This One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta was inspired by those little packets of powdered pasta sauce mix I always see in the grocery store. While those little packets are probably great for camping, stocking a bomb shelter, or keeping in your emergency hurricane supplies, I think regular weeknights call for something better. Better but not harder. This Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta comes together in about 25 minutes, is super luscious and creamy, and uses just a few simple ingredients. ;)
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Chicken, Spinach, and Tomatoes Optional
This recipe idea started as just pasta and sauce. Because sometimes that’s all you need to be satisfied. But I like to rummage through my pantry, fridge, and freezer to find leftover ingredients that can be added to whatever I’m cooking. So I ended up with this creamy pesto chicken pasta, with spinach and sun dried tomatoes. But I ate it as just pasta and sauce during testing and it still made me do the happy chair wiggle.
What Type of Pasta Should I Use?
I used penne pasta, but bowties or rotini would also work well. Because this pasta to broth ratio is very important in one pot pastas I can’t vouch for alternative pastas like gluten-free, rice, chickpea, or even whole wheat pasta. They absorb broth differently than semolina pasta and may not work the same in this recipe.
Tips for Success with “one pot” Pastas
One pot pastas can be tricky for some because the pasta is cooked in a much smaller amount of liquid than traditional pasta cooking methods. Here are a few tips to make sure your one pot pasta cooks evenly and to the right texture:
- Make sure you’re using quality cookware. Use cookware that is thick, heavy, and transfers heat evenly. Thin cookware will leave some pasta overcooked and some pasta undercooked.
- Use a burner that is close in size to your cookware. This will help the pot heat evenly and cook the pasta evenly.
- Make sure the broth maintains a strong simmer throughout the cooking time. If it’s not simmering, the pasta will become mushy.
- Stir every few minutes to prevent sticking and make sure the pasta cooks evenly.
- Keep the pot covered to trap steam, which will help cook the pasta.
Love one pot chicken pasta recipes? Check out my One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta or One Pot Creamy Mushroom Pasta!
One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast ($6.25)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.28)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta ($0.67)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 1 cup milk ($0.19)
- 3 oz. cream cheese* ($0.80)
- 1/3 cup basil pesto ($0.73)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.44)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
Optional Add-Ins
- 3 cup fresh spinach ($0.90)
- 1/4 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes ($1.10)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Add the butter to a deep skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside.
- While the chicken is cooking, mince the garlic. Add the garlic to the skillet with the chicken and continue to sauté for one minute more.
- Add the uncooked pasta and chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and garlic. Stir to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil.
- Once the broth comes to a full boil, give the pasta a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pasta simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the broth has been absorbed. Stir the pasta briefly every two minutes as it simmers, replacing the lid quickly each time.
- Once the pasta is tender and most of the broth absorbed, add the milk, cream cheese (cut into chunks), and pesto. Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has fully melted into the sauce. Finally, add the grated Parmesan and stir until combined.
- If using, add the fresh spinach and sliced sun dried tomatoes. Stir until the spinach has wilted, then remove the pasta from the heat. Top the pasta with freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Love one pot pasta? Check out my One Pot Meals category for more!
How to Make Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Cut one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Add 2 Tbsp butter to a deep skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until the chicken is slightly browned on the outside. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and sauté for one minute more. (I’m using an OXO 4-quart covered skillet)
Add 1/2 lb. uncooked penne pasta and 1.5 cups of chicken broth to the skillet. Stir briefly to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a full boil.
Once the broth comes to a full boil, give the pasta a brief stir, replace the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low and let it continue to simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the broth absorbed. Stir the pasta every two minutes or so as it simmers, replacing the lid each time.
Add 3 oz. cream cheese (cut into chunks), 1/3 cup pesto, and 1 cup milk to the skillet. Stir and cook the mixture over medium until the cream cheese has fully melted and the sauce is creamy.
Once the cream cheese has fully melted in, add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and stir to combine.
If you’re adding spinach and sun dried tomatoes, like I did, add them once the sauce is finished and stir just until the spinach has wilted, then remove the skillet from the heat.
Whether you are using spinach and sun dried tomatoes or not, finish the creamy pesto chicken pasta off with some freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. The little pops of flavor that these two bring to the dish really take it to the next level!
Dive in! :)
I really enjoyed this dish. Super easy. I included kale and mushrooms. Truly delish!!
This is seriously so good!
How do I find ingredients at these prices?
These prices are reflective of the grocery prices in 2019 when this recipe was posted. :)
This tasted great! That being said I tried to follow the preparation instructions but had to add the milk earlier and extend cooking time which I expected because the package said 10-12 minutes. At no point were all of the noodles in liquid. We will definitely do it again but cook the chicken on the side.
If you haven’t tried yet, run to your kitchen 😂. This is the bomb.com. I did use cherry tomatoes instead of sun dried and yes I added a bit of yellow cheese to it. I was debating on getting garlic bread with it but when I tasted it. I fell in love without so maybe I’ll try with garlic bread in the future
The recipe was fairly easy to follow along and tasted good. However; I was surprised by how much pasta and little chicken broth were used because even after simmering down the chicken broth it was still very hard to chew and I had to go back and add more broth to soften the pasta.
Such a great dish! I think we’ve had it at least twice a month now for a year and it’s here to stay. 😋 Quick and easy, and so delicious! Also always a hit when we make it for guests.
I’ve made this several times and it’s great! I have a question. Can this be made with corn and rice gluten free pasta. I’ve never cooked with this type and I’m not sure if the reduction method of cooking the pasta will work well.
It came out delic! I received fresh basil so made my own pesto and added a little more to recipe and it turned out Great!
This was quick, easy, and good! Could be a little more flavor and was a bit dry. However, my son asked for it to be put in the rotation, so that’s a win!
Delicious and sooo quick and easy!!
This was SO good and easy! One pot is a bonus!! I used rigatoni and had to add a few minutes of cooking time. I didn’t have the red pepper but it was great without it. My husband raved about it! This is in the rotation, for sure!!
I’ve made this a couple of times and it’s a big hit! How do you think adding mushrooms would work? I have extra mushrooms and I would love to make this with those but I don’t want it to taste strange. Btw, I have and will add the spinach and tomatoes too.
I think that would be great!
I added a few additions as we tend to cook with a lot of seasoning. I followed the recipe verbatim until the step of adding in the cream cheese. I added in some creole seasoning, seasoned salt, and black pepper to taste, and followed the rest of the recipe. It was a huge hit. I’ll definitely make it again.
Could I make this recipe a day before serving and reheat in skillet or oven?
Apologies in advance for all the changes I made to the recipe, but I had fresh pasta and things I wanted to use and want to show others how versatile this delicious dish is! I did use more than one pot, though, so the cleanup isn’t as easy.
Cooked, then shredded frozen breasts in the Instant Pot, saving the water. Softened sliced onion and orange bell pepper in a large frying pan in butter then added minced garlic for a minute. Because I boiled homemade fettuccini on the side, added just 1 C milk and 1 C of the breast water of the instant pot to the pan. Added diced fresh tomato. Let that boil for a bit. Added the sundried tomatoes and some kalamata olives. Added enough cream cheese to thicken it. Wilted the spinach in it, then added the shredded chicken. Turned off the heat, added the parm and squeezed half a lemon into the sauce.
