I’m all about the quick skillet meals because, let’s face it, sometimes after a long day of work you don’t really want to cook anything… but you still gotta eat. This super quick Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli combines the vibrant flavors of basil pesto with tangy cream cheese to make a deliciously rich sauce to smother the pasta, chicken, and broccoli. The pesto provides all the garlic and herbal flavor needed, so there’s no need to even dice an onion, mince garlic, or measure any herbs and spices—it’s already in the sauce! The whole dish cooks very quickly so you can have this one on the dinner table in about 30 minutes.
Can I Use a Different Pasta Shape?
Yep! Any short shaped pasta, like penne, rotini, or even macaroni will work fine for this recipe. You can use a longer type pasta, like fettuccine or linguine, but it’s a little harder to stir chunky ingredients, like the chicken and broccoli, into long pasta. Sometimes breaking it in half before cooking can help.
What Kind of Pesto Do You Use?
I used basil pesto from ALDI for this recipe because it’s super affordable. If you don’t have an ALDI store near you, Classico brand pesto and Barilla brand pesto also tend to be very affordable.
Can I Substitute the Cream Cheese?
If you’re not into cream cheese, you can make a similar creamy sauce by substituting the cream cheese with about a ½ cup heavy cream, or replace both the chicken broth and cream cheese with 1 cup half and half. The sauce will be nice and creamy, but it won’t have that tangy cream cheese flavor that some people are not a fan of. You may need to add a pinch or two of salt at the end if you’re skipping the chicken broth.
Make it a Vegetarian Creamy Pesto Pasta
This Creamy Pesto Pasta can easily be made vegetarian. Just use a little extra broccoli, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, and you’re good to go!
Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz. bow tie pasta ($0.67)
- 8 oz. frozen broccoli florets ($1.00)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast ($2.49)
- 1/3 cup basil pesto ($0.73)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($0.40)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Once it reaches a full boil, add the pasta and continue to boil just until the pasta is tender, but still slightly firm in the center (7-8 minutes). Once the pasta is tender, add the frozen broccoli florets to the water with the pasta and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut the chicken breast into ½-inch pieces. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and continue to cook until the outside of the chicken pieces are white, but they're still tender in the center (they will continue to cook as more ingredients are added).
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and allow it to heat through. Once hot, add the cream cheese (cut into small pieces) and pesto. Continue to stir and cook until the cream cheese has melted and created a smooth, creamy sauce with the pesto and chicken broth.
- Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli to the skillet and stir to coat it in the cream sauce. If the sauce becomes too dry or thick, add another splash of chicken broth to loosen it up. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Use Your Leftover Pesto
Not sure what to do with the rest of the jar of pesto? Try these recipes:
How to Make Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli – Step by Step Photos
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8oz. bowtie pasta and continue to boil for 7-8 minutes, or just until it’s tender with a little firmness in the center. Add ½ lb. frozen broccoli florets and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes more or just until the broccoli is tender. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, cut one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast into ½-inch chunks.
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced chicken and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is white on the outside, but still slightly tender inside (it will continue to cook as more ingredients are added). Add ½ cup chicken broth to the skillet and allow it to heat through.
Add 4oz. cream cheese (cut into small chunks) and ⅓ cup basil pesto to the skillet.
Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has melted and created a smooth sauce with the pesto and broth. The cream cheese might look a little chunky as it’s melting, but keep stirring and cooking, it will smooth out once fully melted.
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli to the skillet and stir until it is all coated in the creamy pesto sauce. If the sauce becomes too dry or too thick, add another splash of chicken broth to loosen it up.
And that’s that! So easy! If you like ranch flavored foods, I think this tangy, garlicky sauce almost tastes ranch-like. So yum!
I’m so happy to find your site! I think I’ve pinned most of your recipes at this point. Have made one and it was both easy and outstanding in flavor! Thanks for all the great ideas : ) Couldn’t help but notice the bicycle link. Are you a biker too?
Bicycle link? Was it an ad? Google tailors the ads to whoever is looking at the page, so if you’re a biker it will definitely show you some bicycle ads. ;)
Yum! I made and froze a ton of pesto this summer so I must try this. But I may end up subbing green beans for broccoli because I also froze a ton of those! Won’t be the same but should still be good.
I made a few tweaks to this, but it still turned out delicious! I used kale instead of broccoli, opted out of the chicken broth and added beau monde seasoning to the chicken.
Like the previous comment, we too made this using leftover turkey. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Neat, I just made something like this with leftover turkey! I even use the same pesto!
I really liked this, it was a great quick pasta dish. Thanksgiving may have been last month up here in Canuck-land but you still gotta appreciate a simple dish.
Though I have enough pesto and cream cheese leftover to make another batch, and I’m wondering if I just made the sauce on its own (pesto, broth, and cream cheese) would it freeze well for future use?
I’m not sure how well a cream cheese based sauce would freeze. It might separate upon thawing.
Perfect for a fast week day meal.
What a great recipe, keeping this in my recipe book!
Hey Beth, my boyfriend and I love your recipes! We’ve made 6 so far and have shared them with friends. You’ve made a very busy semester a lot more affordably delicious. Me and my boyfriend joke that you are our new best friend (maybe a little creepy of us)…and we are curious- where do you live? He says you must be in NY and I said somewhere in the midwest.
Close! I grew up in Michigan, but have lived in Louisiana for the past 12 years. I’m in New Orleans. :)
This recipe could not have come at a better time! It’s perfect for this week. Just made it, and can’t wait to not have to cook again until thanksgiving!
I love brpccoli with pasta and this sounds soo good with the pesto and creamy sauce. I have tried the Classico pesto and it is super good. Trader Joe’s also has a delicious pesto that is great, too!
Yum. I usually make this pesto & cream cheese pasta with prawns and spinach instead of chicken and broccoli. You should try it as I will defo try yours. :)
Ok, thank you!
Do you think it would be good without the pesto? I don’t have any on hand. Thanks!
No, it probably will be very different. The pesto is where all of the flavor comes from in this dish (it has the garlic, herbs, parmesan, and more). I would definitely wait until you have some pesto available.
SO YUM! will give this one a try, veg style! i used to HATE pesto, but i love it now, and that’s the brand i use. if i use fresh broccoli (as it’s running relatively cheap these days and i’ve got some stocked up), how would you recommend using it?
Just chop it into florets then let it cook a little longer in the boiling pasta water (until it’s to your desired tenderness). :)
i thought that might be the solution, but wasn’t positive. thanks for clearing it up! will probably try this this week, as my grocery store has cream cheese BOGO, and i have the other stuff! thanks beth!!!!