Chicken Pesto Pasta is a quick, easy, and creamy pasta loaded with juicy chicken and tender asparagus. It’s a quick 30-minute meal that’s both satisfying and delicious. Everyone in our family adores this meal, so I know it will become a staple in your meal rotation as well.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Loved this quick and easy recipe. Had my son, wife and their young daughter for dinner and she ate 5 helpings. Think this recipe is a keeper. I loved the crisp tenderness of the asparagus most of all. From 8 servings-no leftovers” – Judy ★★★★★
Chicken Pesto Pasta Video
Watch me create this 30-minute meal using simple ingredients for a spectacular dinner in just a few easy steps. You’ll love the simplicity!
Easy Chicken Pesto Pasta Recipe
I love the story of this Pesto Chicken Pasta dish! It was actually shared by one of our readers, Katie N., and it was love at first bite – an instant hit! Thank you, Katie, for generously sharing your amazing recipe with all of us.
This Pesto Pasta is simple with a very short list of ingredients, but the flavor is delicious. All you need is heavy whipping cream and Basil Pesto for the sauce, and then I cook the chicken, asparagus, and sauce in one skillet. It doesn’t get any easier, and clean up is a breeze.
My family and I love creamy pastas like our Cajun Chicken Pasta, Baked Feta Pasta, or Creamy Shrimp Pasta. This chicken pesto pasta recipe takes a cream sauce to the next level.
Ingredients for Pesto Chicken Pasta
You’ll need just 5 Ingredients for my chicken pesto pasta recipe, along with olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s that simple to make a complete and satisfying 30-minute dinner.
- Chicken Breasts – or chicken thighs, chicken tenders, or swap with 2 cups of pre-cooked rotisserie chicken or leftover Spatchcock Chicken (skip step 2 if already cooked).
- Asparagus – to clean and trim the asparagus, first rinse in water, and then cut the ends where the green begins to turn white. Cut the stalks into 3rds.
- Heavy whipping cream – the basis of the rich and creamy sauce. You can swap with dairy-free (one of my readers reported great results using canned coconut milk).
- Pesto sauce – Pesto is a creamy, blended, bright green sauce originally from Italy, typically made from basil, nuts (often pine nuts), parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. Homemade Pesto tastes best, but store-bought pesto works fine (I like Kirkland Signature Pesto from Costco). Pesto sauce is freezer-friendly, so if you make or buy a big batch, you can freeze portions of it for later.
- Pasta – I prefer fettuccini for this recipe since it holds the sauce nicely, but any kind of pasta will work (try my Homemade Pasta), like rigatoni, spaghetti, penne pasta, or pappardelle.
Substitutions
The ingredients for this chicken pesto pasta recipe are so easy to swap to fit what you have on hand. Try these easy variations:
- Protein – use pan-seared steak, pork, shrimp, or tofu, or omit the meat for a vegetarian dish.
- Vegetables – use whatever fresh veggies you have on hand, or leave the veggies out. Try frozen peas, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, blanched green beans, or mushrooms. Also, try adding halved cherry tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes at the end.
- Pasta – go low-carb or gluten-free! Replace the pasta with Spaghetti Squash or with zucchini noodles made with a spiralizer.
How to Make Chicken Pesto Pasta
Whip up this quick chicken pesto pasta for dinner tonight. It’s quick and easy and can be served right in the same pot!
- Cook the pasta – boil salted water in a large pot and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Do not rinse the pasta – the starchy exterior will cling to the sauce better.
- Cook the chicken – season the chicken and slice it into two cutlets. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side. Then remove and slice in half, and then into strips.
- Saute asparagus – add olive oil and asparagus pieces and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Make the Sauce – heat the heavy whipping cream to a simmer for 3 minutes. Toss in the pesto and cooked chicken, and then cook for 2 more minutes to warm through. Do not boil the sauce or the sauce can separate. Season the sauce with salt to taste.
- Add the pasta – add the cooked pasta, stir, and serve immediately!
Natasha’s Tip for Salting Pasta Water
To flavor the pasta, from the inside out, salt should be added to the pasta cooking water so that the water tastes like ocean water before adding the pasta. This will season the pasta from the inside out. Plan on 1 1/2 Tbsp fine sea salt per 6 quarts of water, or 2 Tbsp Morton kosher salt, or 1/4 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. I learned this tip from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat, and it’s a game-changer.
What to Serve with Chicken Pesto Pasta
I love serving Chicken Pesto Pasta with a Crusty French Bread, Garlic Bread, or Sourdough bread to soak up all the delicious pesto sauce. Since it’s very hearty on its own, I like to pair it with one of these simple salads:
Make-Ahead
This pasta is best served right away, but it makes for great leftovers as well. Be sure to allow the dish to cool and then package it in an airtight container.