Turned out fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration – will try it as a one-pot dish in the future!
Forgot to add I did use pesto and red pepper. :)
My sister requests this every week! I do add extra garlic and a chopped onion. I also use all the suggested mix-ins (I’ve done a full 6 oz bag of spinach and that was a good amount for us). I’ve also subbed different short pasta shapes for the penne, and it’s great every time! We like the bow-tie shape, served with bread.
Just tried this recipe. Very happy with how the dish turned out. Thank you. This will become one of my signature preparations at home.
Great Recipe, but your cost is way off. Unless of course you’re buying in massive bulk from Sysco foods.
Thanks, Matt! This is an older post so the prices are reflective of that. Unfortunately we don’t have the ability to constantly adjust our backlog of recipes for inflation.
You manually enter prices on every recipe? Surely you could have centralized prices and then have each recipe utilize those prices. This solves Matt’s problem, and also slightly increases the speed at which you can author delicious new recipes. It’s a small increase in your productivity, but it’ll add up over hundreds of recipes, and the resulting total cost will be accurate forever. Better for everyone.
We loved the recipe. I especially love how fast it went together. Would this dish freeze well?
You should be able to freeze it okay, creamy dishes tend to separate after freezing and the pesto might look a little brown, but with some heat and stirring you should be able to get the sauce emulsified again.
this recipe is really good and was loved by the whole family, if you do use the servings to serve a large crowd, I suggest doubling the ingredients and I choose to season the chicken before hand while cutting it up. was delicious straight off the stove and I would recommend to other beginners.
Great recipe. I will say, I made 50% more and that ended up being 3 servings so I’m not exactly sure how the original recipe could be 4 servings unless children are included. The other thing is.. I love the idea of one pot and the simplicity but the chicken was just too overcooked. It would be much better to set them aside when the pasta is cooking (~10 minutes total) and then putting the chicken back in at a later point.
Aside from that, it turned out very well. Thank you for sharing this :)
I ended up using an extra half cup of bone broth I didn’t want to waste and it was still so creammy. I also topped with some cherry tomatoes blistered in brown butter. So good!
I made this for my husband and I and it was clear 5-star winner! Easy to put together and I had everything already on hand. The only thing I did differently (and would not do again) is that I was afraid the pasta was getting too dry, so I added a little more chicken broth. The end result was that we had to use bowls and a spoon, but boy oh boy! The next night it had thickend up and was perfect!
This recipe is a winner. Not only is the food delicious, the recipe is easy to follow and well set up. I especially appreciate the button to keep the phone on. I am not a confident cook but I’ve made this twice, unaided, with great success. Thank you for providing this.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. If I use chive and onion cream cheese will it ruin the recipie? Or make it taste weird?
Hmmmmmm. Would it work? Yes. Would it be weird? Maybe? Gosh it’s really hard to say! I personally feel like it might be weird but It might work out just fine! I think the pesto flavor might overpower it enough.
This has become one of our families go to recipes! We substitute the pasta with gluten free penne or fettuccine. The noodles take a bit longer to cook and we measure the chicken broth from the heart. We’ve also used a mix of chicken broth and water when we ran out of broth. We also use almond milk instead of whole and it’s still very good. I think the almond milk makes it a little sweeter – I imagine whole milk would be a richer flavor. Either way, this is a great recipe, easy to make, and is easy to substitute items for dietary needs.
I just made this with the spinach and tomatoe add ons and it is a huge hit at my house!
I’ll certainly try this but cooking the chicken the same amount of time as the pasta will result in hard overcooked chicken. Much better to fry off the chicken remove from pan then add it at the end.
Yum!! I’ve made this recipe a lot lately, it’s so easy and delicious. I’ve played around with it and made it in my instant pot with 12oz gluten free pasta (jovial fusilli.) I do the chicken and then garlic in the butter on the sauté. Add 3.5 cups broth (I don’t use milk) and make sure any browned bits dissolve. Then add pasta. Pressure cook on high for 9 minutes, quick release, add the other ingredients (minus the milk). I use 4oz cream cheese. Yum!
This creamy pesto chicken pasta from Budget Bytes is a game-changer for weeknight dinners – easy, flavorful, and all cooked in one pot, making cleanup a breeze!
Could you freeze this recipe? At what stage would freezing work best ?
You can! You’d be fine to freeze it at the end of cooking, just make sure it’s fully cooled before transferring it to the freezer. I like to leave the pasta a bit al dente so it doesn’t overcook upon reheating.
Love this recipe! Son-in-law cooked it for us over the holidays. Got the recipe from him and just made it again tonight. The left overs are great the next day as well.
This is amazing! Made this tonight for my college kiddos. Subbed arugula for spinach since that’s all I had. SO good!!!!! They all loved it!
I made this tonight, but only had about 1/2 the amount of cream cheese on hand, and the only fresh vegetables I had were zucchini, so I put them in after the cream cheese melted. I like my zucchini crisp-tender :). It was delicious! I also used gemelli instead, but penne would have been great, also.
This was delicious! Very easy to make, and I love that there is only one pan to wash. Hubby who is a chef commented that it was delicious. Normally that compliment doesn’t come easily from him. A keeper recipe!
QUESTION – Can I double this recipe?
You can, but it may be difficult to get the pasta to cook evenly in a larger quantity since one-pot methods do not use a lot of liquid like boiling pasta in a big pot of water.
I made a double batch tonight with no adjustments and it came out perfectly!
Amazing!
I doubled it and just used the last cup of chicken broth after the first 3 cups we’re absorbed and let it simmer a little longer! I had to transfer that over to my stock pot to add all the veggies. I did sun dried tomatoes, spinach & broccoli. It’s cooling now but I’m sure it will be delicious!
This is a great and easy weeknight recipe! I made it as is and enjoyed it. Do you think it could be made with ground chicken? Thanks!
I suppose it could, but I think it’s going to be much better with chicken pieces rather than ground meat.
This is such a wonderfully quick and tasty meal. I really like how your blog is set up. Very simple and straight forward. I make this like twice a month at least. I see others adding extra both to cover the pasta. Please don’t do that guys. The pasta absorbs the liquid. It’s not like boiling macaroni. It’s a different technique!
So delicious. I made this after a very long day and it came together very quickly.
I only had thighs and macaroni pasta on hand, but it worked well. Its high volume, filling, and extremely deliciou. Will definitely be making again!
Delicious! I used chickpea protein pasta – took a little extra broth. Added the spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Will absolutely make this again.
This is a real winner! I appreciate the flexibility of the recipe, allowing for substitutions and additions like sautéed mushrooms. The tip about using Greek yogurt as a healthier alternative to cream cheese is a game-changer. Despite the caution regarding freezing, it’s great that this dish can be made in bulk and enjoyed later. Looking forward to making this delightful dish again!
Alex,
https://cheeseorigin.com/
So easy to make, and very tasty! The flavors mix so well!!
I have made this multiple times and the recipe is so flexible.
I usually add mushrooms with the pasta
This was so incredibly fast and easy to make. It was so delicious! I will be making this weekly! 💖
Could I use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken in this recipe?
