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Chicken Pesto Pasta- An Easy Weeknight Dinner

June 4, 2012

After being out of town a few weeks ago, having missed our beloved Sunday farmers' market and forgotten to go to the grocery when we landed, I decided to play a little game for dinner that I like to call "what the heck do I have in the refrigerator". Ever played this game before? I seem to do it often.

I love cooking and while I may appear to be pretty good about planning meals ahead of time, what I've actually gotten skilled at is keeping my pantry and refrigerator well stocked with foods that will last us for weeks, even months. So, whenever I think I don't have anything to cook, I in fact have plenty of amazing -- and easy -- choices right at my fingertips.

Anyway, back to my most recent dinnertime game. How did I "win" it that night? I grabbed some cheese from the fridge, some pasta from the pantry, some pesto and chicken from the freezer and got to work. By the time the suitcases were unpacked and the laundry was in the washing machine, the pesto and chicken were defrosted and dinner was moments away.

This Chicken Pesto Pasta is one of those meals that's seriously fast. It's even faster if you buy rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, but at times like these, I'm all about what I've got on hand. Remember, the whole point of this game is to not have to get back in the car to head to the market!

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Chicken Pesto Pasta  (6)

  • Cook Time: 10 minutes,
  • Total Time: 10 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 pound rotini pasta (you can also use shells, campanelle or elbow macaroni)
  • 1/2 cup basil pesto
  • 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

  1. 1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  2. 2. Drain pasta and add back to the pot.
  3. 3. Mix in the pesto, chicken, parmesan, mozzarella cheese, and salt, and serve.
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Comments






  1. Melissa

    September 26, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    Reply

    This dish was a hit tonight! My very picky 3 year old loved it!

  2. Katherine

    June 4, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    Reply

    Does anyone have any suggestions for tasty store-bought pesto. I love making my own, but basil isn’t always available where I live, or it’s $2.00 for a few stalks, not really enough to make pesto!

    • Joanne

      February 1, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      Reply

      I make a similar dish for my uber picky 14 month old. Instead of basil; which is tough to find sometimes in the winter time, I use 1 cup of toasted pine nuts, 2 cups cooked chicken, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 garlic gloves, 1/4 cup grated parmasen cheese and 6 sundried tomatoes (in oil). I stick all of these ingredients in the food processor and put it on cooked rotini and he loves it warm or cold.!

    • catherine

      June 5, 2012 at 11:41 am

      Reply

      I love Trader Joe’s for almost everything! You can also make other types of pesto! http://weelicious.com/2011/02/22/pistachio-pesto/

    • Lorie

      June 5, 2012 at 8:48 am

      Reply

      Hi Katherine. Not sure if you have a Trader Joe’s near by but I highly recommend their pesto. It’s in a jar near the dry pasta and canned tomatoes. It is the best jar pesto I’ve tasted.

  3. Stephanie

    June 4, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Reply

    Made this for my daughter and I. It was tasty. I think next time I will throw in some chopped zucchini!

  4. Lucie

    June 4, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    Reply

    I bet if you add some cherry tomatoes, this would make a fantastic cold summer pasta salad!

    • Katie @ Healthnut Foodie

      June 4, 2012 at 3:24 pm

      Reply

      We like to add cherry toms, extra basil leaves, and fresh mozzarella instead of the packaged cheese. So delish. Sometimes, we even melt goat cheese in with the pesto sauce.

  5. Christin

    June 4, 2012 at 2:08 pm

    Reply

    With the 2 cups of cheese and the super flavourful pesto, isn’t the extra 1 teaspoon of salt a bit much? I know that everyone has different tastes but I don’t think I’ve ever added that much salt to a non-baking dish before, especially if I was feeding children. Is it regular table salt that you use?

    I’m not doubting that the recipe could taste fantastic, I just tend to cook with much less, or even no salt if at all possible.

  6. Kendall

    June 4, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    Reply

    Looks yummy!

  7. Chris B

    June 4, 2012 at 9:19 am

    Reply

    I was wondering what the extra 1/2 cup of mozzarella and salt are used for?
    thanks!

    • catherine

      June 4, 2012 at 9:32 am

      Reply

      Oops! I corrected it. Everything gets mixed together at the end after the pasta is drained!

  8. Alicia

    June 4, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Reply

    You hardly need a recipe for this, but thanks for the reminder. My kids haven’t even woken up yet, and already lunch is handled! Thank you for the inspiration.

  9. burning windmill

    June 4, 2012 at 7:25 am

    Reply

    I always have a jar of pesto in the fridge, you never know when you might need it! Makes anything posh and tasty in seconds!

    • catherine

      June 4, 2012 at 12:56 pm

      Reply

      Pesto is my favorite go-to topping when I’m short on time. On fish, chicken, egg pesto melt, pizza and more!


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