remove from heat. Taste, and add more salt, if needed.
    • Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Add cooked pasta to the sauce, reheat.
    • Top with chopped fresh basil.
    • Want to make basil pesto from scratch? Here is a super flavorful and creamy 20-Minute Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Chicken Pesto Pasta with Mushrooms
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    550
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    27
    g
    42
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    6
    g
    38
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    64
    mg
    21
    %
    Sodium
     
    529
    mg
    23
    %
    Potassium
     
    657
    mg
    19
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    53
    g
    18
    %
    Fiber
     
    3
    g
    13
    %
    Sugar
     
    8
    g
    9
    %
    Protein
     
    22
    g
    44
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    865
    IU
    17
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    4
    mg
    5
    %
    Calcium
     
    147
    mg
    15
    %
    Iron
     
    2.1
    mg
    12
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    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.

    Keyword basil pesto, chicken pesto pasta

    This recipe was originally published on June 14, 2016 and republished with updates, cooking tips in May 2018.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Ingrid Rinaudo

      May 30, 2021 at 12:59 pm

      Just made this. It was delicious. I felt like I was eating a meal straight from a nice restaurant. Thanks.

      Reply
    2. Roald

      January 15, 2021 at 1:20 pm

      Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I added two tweaks to the recipe. Instead of olive oil, I used the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes. It's packed full of flavor and it'll really raise the intensity of the dish. Don't worry, you can balance it with a bit more pesto, cream or milk. I also tripled the amount of red chili flakes, but that's just because I like that spicy kick.

      Reply
    3. Delia Downing

      September 19, 2020 at 9:32 pm

      Made this tonight and it was excellent! (Agree with the comment about the pop-ups too).

      Reply
    4. KTDID

      September 12, 2020 at 4:28 pm

      I can't see the recipe of the video that covers up your page. Extremely frustrating! I don't know how you expect people to get your recipes, try them and give you a good rating

      Reply
    5. Molly Hicks

      September 03, 2020 at 7:16 am

      Sooo goooood! Thanks for this recipe, it was a hit.

      Reply
    6. Sheryll

      August 07, 2020 at 11:25 pm

      Absolutely delicious! I used the Basil Pesto from Costco. Doubled the amount of mushrooms and used unsweetened soy milk since that is all I had on hand. Also added grape tomatoes, broccoli, and spinach. I had a lot of liquid so used a cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce. Will make again!

      Reply
    7. Julie

      May 20, 2020 at 7:46 am

      If I use an entire box of pasta should I add
      More milk?

      Reply
    8. Deb Orr

      May 14, 2020 at 3:12 pm

      Delicious pasta dish! I added some chopped onion and additional mushrooms. We loved every bite! I would like to double this to make for a small dinner party. I assume I could make it the day before, refrigerate and reheat on the day of the dinner and thin with reserved pasta water if necessary. Any other suggestions?

      Reply
    9. Paula

      April 15, 2020 at 12:11 pm

      I’ve made this dish several times now and love it! It’s easy, flavourful and my hubby loves it! I also tried it with shrimp and it was delish!

      Reply
    10. Lori

      March 23, 2020 at 8:19 pm

      Not only was this recipe delightful, it also didn’t have too many ingredients, 16 different steps, and hours of prep time. This type of quick, easy and delicious recipe is what I look for when cooking for my family.

      We only have 2% milk and I was worried it might be off but it was totally fine. Reduced it from 1 cup to 3/4 cup bc the mushroom produced so much water from not having enough time to dry after washed. I doubled the amount of mushrooms bc we’re a mushroom family and I didn’t want 4oz of unused mushrooms sitting in my fridge. Quadrupled the amount of pepper flakes. Will definitely make again.

      Thanks!

      Reply
    11. Sunshine

      March 19, 2020 at 7:04 pm

      Hello!

      I made this tonight and it was perfect for a quick fancy family dinner. I used the store bought pesto from Costco and fried onions before the chicken was added to give the recipe a sweet onion flavour. The milk addition was my favourite part because I usually never have cream on hand. Love love loved this

      Reply
    12. Brynn

      February 19, 2020 at 9:33 pm

      Hi! This looks delicious and I’m going to try it tonight 🙂

      Quick question - can I use fresh cherry tomatoes instead of sun dried?

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 19, 2020 at 11:17 pm

        Yes, you can use fresh cherry tomatoes. Enjoy the recipe!

        Reply
    13. Zina P.

      February 04, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      I made this for supper this evening and the end result was delicious. I did not have fresh basil, so I just sprinkled some dried basil at the end. Of course, fresh basil is much more flavorful and bright! I often buy ingredients and never use it all....so, the leftover sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto sitting in my fridge found another fantastic recipe for using them! Thank you.

      Reply
      • Julia

        February 19, 2020 at 7:56 pm

        So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment! 🙂

        Reply
    14. Judy

      October 28, 2019 at 12:04 am

      I made this tonight and it was delicious!! The only change I made was to add more sun dried tomatoes than called for. Your father in law loved it!! Thought the world should know that even your MOTHER IN LAW (oh, horrors!!) makes your recipes!! ❤️

      Reply
      • Julia

        October 30, 2019 at 8:44 pm

        Thank you, Judy! 🙂 It's one of my favorite recipes - I've been making it for years!

        Reply
    15. Sarah Carlson

      August 27, 2019 at 2:46 pm

      Can the milk be replaced by chicken stock or broth? Or, is there another alternative for a Vegan?

      Reply
      • Julia

        September 28, 2019 at 5:46 pm

        I would suggest that you use coconut milk.

        Reply
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    Julia is the author of JuliasAlbum.com (a food blog focused on easy dinner recipes, pasta dishes, salads made with seasonal ingredients). In this photo, Julia is pictured wearing a yellow sweater against an Autumn background.

    Hi, I'm Julia!

    I am a full-time food blogger living in beautiful Colorado. I focus primarily on savory recipes (protein-based & fiber-rich main dishes, pasta, salads) using fresh & seasonal ingredients. A food blogger since 2012, I help home cooks create well-balanced and visually appealing dinners (many of which are 30-minute ONE-PAN meals). Find out more about me and my cooking philosophy. 

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