Yes, that would work fine. :)
Thank you! Looking forward to making this today for the family of a friend in the hospital.
So easy and delicious I love one pot meals!!! Definitely added a little bit more cheese cause…..of course I did :). Otherwise, I followed recipe exactly and turned out great.
Just made this tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delicious!! I had to triple the recipe for my crew, and it still turned out amazing. (Sometimes I have trouble with recipes turning out when I have to make larger quantities) This will definitely be put into our meal rotation, per the family’s request. 😀
Update !! So I recently commented worried that it wouldn’t come out good bc the pasta wasn’t done and I had to add more broth,
It came out perfect !!
Also totally agree about adding red pepper flakes, I don’t like spicy at all but the flavor at the end is amazing !
Could you make this with pesto rosso?
Sure! :)
Delicious! Didn’t have cream cheese so I used plain Greek yogurt and still turned out great. Just had to boil a bit longer to reduce and thicken. Will definitely make again!
Hi, Beth, nice work on the recipe, photos, etc. I consumed a LOT of sushi last night and thought I’d never eat again when we were done. But your recipe for pasta and pesto made me head back to the kitchen and try it! Delish! And I had all the ingredients on hand, too! Thanks!
You said something prior to the instructions, and I quote, “I can’t vouch for alternative pastas like gluten-free, rice, chickpea, or even whole wheat pasta.” Alternative everythings are just about de rigueur nowadays, not least are substitutes for pasta. So, may I respectfully suggest that you try cooking alternative recipes now and again and posting your results? Or looking them up and posting a link? Or contacting a fellow recipe blogster and posting a quote?
Okeedoke. That’s it. Thanks again.
Love,
Katy
It’s very difficult because every brand cooks a little bit differently and they may all perform differently for each individual recipe. A lot of times other readers who have tried it with their favorite alternative pasta brand will comment about how it turned out, so I think that’s probably the best we can do at the moment!
Very tasty! Made for guests and everyone liked it. I added 10 oz of sliced sautéed mushrooms to the recipe. Used cavatappi shaped pasta instead of penne. When served alongside a veggie packed Italian salad, this served 5-6 people. Will make again!
Love the idea of adding mushrooms! Will do next time! Thank you Nancy :-)
Tried this but used olive oil instead of butter and evaporated milk instead of regular milk. Quick easy and delicious recipe !
Yummy! I made a LOOOOT… has anyone successfully frozen this dish?
Hi Abi! You can try freezing but the cream will separate and the pesto will brown. But I’m sure that’s better than wasted food. Good luck!
This recipe was beyond amazing!!! My husband and I really enjoyed it and we will definitely be making it again soon!
Just made this recipe and it was delicious! The only things I did different was I needed 2 cups of broth instead of 1.5 to get the pasta tender, and I didn’t have any sun dried tomatoes. Everything else I did exactly as the recipe said. This will definitely be one of my new favorites. Thanks!
I’m making this right now and it’s been over ten mins and my pasta isn’t cooked all the way but all the broth is gone, maybe I added too much pasta on accident :( hopefully it still turns out okay!
Absolutely delicious! I added mild peppers, sliced zucchini, broc, a tomato & sliced mushroom in addition to the spinach!
Did you saute separately then add at the same time as the spinach or do you add with the chicken?
My favorite dinner ever
Delicious I loved it definitely recommend!!!! 😋
I made this for dinner tonight. I have a bad habit of adjusting recipes as I cook before trying the recipe as is. I really tried this time. Other than boiling the pasta for 6 minutes before adding to the pot, I made this recipe as is. Turned out delicious. Husband loved it. Definitely will be in my rotation. Thank you
It was really tasty but unfortunately my chicken turned out really quite dry… I feel like I overcooked it, but I was following the recipe… anyone have any suggestions? Thanks :)
I’m sorry to hear that, Nick. You might consider lowering the heat a touch and make sure you don’t lift the lid while the dish is cooking,
Made this tonight and it was so yummy!!! Flavors were incredible even before finishing it with cracked pepper and crushed red pepper. I used banza penne so had to use an extra cup of broth and cook for another 2-3 mins. I will definitely make again…easy and delicious. Thank you so much Beth! :)
I thought it would taste quite bland as I am used to putting lots of flavouring in when I cook but OMG!! It is soooooo delicious! Thank you Beth!
Super yummy! We wanted leftovers (4 adults eating) so I doubled everything but the butter and only did a little extra on the milk. Added spinach and some diced tomatoes at the end. Easy and pretty quick for a weeknight! (Cut the chicken the night before to make it even faster!)
I forgot to get cream cheese but I have onion and chive cream cheese..would this work?! I’m nervous
I bet it would be fantastic! xoxo -Monti
Definitely not enough broth to cook the pasta. My boyfriend loved this but it wasn’t anything special for me. I’m glad we tried it!
I could make this stuff every day and my son and husband would still eat it. After making it many times, I’ve found that a little more broth is typically needed for our pasta to be fully cooked, and a little less milk for the sauce (I often just use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of half and half or cream). This is a solid recipe and it reheats well as leftovers, too.
The liquid measurements are totally off. Too much milk and broth. Had to drain it so it would be creamy.
I doubled the amount of chicken and added a bunch of grape tomatoes before putting in the milk + cheese. But kept everything else the same. The broth in the recipe worked out well, but a full cup of milk was way too much. I should’ve started with half a cup first and then added as needed. I had to simmer the excess liquid off, which overcooked the chicken. This might be the cookware that I used. I also added a splash of lemon juice at the end to offset the fat. It’s fine, not overwhelmingly tasty – would be a good crowd-pleaser at a midwestern potluck.
I don’t believe you know that milk and lemon juice shouldn’t really be combined… or that adding grape tomatoes before milk still makes the sauce a bit acidic and so it interacts with the milk. You quite literally changed the chemistry of the recipe, but you still complain that it didn’t turn out good. Next time maybe use less butter, use cooking cream or light mozzarella instead of heavy cheese, but follow the recipe.
Awesome
One of my family’s favorites! Thanks so much for such wonderful recipes!
Crowd pleaser from toddler to the grown ups. 👍
This turned out very well, although the Fiorelli I used needed to cook longer. I added more broth as required. I did find the recipe a bit on the salty side, and that was a direct result of the prepackaged liquid chicken broth I used. (40% RDA!)
Other than that, it was a winner and we’ll certainly cook it again! Thanks!
This was so simple and so good! It was ready in no time. I was looking for something high carb/protein for my active guys. My husband and son loved it. I added a bag of spinach to get some greens in it.Definitely a keeper on our dinner rotation. Thanks Beth!!
Amazing
This was so good. I made it for a dinner party and no one had room for desserts!
This was delicious! I did not add the extra cheese at the end. Forgot to add the milk and it was still creamy. I am making frozen meals for my expecting sister-in-law. With this be a good recipe that I could freeze? Maybe if I omit the milk and spinach for them to add to when they reheating on the stove? Thank you!
