Pasta with pesto chicken. A tasty, easy meal with pasta and chicken in a creamy pesto sauce. Easy to make, quick to prepare and my most picky eaters, my daughter and son, loved it too!
A classic pasta
This pasta with pesto chicken recipe is a classic. Pasta cooked al dente in a pesto sauce. You can use homemade pesto, but of course you can also use store-bought pesto. By the way, making your own pesto is not a lot of work. Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and you’re done in no time!
Creamy pesto chicken pasta recipe
If there is one dish that everyone learns to make as soon as they leave home (in the Netherlands though), it is pasta pesto. In this recipe, however, we say goodbye to the simple pasta with a jar of pesto (although secretly it can still be quite tasty) and make a delicious creamy version with a creamy pesto sauce. Great with roasted or leftover chicken, cherry tomatoes and of course pesto!
Make your own pesto
As I said, you can absolutely use pre-made pesto but if you really want to take this pasta recipe tot the next level, you should make your own. All it takes is some olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, fresh basil leaves and some salt and peper. Blitz it all up and you’ve got a delicious homemade pesto!
How to make this pasta with pesto chicken
This is one of my favorite recipes and you can easily make this dish vegan, too. Replace the chicken with a plant-based alternative to make a vegan pasta pesto. Trust me, it will be just as good, because this pasta with pesto chicken is unbelievably tasty! Another lovely classic Italian chicken dish is my easy chicken Parmesan, it’s so so good!
Tip: A tasty addition to this easy recipe is some extra sun-dried or cherry tomatoes, rocket and grated Parmesan. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
- 250 gram penne (or other pasta of your choice)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 300 gram chicken skinless breast (diced)
- 2 tbsp pesto (store-bought or homemade)
- 100 ml heavy cream
- extra virgin olive oil,salt and pepper
- to serve: toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and rocket salad
Equipment
- Big pot
- Frying pan
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
- Cook the pasta until al dente in big pot with salted water, according to instructions on the packaging.
- In a large frying pan, fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil.
- Add the chicken to the same pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until cooked through.
- Add the pesto and cream and reduce slightly.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pesto cream sauce with the chicken, stirring well to coat all the pasta with the pesto sauce.
- Serve the pasta with toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, cherry tomatoes and rocket (to taste). Enjoy!
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