Pesto with Pesto & Chicken is one of our favorite meals! Fresh, homemade pesto combined with oven-roasted chicken and spaghetti noodles makes a delicious, creamy pasta dish full of flavor and color!
If you don’t know about my obsession with basil, it is real and it is STRONG! I love basil in all of the things – in pasta, drizzled on chicken, as a dip for veggies, spread on my sandwich….and I’ve even been known to put it in my cocktail when I want a pop of color and that delicious basil smell!
I love planting a basil plant in the spring and having fresh, delicious basil all summer long. One question that always comes up with fresh-grown basil is what to do with it once cold weather comes. Check it out below…
BASIL TIP: When cold weather comes, you don’t have to be done with your fresh basil. Clip the leaves off the basil, rinse and dry them, put small portions in individual resealable plastic bags, and throw them in the freezer. The leaves will lose their beautiful bright color but are still just as flavorful to use in sauces and recipes. Just pull a bag out whenever you want that fresh basil taste!
One of my favorite recipes for basil is Pasta with Pesto & Chicken.
Here’s how to make it:
- Use my Basil Pesto recipe to make the fresh pesto.
- Preheat oven to 350. Add 2 chicken breasts to a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper on both sides, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Any kind of pasta is dine to use. I prefer spaghetti, penne, ziti, or bowtie for this dish.
- Once you chicken is cooked, cut it into small chunks.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it and then return it to the pot. Add as much chicken as you prefer to the pasta.
- Using a large spoon, add the pesto and stir. Add as much pesto as you prefer, making sure all the pasta and chicken is coated.
- Dish the pasta into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Pasta with Pesto & Chicken
Ingredients
Make Basil Pesto using instructions in link in post.
To make pasta and chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 lb pasta (spaghetti, ziti, penne, or bowtie)
- Basil Pesto
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Make Basil Pesto according to directions in link in post above.
- Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done. Once it is cooked, cut into small chunks.
- Cook pasta according to package. When it is done, drain it and add it back to the pot.
- Add as much chicken as you like to the pasta.
- Using a large spoon, add spoonfuls of pesto until all pasta and chicken is coated.
- Spoon pasta into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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