Unfortunately, creamy pasta recipes don’t typically freeze well — or even reheat from the fridge very well. The fat tends to leach out of the sauce and leaves an unappetizing pool of oil in the bottom of the dish. We haven’t tried to do it with this recipe, so I’m hesitant to share any suggestions that might not be super successful. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you coming over to make it for her if you do the dishes afterward! ~ Marion :)
We also have a roundup of freezer-friendly meals as well as a full meal plan that I’d suggest perusing!
https://www.budgetbytes.com/top-10-freezer-meals-2/
https://shop.budgetbytes.com/products/freezer-friendly-monthly-meal-plan-volume-1
If I didn’t know how to cook, this would have been an epic fail. There wasn’t nearly enough broth to cook the pasta through. Finally got the pasta cooked with little to no broth left and then the cream cheese failed me as well. I had to add twice as much because a cup of milk was too much liquid….I ended up with soup. After much tweaking I got everything right, but I wouldn’t use that a recipe again
My entire family LOVED this. I asked them to rate it, and one said an 11 out of 10, lol. Thanks, Beth! I used the spinach AND the dried tomatoes. I didn’t have parmesan, so I left it out – we didn’t miss it. Major win on all accounts – ONE DISH – easy cleanup!
Made this for lunch for friends, it was totally delicious
Amazing! Pasta was not cooked after 8 minutes so I added more broth. It needed another 5 minutes.
Amazing! So damn creamy and easy! Although we just saw the fat content… maybe not every week. Hehe
Oh we de-glazed the chicken bits with a bit of white wine.
Love this recipe! Easy to make. Definitely will make this again.
Very tasty. Next time I’ll reduce the milk and add the pasta earlier than the recipe suggests. The chicken was tough and it was even browned as the recipe instructs when I added the pasta.
Prices are off of course but I find that normal. I’ve learnt to come here for good recipes and ignore the suggested price.
Nice, I will definitely try this.
I seasoned the chicken with mixed herbs, salt and pepper and also needed to add about 1/2 – 1 cup extra water because my noodles were still much too al dente and cooking much longer than suggested. Also substituted herb flavored cream cheese as it was all I had.
This recipe was great with this revision, though! Everyone in my home loved it.
We’ve made this 3 times! The 1st time, we made it exactly as Beth said to. The 2nd time I cut it in half because we’re only two people. Still awesome! Today, I wanted to again make half but I only had about an ounce of cream cheese & a little more than 1/4 cup of milk. I used about 4 Tbsp on pesto, 5 oz of frozen spinach, & 1/3 cup parmesan & it still worked & was really good. Love this way to cook pasta – its really important to stir it every 2 minutes
I tried this and it turned out amazing. Definitely going to become a staple meal in the household especially with the sun-dried tomatoes! Only suggestion is to use more chicken broth then what’s mentioned, I may have had my pan too hot so a lot of it evaporated quick before the pene cooked through.
Prices are way off but other than that it’s a good recipe
Music began playing anytime I opened up this web page, so annoying!
Hi Jamal. I will send your feedback to our Web Team.
So good! And kid approved!
This was SO good. I made a few changes based on my tastes and what I had on hand, but this is absolutely going into my rotation. My changes – used extra garlic (I always do, I love garlic), I used a mix of penne and bowtie pasta (put the bowtie pasta in with the broth, then added the penne when it started to boil and it actually cooked pretty evenly), and I used shredded chicken that I had in my freezer instead of the fresh, chopped chicken (added it after making the sauce, and let it all sit on the stove for an extra few minutes to make sure the chicken soaked up the flavors. No extra spices needed at the end, which is extremely rare for me. I tend to think most recipes turn out bland for my taste, so I usually add a bunch extra – not required this time. This was perfect!
Made some quick breadsticks to serve alongside and WOW. Truly an amazing dinner.
I added my own extra spices and stuff to the chicken and let the pasta cook a little longer, but this recipe is delicious and super simple! Definitely would make again. It helps that I’m a pesto fiend lol
I love it
I made this as written except I converted it to cook in my instant pot because I’m recovering from my last chemo and can’t stand for very long. :) I used a 3qt mini pot but it should work with a larger pot like a 5 or 6 qt too.
I basically replaced the first 4 steps with the equivalent steps in a pressure cooker—I sautéed the chicken/garlic on high and removed from the heat after browned, then added the broth to the pot, making sure to scrape the bottom so no cooked bits remained stuck on. Then I added 8oz rigatoni (making sure the pasta was submerged in liquid), stirred, and topped with the chicken.
Then I turned off the sauté mode and put the lid on. After sealing/locking the lid, I pressure cooked it for 5 minutes. (To figure out how long to cook it, I just looked at the label for my pasta and cooked it half the time it suggested.) Once the timer went off, I quick-released the pressure carefully and then continued the recipe as you’ve written on step 5, using the sauté mode again to simmer everything all together.
I did need to thicken it a bit at the end with a cornstarch slurry but it’s likely because the chicken was too juicy. The addition of spinach and sun dried tomatoes was so good btw! My picky dad even loved it. It made 3 generous servings for us. Thanks so much for this recipe!
This recipe is so good! I made it with banza chickpea penne and the measurements were still perfect. Highly recommend!
I just made this for dinner and it was Soo good!! 😌Served it with garlic bread, delicious. I will definitely be making this again. I wonder if it would be good with shrimp or steak. Thank you for this recipe! Easy and simple dish.
I’m not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question, but I am using the browser website, and I’ve clicked “Saved” on multiple recipes. Where can I access my saved recipes? I can’t seem to find a single page referencing my saved recipes.
Hi Ryan- We changed out site, but you can still access your recipes. You will have to create a new account using the same email you used for your original account. Then click on the “Grow” widget which will be floating at the bottom of the page. Follow the prompts to get to access your saved recipes. XOXO -Monti
Very flavorful recipe and SIMPLE!! I put Romano cheese on it to garnish it. Yum!
This was good! I think next time I’ll add some salt to bring out the flavors more since there isn’t any specified in the recipe.
I made this lactose free using LF milk, and subbing LF sour cream instead of cream cheese (which is hard to find LF).
I can never get one pot meals to turn out quite right. The meat ends up overdone or the noodles underdone. My chicken is pretty tough here.
Other than that it is tasty! I eyeballed the chicken broth and ended up with some extra liquid, so added 2tbsp of flour at the end to thicken up the sauce and that turned out nicely. Nice cheesy flavor and super fast to cook.
Flavor was amazing! And even my picky eaters ate *some* of it, which I call a win. I loved that I could cook it all in one pot, though my chicken did turn out tough. My pasta needed a bit more cooking time it seemed, and so next time I will be careful to only just start the chicken cooking.
Absolutely delicious! You had me at ‘Add the uncooked pasta and chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken’ – I just knew ‘yup this is about to be flavourful! 💃🏾‘
I used light cream cheese and it came out just fine! (For anyone wondering)
Not entirely sure why this shows up as a video?
Recipe looks nice but I found this off a google search including videos and unless I am missing something fairly critical cannot see a video of any kind, would like to know what I am doing wrong
Cheers
Hi Alexandra, looks like we might have an issue with video loading with the new redesign. Here’s where you can find this particular video on our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/cxTSOlWNXy0 XOXO -Monti
I had (well, technically still have, but its days are numbered) a cherry tomato plant this summer that produced so much fruit I wound up sun-drying most of my crop in the oven, and I picked this recipe for their maiden voyage. It’s so dreamy and cheesy and perfect for these dreary Fall days, and the sun-dried tomatoes (if you made them like I did, soak the tomatoes in warm water for at least an hour before using) cut the richness of the cheese well. If you grate the parmesan fresh, try tossing the rind in with the pasta and chicken in Step 4. I’ve heard that people toss parmesan rinds into fresh tomato sauce for extra flavor, and I feel like it helped here, too. I also used spinach and served it with some green beans to make it a more substantial meal.
