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A shallow bowl of rotini pasta tossed in green pesto sauce, topped with grilled chicken pieces, shaved parmesan, pine nuts, and fresh basil leaves.
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Chicken Pesto Pasta

Juicy chicken, tender pasta, and a creamy basil pesto sauce come together in this easy, satisfying dinner. Ready in about 35 minutes.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: comfort food, date night, dinner party, easy, quick
Servings: 8 people
Author: Marissa Stevens

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Creamy Pesto

  • 1 1/2 ounces fresh basil leaves no stems, about 2 cups, plus finely chopped basil for garnish (optional)
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted if desired, about 35grams
  • 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese about ½ cup, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

For the Pasta and Chicken

  • 1 pound fusilli pasta or other short pasta like penne, rotini or gemelli
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces (about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

To Make Pesto

  • Make pesto by adding basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped; scrape down sides. With food processor running, add olive oil through the shoot in a steady stream; process until smooth. Transfer pesto to a medium bowl and stir in heavy cream; taste and season with more salt if needed. (recipe note #1)

For the Pasta

  • Cook pasta until firm to the bite (al dente) according to package directions, in a large pot of boiling, salted water. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. (recipe note #2)

For the Chicken

  • Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper; cook and stir until chicken is just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add pesto mixture; cook and stir until bubbly, about 2 minutes.
  • Add drained pasta to chicken and pesto mixture and stir until well combined and heated through, adding pasta water a tablespoon at a time if needed to loosen the sauce; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese and chopped basil if desired; serve.

Video

Notes

  1. Transfer pesto to bowl and refrigerate if making more than a few minutes in advance. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface to preserve the vibrant green color.
  2. If you have leftover pasta, cover and refrigerate the reserved pasta water as well for an excellent way to moisten pasta when reheating.

Nutrition

Calories: 536kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 343mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 579IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 2mg

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