This Chicken Pesto Pasta recipe blends the great flavor of pesto with bowtie pasta, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and parmesan cheese for a delicious dinner in 30 minutes.
I love this chicken and pesto pasta recipe. It is easy to make and has a delicious flavor that everyone will love.
Mother’s Day is almost here, and this dish would make a great Mother’s Day lunch or dinner for your mom!
If you love this dish, you should also try my Chicken Pesto Pizza.
Change this Recipe for Variety
It is also very easy to change up this recipe for some variety.
Switch the Pasta
You can easily switch up the pasta in this recipe. I think the shorter pasta works better, like using penne pasta for a chicken pesto penne dish. How about using cheese tortellini for a chicken pesto tortellini meal?
However, there is nothing wrong with using longer pasta and making this dish into a chicken pesto linguine, chicken pesto fettucine or chicken pesto spaghetti.
Change up the Protein
You can leave out the chicken if you want a vegetarian pesto pasta recipe.
If you want to use a different protein, just do it and swap out the chicken for shrimp, small pepperoni slices or Italian sausage. You could also add a little bacon and keep in the chicken for a chicken bacon pesto pasta.
Add or Swap Vegetables
You can also add more vegetables or swap the out the broccoli and / or tomatoes for any combination of sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, bell peppers, onions, zucchini and yellow squash.
Mix up the Cheese
Instead of parmesan cheese, try some shredded mozzarella, mozzarella balls or grated fontina cheese. You could also use more than one type of cheese!
How to Make Chicken Pesto Pasta
It is so easy to make chicken pesto pasta. Assemble your ingredients and cut the chicken and broccoli into bite-sized pieces and mince the garlic. For the exact amount of ingredients, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Boil a large pot of water and cook the pasta according to package directions.
Add the broccoli into the pasta pot 1 minute before turning off the heat.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
Then add the chicken into the pan with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the chicken 4-5 minutes per side or until lightly browned.
Next, add the tomatoes, garlic and Italian seasoning into the chicken pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drain the pasta and broccoli and return them to the pot.
Then pour the chicken and tomatoes into the pot.
Add the pesto and parmesan cheese and combine.
Garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley.
Serve and enjoy!
This Easy Chicken Pesto Pasta recipe is so good. Give it a try this week!
And, consider trying my Chicken Florentine Recipe next week!
Chicken Pesto Pasta with Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless - skinless chicken breasts, bite-sized pieces
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 12 oz. bow tie pasta - farfalle pasta
- 2 cups broccoli florets - bite-sized
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup basil pesto - you can use any, but the pesto found in the refrigerated section is fresher, just make sure the date is good
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta according to package directions. Add the broccoli into the pasta pot 1 minute before turning off the heat.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken into the pan with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the chicken 4-5 minutes per side or until lightly browned.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic and Italian seasoning into the chicken pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain the pasta and broccoli and return them to the pot.
- Add the chicken and tomatoes to the pot.
- Add the pesto and parmesan cheese and combine.
- Garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley.
- Serve and enjoy!
VIDEO
Nutrition
Have you made this in the Instant Pot? Would love to try this in the IP but was hoping you tried it first.
Hi Brenda, we haven’t tried this in the instant pot. If you give it a go, let us know how it turns out.