You have to try it, it looks delicious, and the recipe is not difficult.
I have already prepared several pastas with chicken according to other recipes, and it was always delicious in its own way.
This was delicious, however we found it too very watery. Adding less milk may have been a better option!
umm, yes to this recipe! Go make it RIGHT NOW!
has anyone tried this with shrimp?
This was SO good and easy! I ended up using oat milk because I ran out of cow’s milk and I was scared the pesto falvor wouldn’t come through, but it really did! I also ran out of chicken stock but I used vegetable stock and added a little half cube that’s granulated Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon. Will definitely make again <3
I really need to stop checking this blog before lunch LOL Literally changing what I am having everytime I pop to read the new recipes
Oh. My. Gosh. I am in love with this recipe! I used pesto made with fresh basil from the garden and my “sundried” tomatoes were cherry tomatoes I had dehydrated from the garden. I did use the spinach and, for this reason, it could have used a little more cream but I’ll just add some milk when we reheat the leftovers. I cannot thank you enough for this and many other recipes you’ve shared. Know that you are greatly appreciated and talented!
This is okay, but it’s almost too creamy with the milk and the cream cheese. Barely any pesto flavor gets through.
My husband and child are very difficult to cook for, if I wanted to add in some fresh green beans or asparagus, at what point should I add them? Thanks!! I live by your recipes and have gained so much confidence in the kitchen. I love that you use pantry staples and don’t have me running all over town to find some rare spice or ingredients!
OUTSTANDING! I am so glad I stumbled across your website today. I had to stay at my sister’s house overnight to meet the A/C guy to fix their unit and all I grabbed out of my house in a hurry was frozen chicken breasts and my frozen homemade pesto from the garden. I had 1/3 bag left of pasta so grabbed that and figured I’ll create a meal when I get to her place. Then stumbled across your recipe. Found a similar pasta in my sister’s cupboard to equal the recipe amount and off to cooking. Followed instructions exactly and it came out perfect – the chicken breast was super tender and the pasta cooked PERFECTLY. I did not have any cream cheese on hand so I didn’t add but I know that would take it to the next level. I did use 2% milk and it was absolutely perfect. I read some comments where folks were iffy about cooking pasta altogether vs separately but your instructions specifically state to continually lift lid, stir and quickly replace lid “until pasta is just about done”. Adding the milk and pesto will continue to finish off the pasta until it’s al dente. I read thru directions several times before cooking – definitely a keeper recipe and will make again, espec in the fall when my garden will have leafy greens I can add w/ sun dried tomatoes. Thank you for sharing!
My husband can’t eat chicken, so I used Daring plant chicken pieces. This meal was absolutely amazing! Thanks you Budget Bytes for ANOTHER yummy recipe! I’m never disappointed
Delicious recipe, however, it was too rich and salty for my family. Next time, will use less pesto or substitute water for chicken broth. We did double the recipe which may have been the issue as well. Otherwise, this is a very good recipe.
So good! So quick! So easy! This is a great week night meal that was easy to alter. I added onion but I plan on adding mushrooms as well next time I make it. I added a little bit more chicken broth and didn’t use any milk. Will be making this again!
Oh I forgot my star rating. Please see my comments in my other post.
I love your blog. Everything I’ve made has been so delicious. I do tweak the recipes slightly to account for my family’s taste, but follow pretty close. Tonight I made this and only subbed in blackened cherry tomatoes for the sun dried. And doubles the parm. My 9yo dramatically fell to the ground when I let her try before I served it. Huge hit!! Thank your for sharing!! Another win!
So cute!! Thanks for sharing that story!
This recipe sounds delicious and I’m going to try it on my weekend guest. I’m sure they will like it as I know I will.
Excellent recipe, BUT..
It would be nice to have a metric cionversion for the 97% of this planet that doesnt cook in the USA.
We had no idea how many shopping carts equal the area of a basketball field, and the weight of ingredients measured in bald eagles when serving for two, made no sense.
Aren’t there websites that can do that for you? How is it the author’s responsibility to cater to you and your special circumstance? She’s American and provided a recipe as she knows it. Don’t be that person.
Simply asking for Metric measurements to be included would have been one thing, but this was another thing entirely.
This was disrespectful to the author and to everyone who read your comment.
I read British recipes all the time and just make the conversion by using google. I always assume the person writing the recipe is going to write it with the language and measurements they are used to. What you are asking is the same as if I asked a Japanese chef to. write their recipes in English because more people read English than Japanese.
Made this for dinner tonight and we
LOVED it! My son is lactose intolerant so had to make with homemade vegan pesto,, vegan cream cheese and vegan Parmesan. Delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe.
Do leftovers of this creamy one skillet pasta freeze well?
I haven’t personally tried freezing this one, so I’m not sure. Generally, creamy sauces don’t freeze well, but because this one has cream cheese that might help stabilize the sauce.
I tried freezing leftovers & reheating. It doesn’t do well, at all. The pasta results in being mushy and the cream cheese loses its flavor. However, I did refrigerate leftovers for 2 days. For reheating, I added a tablespoon of cold butter and a splash of milk to reconstit’ute creaminess. I then warmed the mixture in a covered skillet on low heat, for about 8 minutes – – just until heated through.
Just amazing 👏 made it my first time tonight and it hit the spot perfectly!
It was nice but I found it to be a bit too rich and salty so I think I’ll just use water instead of chicken broth next time
Hi there! Looking forward to making this. Can I just cook the pasta beforehand? I haven’t had much luck cooking pasta all in one pot with other things, so it will probably be easier to cook the pasta in boiling water and then add it to the pot with everything else. Will that work? Thanks!
You’ll want to boil the pasta in broth instead of water to maintain the same level of flavor as the one pot version. :)
Beth mentions the unknown in this recipe using gluten-free pastas. I thought I would let anyone know (who is interested) that I made this recipe last night using gluten-free penne pasta and it turned out great. I did cook it an extra 2 minutes beyond the 8 minutes stated in the recipe, but I’m not sure I needed to. I do recommend adhering to the every-two-minute stir after the pasta begins to cook.
Thanks, Beth, for another great one.
Thank you so much for sharing, Betsy!! That will be so helpful to others. :)
Perfect balance of ingredients
This recipe is SO GOOD! After ordering chicken pesto pasta at a restaurant, I had to make my own and this was spot on. I used a rotisserie chicken and it came out so well. Bookmarked and will be making again and again. Thank you!
Sorry I don’t have a kitchen scale. Approximately how many cups is 1/2 pound of penne? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I don’t have the volume measurement, but you can approximate the weight based on the package size. If you bought a one pound package of penne, use half. If you bought a 12oz. package of penne, use ⅔ of the box. :)
The end of my comment was supposed to say.. this was better then pasta we have eaten out at restaurants! ;)
I have been trying to find a yummy pesto pasta that my whole family can enjoy. This was a winner and great for a quick and filling Sunday night dinner after sport. Will add this into the ‘to cook on a regular basis’ pile. Better then a Thanks!
