You can make this chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes in just 20 minutes. This recipe is just how you like it: easy, healthy and super tasty.
Hey Foodies,
Today I’m going to show you how to make chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes… in just 20 minutes! Now, how great does that sound?
An easy delish, perfect for sharing or meal-planning, ready in just 20 minutes!?
And there’s more…
This easy chicken pesto pasta recipe is also healthy because I made it with homemade basil pesto sauce. Moreover, if you read the Tips & Tricks part below, I will explain you how to make it even healthier and low carb. That’s great news for you us, always-on-diet-but-greedy foodies.
And yeah, I know pasta has some extra carbs but the good news is that you can replace it with its carbs-free equivalent if needed.
Let’s see how…
Related:
How to make chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes – Best Tips & Tricks
1. Use any kind of pasta or even zucchini noodles
I used spaghetti in this chicken pesto pasta recipe and it came out just perfect. But if spaghetti are not your thing, you can replace them with your favorite pasta.
And here are some of the most popular:
- Tagliatelle
- penne
- farfalle
- fettuccine
- pappardelle
It’s worth noting here that different types of pasta require different cooking times.
Dried pasta will generally get done in 10-12 minutes but you should start checking at about 6-7 min, then at 9 and so on until they’re ready. And by checking I mean tasting a piece each time and when it’s done it should be a little chewy (al dente).
Of course, you should always follow the directions on the package, but also check while cooking because as I said, the cooking time is different for each type.
Food Republic dived deeper into the process of cooking dried pasta if you want to know more about it.
Now here comes the best part…
I know many of you us foodies are always on diet (yeah, I know the feeling) and in this case, you can replace spaghetti with any gluten-free or whole-wheat pasta.
Yet, if your waists forbid you from any kind of pasta due to its carbs content (but your taste buds beg for something tasty), you can replace it with zucchini noodles.
These are a healthy alternative to pasta and a great way to eat more veggies.
Related: Pesto Chicken Zoodles Recipe
This way you’ll make a low-carb healthy chicken pesto pasta recipe. And if you want to make it super tasty pay close attention to the following tip.
2. Make chicken pasta with homemade pesto sauce
I know I probably sound like a broken record but I can’t stress this enough: ‘Homemade is best’.
So for the hundredth time, don’t go for store-bought pesto. Instead, make it yourself as it only takes 10 minutes and you can make a large batch and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
It’s not just cheaper, but also tastier and healthier, much better in every way.
Now, if you’re tired of the classic pesto recipe (Italian foodies, don’t kill me, I’m not, I swear 🙂 ) you can tweak it and replace the basil with mint or parsley.
Or, you could try using different kinds of basil like Thai, purple, lemon or lime basil. Moreover, you can add rocket salad, baby spinach or even kale.
If you’re not sure of how to combine these ingredients drop me a line in the comments, on Facebook, or Insta, and I’ll be more than happy to help.
Now let’s move on to the last trick for today.
3. Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking
This trick is optional and it will increase the cooking time but it will make the chicken (especially the breast) more tender and juicy.
Take the chicken out of the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking. Coat it with pesto sauce and let it reach room temperature (about 20-30 minutes). This process will not just make it tender and juicy, but it will also help it cook faster and evenly. (see here more details about the process).
Finally, here’s a summary of the key tricks you need to know before making this easy chicken pesto pasta recipe:
- Â You can change the spaghetti with your favorite pasta or with zucchini noodles
- Â Make the chicken pasta with homemade basil pesto.
- Â Coat the chicken with pesto and let it sit for 30 minutes before cooking to make it tender and juicy.
Now that you know all my tricks I am sure you know how to make chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes. So fire up the stoves, take your knives out, plug-in the food processors and let’s get ready to ruuumble coooook.
And if you like my chicken pesto pasta recipe video and want to see more, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
Easy Chicken Pesto Pasta With Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 oz (200g) dry spaghetti
- 2 chicken breast fillets - skinless, boneless
- 9 oz (250g) cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Ingredients for pesto sauce:
- 1/4 cup (35g) pine nuts - raw or toasted
- 1 cup (80g) basil leaves - washed and packed
- 1 garlic clove - peeled
- juice of 1 medium lemon
- 1/4 cup (25g) grated parmesan cheese - plus some extra to garnish
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
- Sea salt & pepper - to your taste
Instructions
- Boil spaghetti according to package directions in salted water.
- Meanwhile, add all pesto sauce ingredients except olive oil, to a food processor; pulse until finely blended; Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor for a couple of times.
- Add the olive oil in a slow stream and continue processing. Adding the olive oil slowly, while the processor is running, will help it emulsify and keep it from separating.
- Add about 1 Tbsp of pesto for each chicken fillet and coat well on both sides.
- Heat oil in a skillet or non-stick pan and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and no longer pink on the inside.
- Add in cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring, until tomatoes begin to burst.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest on a chopping board for 3-4 minutes, then slice it thinly.
- In a large bowl, mix the cooked spaghetti with the remaining pesto sauce, tomatoes and chicken.
- Toss, garnish with extra parmesan and serve right away!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*This post may contain affiliate links