Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta might just be the most tender and flavorful weeknight meal to grace your dinner table. In just 20 minutes, you have a meal everyone will love. All you have to do is whip up a dreamy pesto cream sauce to coat your favorite pasta, throw some chicken in and voila – a delicious dinner is served!

How do you say this is the best thing that has ever happened to me in 4 words? “Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta.” After a bite of this creamy, zesty goodness you’ll never want for another kind of pasta ever again. Luckily this pasta is so easy you could make it every night!

Ingredient Info

• Pasta – This recipe calls for penne pasta, but really you can use whatever shape you like or have on hand. Some good alternatives are macaroni, rigatoni, ziti, campanelle, bowtie, rotini etc..
• Chicken – You can either buy pre-cooked grilled chicken at the grocery store, or quickly grill up some chicken on your own. A sliced up rotisserie chicken is also a great option in a pinch. 3 cups of chicken equals about 2 to 3 chicken breasts depending on their size.
• Heavy Cream – Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream will give this pasta dish that silky, creamy texture that I don’t recommend skipping out on. While you could use half or half or milk, the end result simply isn’t as good.
• Jar Pesto or Homemade Pesto – Pesto jars vary in size, but anything between 6 and 8 ounces will work. My favorite premade pesto is the fresh pesto in the refrigerator section at Trader Joe’s. While premade pesto will make this Chicken Pesto Pasta delicious, homemade pesto really gives you the best flavor.

If making Homemade Pesto, you will also need the following items.

• Basil – Fresh basil leaves are best for this recipe.
• Parmesan – Parmesan is the classic cheese choice for making pesto sauce, and also gives the dish an extra serving of creaminess.
• Pecorino Romano – Pecorino Romano cheese is really similar to parmesan, but is made from goats milk instead of cow’s milk. It’s also a bit saltier compared to parmesan. You can omit this ingredient if you’d like, it’s not necessary. If you do leave it out, I recommend adding an extra pinch of salt to the pesto sauce. If you decide to use this cheese, you may want to omit half of the salt you would originally use for this dish.
• Olive Oil – Try to use a fresh bottle of high quality olive oil when making a pesto sauce otherwise the sauce may end up tasting a bit bitter.
• Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice always elevates a recipe’s flavors, but if all you have is bottled lemon juice, that works as well.
• Pine Nuts – This is a classic pesto ingredient, but if you don’t have any or don’t like them, they can be left out of the recipe all-together. You can also substitute for a different kind of nut like cashews, walnuts or almonds.

Step By Step Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta.
• If making homemade pesto, follow directions to make pesto sauce.
• Prior to draining the pasta, save about ½ cup of the cooking water. Drain pasta well.
• Toss pesto sauce with cooked pasta. Add heavy cream and toss again. Add pasta water, a little at a time, to thin the sauce if needed.
• Add the chicken and toss to coat. Top with extra parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
• Serve Chicken Pesto Pasta hot or cold.

Tips & Advice

Storage – Store the leftover pesto pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re ready to eat it again and want to thaw it out from the freezer, you can set it in the fridge overnight. To reheat you can either microwave in 30 second intervals, or add the leftovers to a large saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until warmed up again. Add a splash of heavy cream to the pasta to break it up, and make the sauce, saucy again.

Equipment – For this recipe you’ll need a large pot, a skillet or pan, a food processor, and something to stir with. Instead of a food processor, a mini chopper works just as well, or a blender. If you use a blender be careful to pulse the sauce lightly, and do your best to not over blend.

Pesto Pointer – Maybe you’re a fan of a thick pesto sauce compared to a thinner pesto. Either way, you can control the consistency of your pesto sauce with how much olive oil you add. If you like it thick add less, and if you like it thin add more! If you do end up adding more oil, you may want to season the sauce a bit more at the end. If you don’t enjoy making your own homemade pesto, that’s okay! You can use a jar of pesto sauce instead. Just substitute all the pesto ingredients for approximately 1 cup of jarred pesto.

FAQs

Serves Well With

Chicken Pesto Pasta makes a great ‘star of the show’ main dish. But every star, needs some sides to help it shine! Here are some great ideas for what to serve with Chicken Pesto Pasta.

• Homemade dinner rolls
• Garlic knots
• Brussel sprouts
• Green beans
• Glazed carrots
• Dinner salad

You can also double this batch of pesto sauce, and use half of it for this pasta and the other half as a dip for breads, sandwich or salad dressings, in soup or as a meat marinade! If you want more expert tips on making the perfect pesto sauce, check out this more in depth homemade pesto recipe.