Good meal just had some fresh garlic chili 🌶 at the end and less milk otherwise it’s too heavy.
best chicken is chicken tights and they should be marinated
This was delicious! My family loved it. I doubled the recipe, since we are 4 adults it was the perfect amount. One portion was leftover.
I made it in my 7.25Qt Dutch oven and it turned out great. The only thing I will do different next time is sautéing the chicken in two batches to not over crowd the pot.
This recipe is amazing and easy! I also sautéed some onion and mushrooms and added them right before the spinach and sun dried tomatoes. It was a great addition. Thank you for this recipe!!
Does the total of the dish include the price of taxes?
No, and please keep in mind that these prices are what I paid, but not necessarily what you will pay. Prices very quite a bit from region to region, store to store, and day to day. The prices are shown for example purposes only. You can read more about how and why we calculate the recipe costs here.
Made this super easy, very tasty. However I change the chicken cut to thighs.
I followed the recipe closely. It makes a very flavorful and velvety sauce, and this is the recipe’s primary redeeming trait. As presented, however, I think this recipe two significant issues:
1. The chicken: If you follow the recipe, you will get get chicken that has the dry, stringy and unappetizing texture of boiled chicken breast. If I do this again, I will make the following change: I will dredge the chicken in seasoned flour, then cook it through completely (being careful not to overcook it) by sautéing in olive oil. I will then set the cooked chicken aside, cover it to keep it warm, and reintroduce it to the pasta at the end. (If you haven’t done something like this before, I suggest you practice making chicken breast nuggets this way. If you get it right, they will be juicy and tender, without any hint of stringy texture.)
2. The pasta: The directions say to cook the penne until most of the chicken broth is absorbed and the penne are tender – about 8 minutes. This is implausible. It’s hard to find a penne with a cooking time less than 10 minutes., and most are more than 10 minutes. If you take the instructions seriously, you find yourself with a conundrum because you’ll have a thin layer of liquid at the bottom of the pot, and a bunch of penne above it that’s not quite cooked. With that said, you probably don’t want to cook the penne until it’s tender. It will cook more after you add the milk and other ingredients, so your goal should probably not be tender penne before adding the milk. Your goal should be penne that are just shy of al dente, and a target of al dente pasta when the dish is completed.
So easy and delicious! I’m definitely making it again 👍
Looks amazing!!! Love all the ingredients- is this something that could be frozen for a treat for a new mama?
This was a great dinner last night that both adults and children enjoyed. I doubled the recipe for our family of four so that we can have leftovers during the work week. Will definitely make again!
Made this for dinner and the taste was fantastic! My oldest son even commented how good it was. This recipe is a keeper.
Turned out incredible , rich and creamy very fulfilling dish . Family
Enjoyed it very ouch will definitely be making this again !
I absolutely love this!! I made it how the recipe stated the first time but tonight I decided to be extra lazy and throw it in a crockpot! I added frozen chicken, garlic, pesto, and milk on high for 2.5 hours. Shredded the chicken and added the cream cheese! It turned out great!
Absolutely perfect, worth following the details as the combo of sundried tomatoes, spinach, black pepper & a bit of crushed chilli powder or similar, takes it from a really nice creamy pasta to an absolute delight :) So easy to knock together too, all store cupboard ingredients for us.
I never leave comments but this was omg yummy. I used multi colored bow tie pasta and followed it to a t. This will be a weekly dinner!!!
Excellent recipe, have it frequent,y, one question can you freeze the left overs? There is only two of us, we do like leftovers, for lunch or dinner the next day, but this makes a lot. Just wondering if can be frozen and still be good on reheat!
You can, but it might dry out slightly. I suggest testing it with one serving first to see if the flavor and texture changes are palatable to you.
Made it for my family as a beginner cook who wants to broaden their variety to things they would never normally make, and I was inspired to try a chicken pesto pasta recipe after trying a much less delicious microwaveable single-serve version of this dish…And both me and my family were very pleased and liked it a lot! Definitely keeping this recipe with me, absolutely delicious!
What could I substitute for pesto besides making my own? My children have a nut allergy.
I don’t think there’s anything to substitute directly, I would just opt for a one pot pasta that is not designed around pesto as the main flavor ingredient. Maybe my One Pot Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta? You could add spinach to that, just like I did with the pesto version.
Try the Classico brand pesto. No nuts. Or make your own. I have a nut allergy too and this is one of my favorite recipes.
I love this pasta! It is so easy to make! Tastes amazing and like it is from a restaurant! My only note is that it takes way longer than 8 mins for the pasta to be done/for the sauce to thicken. I let sit for around 18 mins. It was super liquidy after adding the milk and cream cheese, but letting it simmer for another 10 mins thickened it up.
Can I use water instead of chicken broth?
You’ll be missing a lot of the flavor and some of the salt in the recipe if you use water instead of broth.
This has been my son’s favorite thing to eat since he was about 1 year old! He’s almost 17 months now, and when he’s teething, this is the one thing I know he’ll eat! I always add spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, diced fresh tomatoes, and sometimes zucchini or broccoli! Hubby approved as well! Thanks for an easy, fast, delicious recipe.
I love this recipe – I make it frequently for my dad and myself. I use macaroni instead of penne (because I normally have it on hand), sub the cream cheese for a whole milk-cornstarch slurry, and add the suggested the baby spinach. Always so tasty, fast, and easy to make!
This has been my go-to for quite some time! Quick, easy, and guests love it. My husband always requests I double for leftovers too :) Thank you!!
This is such a great recipe, been making it for years! Now that I’ve moved out, this recipe makes it super easy to cook once and eat for 3-4 nights! It’s delicious and affordable!
Thank you, Beth!
Wondering if this could easily be done in the crock pot?
I usually don’t suggest pasta recipes for crock pots since the pasta gets mushy.
Can I use fire roasted Diced tomatoes instead of the sun dried tomatoes?
That might be tricky because the canned tomatoes are going to add a lot of moisture to the dish, which might mess up the creamy sauce. It’s hard to say how much it will be affected without testing that one.
So flavorful. Excited to add spinach next time. Sundried tomatoes are a must.
Simple and really tasty. I didn’t have cream cheese so I subbed in sour cream instead (same amount) and Romano cheese for the Parmesan. I added the optional spinach and also some green and wax beans for extra veggies, and made my own pesto. My very picky husband loved it!
Shared with many. Easy and tastes great. I cheated and put everything in the pan at once except spinach and cheese. It still turned out great. I used chicken in a bag, though. Will do again.
awesome recipe as usual! i appreciate how easy it is to follow the directions, i never mess these up. you’re helping my family save money and eat really good food, you’re the best!
This was my first ever pesto dish and boy was the entire family surprised. We all loved it and cannot wait to make this again.
Delicious recipe just as written. I used Raos pesto & whole grain penne. Absolutely perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe!
3rd time I made this with prepackaged pesto. It was east and delicious! I used Buittoni pesto and it was good better than the first pesto I used that had an aftertaste. Can you suggest a different brand of pesto to try with this recipe?
