This Creamy One Pot Pesto Chicken is a quick and easy recipe ready in under 30 minutes.
With the back-to-school season upon us, our family’s schedule just got even more hectic. Between sports, homework and other activities, I need dinner recipes that are easy to make and ready in under 30 minutes. What I love about this recipe is, it’s jam packed with flavor and because it’s all made in one pot, clean-up is easy too!
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”RfCRFpf2″ upload-date=”2017-12-11T16:47:18.000Z” name=”Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta” description=”This creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta is a quick and easy recipe ready in under 30 minutes.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]This recipe starts by browning boneless, skinless chicken breast in a large skillet.
Then I added some minced garlic and shallots. Shallots are one of my favorite flavor boosters. They have a mild onion flavor – so if your family isn’t a fan of onions, you can try using shallots. Or, if you don’t have shallots, feel free to leave them out.
The next step is to add the chicken broth, pesto, and pasta. Because this recipe only uses one pot, everything cooks together. It’s like magic, really. You don’t have to boil the pasta separately, which makes clean up so much easier.
The entire dish cooks together for about 10 minutes. When it’s done, the pasta will have soaked up all of the chicken broth and everything is infused with the flavors of the pesto sauce. I told you….it’s like magic!
To finish the recipe, I added some half and half, a little more pesto sauce and grated parmesan cheese. This recipe was a huge hit with my family! They loved the bright flavor of the pesto and the creamy sauce.
I love that it was so easy to clean up. One pot. One cutting board. One knife. Not a sink full of dishes that I needed to clean up.
I used Barilla Organic Pasta from BJ’s Wholesale Club in this recipe. It’s the newest high-quality Barilla pasta that is certified USDA organic and contains no GMO ingredients #BarillaOrganic.
I always use Barilla pasta because it cooks up perfectly “al dente” every time. I found this pack of Barilla Organic Pasta at my local BJ’s Wholesale Club. It came with three boxes of penne and three boxes of spaghetti.
To make the recipe even easier, I used Barilla Traditional Pesto Sauce which I bought in a 2 pack at #BJsWholesale as well. The flavor was perfect and it was super easy to use.
It’s made with only the highest quality ingredients like sweet basil, aromatic herbs, and extra virgin olive oil. These simple ingredients are blended together for the perfect taste and texture – just like I would make it.
You can serve it hot, like in this recipe or even cold #BarillaPesto.
I had some pesto left over so I also whipped up this easy and delicious Pesto Garlic Bread.
It only took a few minutes to put together and it baked while the pasta was cooking. I simply sliced a loaf of Italian bread in half length-wise and spread a few tablespoons of pesto over both sides. Then I topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. I baked the bread at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.
For more delicious pasta recipes, visit Barilla’s recipe page.
Creamy One Pot Pesto Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons Barilla Traditional Pesto Sauce, divided
- 1 pound of Barilla Organic Spaghetti Pasta
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper and chop into one inch strips.
- Sear chicken on each side in skillet. It does not need to be cooked through at this point.
- Once chicken is seared, add shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of pesto.
- Add addition salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a simmer and add the pasta.
- Simmer for 9-11 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
- Remove from heat and stir in half and half and parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Such a great recipe.