How to Make Chicken Pesto Pasta- 30 Minutes Recipe

Chicken pesto pasta is another pasta recipe from Italian cuisine. The juicy chicken and tender vegetables in pasta become more delicious when cooked with pesto sauce and cream. Pesto sauce is a key ingredient in pesto chicken pasta that enhances the flavor of creamy pasta. You can purchase a ready-to-eat pesto sauce from the supermarket or you can make this sauce in your own kitchen from scratch. There is a variety of vegetables that you can use in pesto pasta recipes, but mostly the traditional recipe goes with only asparagus as a main vegetable in the pasta recipe. However, you can add cherry tomatoes for a customized recipe.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Chicken Pesto Pasta Ingredients

• Pasta 1 cup ( linguine, fettuccine, spaghetti, or penne pasta)
• Chicken breast 1 kg
• Asparagus 2 cups
• Heavy cream  2 cups
• Pesto Sauce 4 tbsps
• Olive oil 4 tbsps
• Black pepper powder 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Parmesan cheese for garnish
• Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Directions for Making Chicken Pesto Pasta

Boil Pasta

Firstly, take a cooking pot and fill it in half with water. Then put it on the stove at medium flame for boiling. Once the water comes to a boil, add one cup of pasta of your choice into it and boil it according to packet instructions or until it gets tender.

Strain & Rinse Pasta  with Water

Once the pasta is done, remove the pot from flame and strain the pasta. Then rinse it under tap water to stop the cooking process. Finally, pour two drops of cooking oil over the boiled pasta to prevent it from sticking together. Then set it aside for later use in a pesto pasta recipe.

Slice & Marinate Chicken

Secondly, take one kilogram of chicken breast and cut them into two halves lengthwise. Then season both sides of the chicken breast with salt and black pepper powder.

Grill Chicken

Then take a pan and pour two tablespoons of olive oil into it, and heat the oil for a minute. Then put marinated chicken breast into the pan and cook it over medium flame for 3-4 minutes or until it turns golden brown in color. After cooking one side flip the chicken piece and cook another side for another 3-4 minutes.

Slice Grilled Chicken

Once the chicken is cooked completely, take it out from the pan and let it cool down. Then slice it into small pieces using a sharp knife. Set it aside for later use in pesto pasta.

Chop Asparagus

Then take fresh asparagus, and trim its edges. Then using a knife chop them into two halves.

Fry Asparagus

In a frying pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil. Then add chopped asparagus into the pan, and fry them for 4- 5 minutes on medium flame or until tender enough. Keep stirring them in between to prevent them from burning.

Pour Heavy Cream

Then pour two cups of heavy cream into the pan. Once the cream starts simmering cook it for 2 minutes while stirring it in between.

Pour Pesto Sauce

Then add four tablespoons of pesto sauce to the cream and asparagus. Mix it until well incorporated, and cook for a minute.

Add Grilled Chicken

Then add grilled chicken pieces into the pesto pasta mixture, and mix well using a spatula.

Add Boiled Pasta

Then after adding pesto sauce and grilled chicken add boiled pasta into the pan and give it a good mix.

Add Spices

Finally, sprinkle salt and black pepper powder on pesto pasta and mix the pasta using a spatula. Turn off the heat and the pasta is ready to garnish.

Garnish and Serve

Dish out yummy chicken pesto pasta on a plate, and garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

Conclusion

• While boiling pasta, if you add a drop of oil and a pinch of salt in water it will prevent pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• While reheating creamy pesto pasta, keep the flame medium-low to low.
• Pour milk, water, or heavy cream while reheating the creamy pasta recipe.

References

Natasha’s Kitchen- Italian cuisine recipes