I’ve used this Felippo Berio brand before and it was pretty good (and affordable).
The Raos is good too
This recipe is fabulous! I added extra garlic and no other changes. I did as suggested add baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes. We love it, I will be making this again. Thank you.
This was such a great recipe. Not only was it delish, it was really easy to make, with easy clean-up. Looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow
I absolutely love this one pot! I make it weekly for mine and my OH’s tea, with enough leftovers to box up for lunches. I once defrosted pork instead of chicken, and though, “who cares? It’s going to be lovely anyway!” It was. I’ve also used this to take a packed lunch to hospital (for my infusion), and after being microwaved for a few minutes, it was absolutely delicious! Sun dried tomatoes aren’t normally seen in the UK supermarkets, so we’ve substituted for a tin of chopped tomatoes.
I love how you can put in how many people you’re cooking for, and it’ll automatically adjust the portions.
I made this with zucchini and summer squash instead of spinach, and it was divine!
CAN I USE ALMOND MILK INSTEAD OF REAL MILK – WILL THE RECIPE TURN OUT THE SAME
Unfortunately, I think almond milk would not work very well for this recipe.
Hey! Almond milk would probably be too sweet and not thick enough, but I’ve had Oat Milk work GREAT!
Such an easy and delicious meal! After cooking many of your recipes, I’m realizing where our seasoning preferences differ, and adjust accordingly. I seasoned the chicken with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper, gave it a deep sear on all sides, then cut into chunks and followed your method. Thank you for such consistently good and easy to follow recipes!
I am making this for a vegetarian who is okay with stock but not the meat. How would you like tweak? Would you still use stock? Thanks again, we love this recipe!
Yes, still use the broth, just start at the step where you’re combining the broth with the uncooked pasta. :)
This is a delicious and simple recipe! I enjoyed it thoroughly. I followed the recipe pretty much to a T except I didn’t add tomatoes or spiniach at the end. With regard to the other comments about the sauce being too thin, it definitely was not. I let the pasta sit for a minute after cooking to let it set together while I ate my salad and it turned out wonderfully creamy! This is definitely a keeper.
I am a beginner cook and this recipe turned out wonderful; I just used a taad bit more parmesan…because who doesn’t love cheese!
I am a beginner cook and this recipe turned out wonderful; I just used a taad bit more parmesan…because I love cheese!
This was a delicious dinner that I was able to put on the table fairly quickly on a week-night. My 3 year-old ate his whole bowl and asked for seconds. That alone makes this a winning recipe!
I used chicken thighs and a lot more garlic. We had a fresh pesto on hand that went perfectly for this dish. Great recipe.
Loved this recipe!
Use the fresh pesto in the refrigerator section, powder, really… everything in that you can’t even pronounce, Fresh is best, but when need be, don’t use powder whachamacallit, come on sweet & low comes from goal.
If I wanted to double the recipe would I need to use 2 skillets or would a large 6 quart pot work ?
While I haven’t tried this in a six-quart pot, I find that flat and wide vessels work a little better for this type of dish because you get more even heating than in a deep pot where the top might not be as hot as the bottom layer. So I’m thinking just doing two batches in a skillet would be better.
Taste was on, but recipe required some tweaking. There was no way that 1.5 cups of broth was going to be enough for 8 oz of penne pasta. I poured it in, looked at it, and immediately added an additional cup of water, which turned out to be the right volume.
I think you should undercook the pasta before adding all your creamy elements. It will continue to cook in the milk and sauce, and if it’s done fully before those go in, it will be overdone by the time the dish is complete. I also added the sun dried tomatoes in with the milk to rehydrate them a little bit.
Overall tasty and good idea, but I think the recipe requires some tweaks to be a 10/10 final product.
If I were to use broccoli in this recipe when should I add it into the pot??
I’d probably add it to the pot with the pasta and broth.
I love this recipe. It is SO easy, so quick and so tasty! I throw in whatever leafy veg I have at hand, and cut tomatoes, dried tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes. I am not a fan of cream cheese, and live in France where we have AMAZING cheese, so i use a little more milk, and the Cantal or Compte that is in my fridge.
My go-to recipe for sure!
How much is a serving?
One fourth of the recipe. Unfortunately, I don’t have the exact volume.
I have made several of your one pot pastas so far and they never disappoint.
This time around, however, I added around 2 teaspoons of cornstarch as a slurry right when the pasta was done cooking. But only because a) I didn’t have as much cream cheese left and b) those cream cheese sauces often end up a bit thin for my personal taste. With the cornstarch it was a perfectly creamy sauce.
Oh, and I also always have to double those servings for the pasta because it’s SO good that me and my mum can’t stop eating it even when we’re full.
Good call on the cornstarch; mine needed some too!
Yours needed cornstarch because you added extra water. :) While 1.5 cups may not visually look like enough to cook the penne because it’s not fully submerged, the water and steam cook the pasta together and the occasional stir helps make sure everything cooks evenly. This method leaves only a small amount of thick sauce leftover, leaving no need to add extra thickener.
This recipe was very good. I was looking for a recipe to use my left over Costco rotisserie chicken breast. Since already cooked, I added the chicken after I sauteed the garlic with the pasta and broth. . i also used 3/4 cup 2% milk which was perfect after reading comments. . Also added an extra 2 tablespoons of pesto. if not making I use the Costco Kirkland brand. it’s great. Had no spinach. Did not miss it it. Everything else I had. I will make this again. My husband loved as well.
Great recipe. I stumbled onto this in my quest to utilise a jar of homemade pesto that was about to go bad. It’s a little saucier than I had expected. I substituted spinach / sundried tomatoes with mushrooms as that’s what was available in the pantry. Needs more seasoning than is mentioned in the recipe but good find nevertheless.
This was really good!
This was a bit saucier than I like, but if you use the spinach it will be perfect. I didn’t have spinach, but I added some quartered cherry tomatoes when serving. Those were a really nice contrast to the rich sauce!
Made this tonight for my boyfriend and I! It was the highest rated recipe for the ‘chicken pesto pasta’ search. It was BOMB! I wish I could post a pic of how it turned out. It was a little watery at the end but I just did equal parts cornstarch and water, put about a tablespoon of the mixture in the pasta and stirred it till it thickened up. AMAZING!
We’ve made it twice now and the second time with some alterations that we preferred.
On the second go we halved the pesto (rounding down) to two tablespoons. Additionally, we used heavy whipping cream instead of milk. Then, at the end we threw in some sliced cherry tomatoes with the spinach to wilt.
The second time was a home run in our books.
Made it for the first time so good whole family really enjoyed it , so easy to make with step-by-step information .
Really enjoyed this as written. Added the spinach and sundried tomatoes. Will be making this again, thank you!
I was looking for a way to use up some homemade pesto. I have cooked this twice in the last week. My friend who came to dinner wanted to drink the sauce. It reheats wonderfully and is lovely cold.
It was amazing! It made me realize that i can cook
Hi Beth. I am not a sophisticated cook and have been following your recipes for years without issue, but I really struggled with this one. First, the chicken just would not brown. With the butter and the juice run off, it cooked through and then just kind of steamed in the liquid. Then the pasta absorbed all of the broth in the first 2 minutes and started to burn to the bottom of the skillet. I added another 1/2 cup of broth and found the same issue 2 minutes later. I used my inherited copper bottom skillet, as you advised using quality cookware.
