Love to be in the Kitchen

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

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Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta is a quick and flavorful recipe everyone will love! Penne noodles are topped with a creamy pesto sauce, seasoned chicken, tomatoes and parmesan cheese.Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Pasta is a favorite of ours in this house. My husband is a huge fan and best of all my boys love it! This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta is quick to make, full of amazing flavor and so good! The perfect recipe for your family.

I love that this recipe is so yummy but quick to make! My life since having my new baby and 3rd kid still feels pretty crazy. She is sleeping longer at night but some nights I don’t get enough sleep so it makes it a little harder the next day trying to keep up with my two cute energetic boys! The laundry never seems to end and some days I just can’t do it all. So I have to simplify where I can. One area I have really simplified lately is dinner. My husband usually makes dinner 1-2 times a week now and some nights we have breakfast for dinner, taco salad, leftovers and pasta.  Simple but healthy (we add lots of veggies and fruit to our dinners) and so delicious!

This pasta is so awesome you guys! Perfect for busy nights. Other than cooking the pasta it’s a one pan dinner. I know you will love it!

Enjoy!

One Year Ago: Panna Cotta with Mixed Berry Compote

Two Years Ago: Honey Lime Fruit Toss

Three Years Ago: Red Robin Bleu Ribbon Burger

Four Years Ago: The NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookie

Yield: 6 servings

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces penne noodles, cooked al dente according to package instructions, drained and patted dry
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 small jar of store-bought pesto (or 1 cup of homemade basil pesto)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1½ cups half and half or heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

optional

  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • fresh parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Spray a large pan or skillet with cooking spray. Season both sides of chicken breasts with Italian seasoning and cook over medium-high heat 4-6 minutes on each side until juices run clear and completely cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cut into strips or cut into bite size pieces.
  2. In the same pan where you cooked the chicken, melt butter. Add garlic and sauté about 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Add flour and stir until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually whisk in half and half (or heavy cream) until mixture is smooth. Whisk in pesto. Continue to stir until mixture thickens.
  3. Pour creamy pesto sauce over noodles and top with chicken and remaining optional ingredients or you can add noodles, sauce, chicken and optional ingredients to a large bowl and toss together. Serve warm. Enjoy!
© Becky very slightly adapted from Le Creme de la Crumb

Very slightly adapted from Creme De La Crumb

Comments

  1. Sounds so yummy! I have been craving a good pasta dish! I can’t wait to have fresh summer tomatoes, they would be fabulous over this meal!

    Thanks for sharing with me!

    ~Laura
    Fresh & Happy

    Reply

  5. I was just telling my husband I want fresh, garden tomatoes so I can have them with pasta and big, green salads! I love all the ingredients here, can’t wait to try it!

    Reply

  7. I can’t wait to try this recipe! It sounds so yummy! Thanks so much for sharing at the Talented Tuesday Link Party – This post is one of my features this week! Please stop by and grab a “featured” button, and link up your latest!

    Reply

  8. Hi, I am making this for tea tonight and was just wondering how many does this recipe serve ? I can’t see any portion sizes. Thanks

    Reply

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