- To Refrigerate: refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days (per USDA guidelines for storing cooked chicken).
- Freezing: You can freeze up to 1 month, but cook the pasta al dente so it doesn’t get too mushy when reheated. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To Reheat: Warm the pasta on low heat, stirring often. If you overheat, the cream can separate and seem oily. You can add a splash of cream, broth, or milk to bring the sauce back together.
My 30-minute chicken pesto pasta recipe is the perfect meal for any night when you need a quick, flavorful, and satisfying meal. Wow–it’s delicious! I know you’ll love this recipe and make it over and over again!
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1 tsp salt, (divided)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2″ pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 Tbsp pesto sauce
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz fettuccini pasta, (or linguine)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water* according to package instructions to your desired doneness. While pasta is cooking, proceed with the recipe then add drained cooked pasta to the sauce in step 5.
- Cook Chicken – Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise and season all sides with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat with 2 Tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot, add chicken in a single layer and saute until fully cooked through (3 min per side). Remove from pan and rest 5 minutes, then slice into bite-sized strips.
- Saute Asparagus – Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the same pan with asparagus pieces. Sautee stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until crisp tender.
- Make the Sauce – Add 2 cups heavy whipping cream, bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 4 Tbsp pesto then add chicken breasts and cook 2 minutes. Season sauce with 1/2 tsp salt or to taste.
- Combine and Serve – Add cooked pasta, stirring to coat noodles in sauce. Remove from heat and serve right away. Garnish with basil or parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More 30-Minute Meals to Try
If you love this chicken pesto pasta recipe, you have to try these other quick and tasty meals:
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Asparagus
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Beef Chili
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Monterey Chicken
- Sloppy Joes
Was a hit with the family. Great for a fast weeknight meal. I used gluten free noodles and it was delicious
This was certainly easy, but the sauce lacked flavor. I seasoned the chicken with Montreal Chicken and grilled it before slicing and putting in the sauce, expecting that would add plenty of seasoning to the sauce, but even that wasn’t enough. Maybe I should have followed another rewview and doubled the pesto…. Sorry, for us this was a miss.
Hi, I wonder also if it was the type of pesto used – maybe it just needed more salt? Also make sure to salt the pasta cooking water which makes all the difference in flavor.
Made this tonight for my family for dinner and they loved it!
I’m so glad to hear that!
My family loved this recipe! Thanks, Natasha!!
So happy to hear that, Steve!
Oh my gosh, this was amazing. It was a hit with company we had over and it is so good I even ate some of my leftovers cold! So easy and delicious.
Hi Becky! I’m glad you loved this recipe. Thank you for the feedback.
Oh My Gosh! We loved this recipe. My husband said he could eat this every week. Yummm
So happy to hear that, Carla!
So good!! We added just a bit more pesto and asparagus from our garden – delicious!!
This was absolutely wonderful and easy!! Thank you!
Haven’t tried this yet but want to. My husband and I don’t really like asparagus. Is there another veggie that we could use as a substitute? Let me know as I’d love to make this.
Hi Julianne! You can use another vegetable of your choice. Zucchini work great, green beans, broccoli, etc.
Simple and Delicious. really love your recipes. easy to follow.
This was a great dish! It was quite & easy. I substituted Vegan Heavy Cream that I found at Trader Joe’s for my husband & daughter who are lactose intolerant.
Natasha, thank you for another fabulous recipe! I made this tonight with your homemade pesto that I made yesterday (another amazing recipe) and my family absolutely loved it. Everyone wanted seconds!
Loved this quick and easy recipe. Had my son, wife and their young daughter for dinner and she ate 5 helpings. Think this recipe is a keeper. I loved the crisp tenderness of the asparagus most of all. From 8 servings-no leftovers
That’s great, Judy!!
Simple and tasty! Thanks for the recipe! Unrelated: But I would have loved to have a recipe for beef tongue from you!! Maybe with creamy mushroom sauce, for example! <3 With lots of love!
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Bahar! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Chicken Pesto Pasta.
This was way better than any restaurant quality food! Absolutely delicious- everything comes together quickly and I could eat the whole pan! Make this!
That’s great to hear, Amber! Thank you.
We loved this recipe! Super easy and tasty! We used mushrooms and spinach instead. A couple suggestions: adding more than 4 tablespoons of pesto (we used about 8 tablespoons) and we had to cook the heavy cream almost 10 minutes instead of the 3 minutes the recipe suggests in order to make it a sauce.
So incredibly simple and Very Very Delish!! I personally am a huge garlic fan so I did add some garlic powder to the sauce. Definitely will be making this frequently! Thanks for another awesome recipe Natasha!!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Ja’el!