Chicken Pesto Pasta

Summer is the season of light bright flavors and minimal cooking, and this chicken pesto pasta is bringing all that—and more—to your weeknight table. Featuring store-bought pesto along with just six other ingredients, this 30-minute, one-pan meal is truly the lazy cook’s dream. Don’t be surprised if you end up (willingly!) eating the leftovers for lunch every day until they run out.

How To Make Chicken Pesto Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Since most pestos use olive oil as their base, I chose to cook the chicken in olive oil as well. If you don’t have olive oil, neutral would work just fine.
• Chicken: I prefer chicken breasts here because the slightly leaner white meat is a great foil for the richness of the pesto—but if you only have boneless, skinless thighs, you could use those in a pinch.
• Garlic & Red Pepper Flakes: Freshly chopped garlic brings additional depth of flavor to the sauce. The red pepper flakes add a kick, which balances the fattiness of the heavy cream, pesto, and cheese (don’t worry—it won’t necessarily make the dish spicy!).
• Cream: Cooking the pasta in a little heavy cream as well as water builds a light, creamy base to fold the cheese and pesto into.
• Pasta: I chose penne for this recipe, but any short or small tube-shaped pasta would work here. Try rotini, rigatoni, ziti, or even farfalle.
• Parmesan: Most pestos already contain Parmesan, so adding a little extra just bumps up the flavor. Make sure you’re grating it finely so it melts into the sauce well. Whatever you do, make sure it’s from an actual chunk of cheese, not a can!
• Pesto: You can use store-bought or homemade pesto here. I tested with Gotham Greens pesto, which is my preferred brand, but feel free to use whatever you like best!
• Basil: Topping this pasta with basil is totally optional—but the basil does provide a fresh finish to the pasta!

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Start by cooking the chicken. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through. This should take 4 to 5 minutes, but if you have a probe thermometer, you can also just use that to check and make sure the thickest pieces are temping at 160°. Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and set aside.

To the now-empty pan, combine the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until you can smell them (about 30 seconds), then pour in the water and heavy cream; season with 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, then add the pasta and simmer until the pasta is just tender. This reliably took me 8 minutes, but depending on the brand of pasta you’re using, it could take a little longer. By the time the pasta is cooked, the liquid should have reduced to a thin sauce.

Once the pasta is tender, stir in the cheese and reserved chicken until the cheese is melted and the chicken is warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the pesto, then taste and season with more salt as needed.

Top with fresh basil (if you’re using!) and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Choose a pesto you LOVE: While there are other ingredients to enhance the overall flavor, this pasta sauce is primarily pesto, so whatever pesto you use will have a big impact on the flavor. If you use store-bought pesto, make sure you’ve tasted it and that you like the flavor before adding it to your dish.
• Mix up the pasta shapes: Penne is great here—but if there’s another short pasta shape you love, feel free to try it out. Fusilli, rotini, or farfalle would all be great options.

What To Serve With Chicken Pesto Pasta

• Garlic Knots
• Bruschetta
• Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Storage

If you have leftovers, this pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you’re okay with cold pasta, I actually recommend eating the leftovers cold rather than reheating—it’s tricky to rewarm this pasta sauce without it turning into a greasy puddle. The cold leftovers, on the other hand, almost give pesto pasta salad vibes.