My sister really likes this creamy pesto and chicken pasta dish! I recently showed her how to make it, so I thought I would write it up for here, too. It is essentially just a slightly “fancier” version of pasta with pesto sauce and is therefore super easy to make. Adding a dash of cream to some homemade green pesto makes a lovely sauce for the crispy chicken pieces and pasta to be coated in!
How Do You Make This Creamy Pesto and Chicken Pasta Dish
As I said, this creamy pesto and chicken pasta dish is super easy to make. I would highly recommend using homemade green pesto for this recipe as the flavour is SO MUCH BETTER than shop-bought pesto. This does take a little bit of time, but once you have made the pesto the rest is really quick to make! You can find my recipe for homemade green pesto here. Why not make a large amount whilst you´re at it, it keeps well in the fridge and you could also use it for other recipes, for example, as a filling for this Pesto Star Bread or try out this Spaghetti Pesto with Feta Cheese recipe.
Once the pesto is made, you can fry the chicken pieces whilst the pasta is cooking. Fry them in some oil over a high heat initially so that it becomes brown and crispy. As I mentioned in my cooking basics post about How To Cook Pasta, the pasta cooking water is excellent for using to make sauces! I also use some in this recipe, so when the pasta is ready, remember to reserve some of the cooking water!
When the chicken is crisp, I add a few big dollops of pesto to the pan, followed by a dash of single or cooking cream. I then add enough of the reserved pasta water to make a nice sauce before tossing the pasta in! And hey presto – dinner is ready!
Upscaling and Downscaling the Recipe
The recipe below is enough to serve four people. If cooking for a larger group, just increase the amount of pasta by about 75-100g per person, make a bit more chicken and use a little more pesto if needed.
If you are only cooking for yourself, you could simply half the recipe and keep the leftovers in the fridge to heat up the next day. I don´t usually opt for pasta for meal prep, as it tends to go a bit soggy when reheated in the microwave. The only thing I meal prep is pasta sauce.
As mentioned above, the homemade green pesto I make keeps really well in the fridge. Therefore, once you have made it, you can quickly pull this meal together in the evening with freshly cooked pasta. If you are cooking for yourself, use about 75-100g of pasta (depending on how hungry you are), a small or half a large chicken breast and a large dollop of your pesto.
More Pasta Recipes
I LOVE pasta! Who doesn´t? Pasta is great for quick and easy dinners and ideal for student cooking! Make sure to check out my student cooking basics post on How To Cook Pasta (Properly) and then why not go ahead and give some of my other pasta recipes a try?
- Penne Tricolore
- Meatball Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce (Lady in the Tramp)
- Easy Student Lasagne
- Sundried Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Feta Cheese
- Creamy Hummus Linguine
- Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagne
- Pasta and Cheese Sauce with Crispy Bacon
Creamy Pesto and Chicken Pasta
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 350-400g pasta (tube-shaped are the best for this dish, for example, Penne or Tortiglione)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large (or 3 medium) chicken breast fillets, diced
- 5-6 tbsp green pesto
- 50ml single cream
- Black pepper
- grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil, to serve (optional)
Method:
- If you are wanting to make homemade pesto, first follow the recipe for that here. Otherwise, just continue with step 2.
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add a generous amount of salt once boiling. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions (about 9-11 minutes). Drain the pasta through a colander but reserve some of the cooking water in a small jug/mug (see more tips here).
- In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot, fry the chicken over a high heat to seal and brown, then turn down the heat and cook for a further couple of minutes until cooked.
- Once the chicken is cooked, stir in the pesto, cream, and some of the pasta cooking water. Add a little more water if needed until a sauce forms and the chicken is fully coated in the pesto sauce.
- Finally, add the pasta to the frying pan and toss in the creamy pesto and chicken sauce. Season with some black pepper and serve with some optional grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