We still ate it and it was still delicious! I just struggled and normally don’t have any issues with your recipes.
Hi Colleen, If the chicken doesn’t brown and it’s sitting in too much water, you might just need to increase the heat a bit so that liquid evaporates as soon as it’s expelled. Since every stovetop and cookware combo cooks a little differently, sometimes you’ll need to adjust according to what you’re seeing in the pan. I’m stumped with the broth being absorbed in the first two minutes, though. I’ve never seen liquid be absorbed so quickly. So without being there to see the process and what’s going on I, unfortunately, don’t have any recommendations for that part! One pot pastas can be a bit like riding a bike, though. You have to feel them out and roll with the process, and making adjustments as you go. But once you get the hang of it, they’re super easy. :) I hope it works better for you next time!
Would Mascapone cheese work with this instead of cream cheese?
Yes, that would probably work well.
Omg so I made this tonight with Mascapone, and was absolutely delicious 😋 thank you so so much!! Winner!!!!!!
Awesome!! Thanks for reporting back on how that worked. :)
Excellent dish! I used both spinach and the sun dried tomatoes from our garden and it was fantastic!
Hey Beth! Wondering if subbing frozen chopped spinach for fresh will be ok here? A little worried about the water that’ll come out
Yes, but I would definitely thaw it and squeeze out the extra water first. And just keep in mind that the texture and appearance will be very different from using fresh. :)
Used whole wheat pasta so just used the box cook time as an indicator for how long in step 4. Didn’t have parm but some mozzarella was just as yum!
Absolutely delicious, quick and easy. I added the sundried tomatoes. Next time will add the spinach too. All measurements were perfect. Will definitely make this on a regular basis.
this was delicious. i used fresh tomato instead of sundried and it was great. It was quick and easy.
Is also great cold as a pasta salad!
Great recipe it made my pesto pasta dish more tasty.
This was such an easy one-pot recipe. Definitely a favourite. If you can used homemade chicken stock it will be worth your while.
This recipe is easy to make and easy to clean. A stable dish when I’m in a jam.
Thank you for a great quick recipe that the whole family enjoyed.
Can I substitute nonfat yogurt for cream cheese? I’m on a low-cholesterol diet and I’m hoping this will work.
That will definitely change both the flavor and texture, but without testing first, it’s hard to say how different it will be.
I used a fat free cream cheese and it had less than 5mg of cholesterol per 2 Tbsp (normal cream cheese has about 30mg per 2 Tbsp). I have made this recipe many times and today was the first time I used fat free cream cheese and it turned out just as great as before. Hope this helps.
This was absolutely delicious! I added the spinach as suggested but did not have sun-dried tomatoes. My kids said it was “restaurant quality pasta” :) Definitely will make again!
Thought I had Alfredo sauce in the pantry, but didn’t. Ran to the store to buy some and they were out. Pesto was on sale, so I searched for a recipe and found yours. Thanks! Came out divine.
I am going to attempt this GF and DF (for my husband). We have gotten pretty good with substitutions. I will report back! We use unsweetened almond milk. The DF cream cheese and Parmesan is VioLife. We have basil pesto from our garden and will use fresh tomatoes vs sundried. Oh, and we are going to add sweet potato! Wish me luck!
Do you think frozen spinach or other frozen veg would work like peas or broccoli? If so, at what point would you add them?
Yep, you could do that. I would fully thaw them first and then just add them in at the point where I added the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Then they can just warm through briefly in the sauce before serving.
I did this with green beans and added them frozen with a minute or two left in the boil step.
Cam I freeze leftovers ?
Yep :)
Very, Very Tasty! I doubled the pesto because we LOVE it and had to use some bell peppers I had in the freezer instead of sun dried tomotoes, but this is definitely a KEEPER!
Thanks for another great and quick recipe!
Very tasty. I got nervous about the chicken broth not covering the pasta, so added more broth. It ended up a bit soupier than I’d like, but it was my fault for adding extra broth. Hard to believe the pasta doesn’t need to be covered in liquid.
I recommend this dish if you love creamy pesto flavor. Who doesn’t?
As long as you keep the lid on (aside from a couple brief stirs) it holds the steam in which will help cook any pasta that is not fully submerged. :)
Just made this now and it is so good, rich and full of flavour! I don’t know why people have said it’s bland (also that’s just rude for something that was shared FOR FREE, make your own recipes elsewhere if you’ve got nothing nice to say). I’ve just started cooking regularly and it was easy to make, took me an hour to do everything but not sure if that’s because I’m a newbie in the kitchen. So yum and definitely making this again.
Absolutely brilliant! My partner and I are having it for tea again, after falling in love last week! Had to use veg stock, as it’s the only one, apart from beef, that our recipes use, but it didn’t impact how delicious it was.
I just made this and it was bomb! I literally couldn’t stop eating it. By the way, are you married? Just asking for a friend…
My family is y a big fan of Pesto. Could I substitute marinara sauce or alfredo sauce?
No, I wouldn’t suggest those substitutions. This dish already has a creamy base sauce, so adding another base sauce like marinara or alfredo wouldn’t make sense. The pesto adds flavor to the base because it’s like adding a heap of herbs. :)
how would this fair with yoghurt as a replacement for cream cheese? i basically always have yoghurt on hand on a given weeknight, cream cheese, not so much!
thoughts? looks delightful though so will be cooking regardless
I feel like yogurt and cream cheese are very different in both flavor and texture, so I don’t know if that would be a suitable substitution. I think it’s one of those things I’d have to try before saying whether or not it would work.
Delicious and easy to cook. Easy ingredients, too!
I just finished making this and it was delicious and so creamy and flavorful!
Made this tonight and it was a HIT-as is! I did season the chicken w S&P and garlic powder before adding it to the butter. next time I will also use thighs instead of breasts. Still a GREAT recipe even with no modifications. thank you!
This is delicious! “Bland” people get outta here!
This recipe rocks! My family loved it. I did read the comments beforehand and I cooked two slices of bacon and used the bacon fat to cook from that point on. I took the bacon out and added the onion to sauté it. Then, I took out the diced onion out and cooked the chicken, then added the semi-cooked onion and the garlic back in to cook. I also added in cherry tomatoes right before adding the spinach. I added 5 ounces of spinach. This was SO good. Great recipe! I also marinaded my chicken beforehand with salt, olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. I added Italian seasoning into the sauce. Plenty of flavor! You can’t screw this up. Just get creative with what you have on hand.
Made this recipe as-is last week. Cheap and delicious including the spinach sundried tomatoes. Getting some veg-resistant folk to really love the veggies is a huge success. Making it again this week and definitely keeping it in the regular arsenal. :)
Subbed mushroom for chicken to make it vegetarian and followed some of the tips that Deborah left and this was sooo good. I also didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes so I used halved cherry tomatoes. I used the entire jar of pesto, half and half, .5 cup more vegetable broth and whole wheat penne pasta. Added a little extra red pepper, basil, and oregano. It was extremely flavorful. I will definitely being making this often!
Bland bland bland. This recipe was saved by several changes.
#1 Season the chicken with salt and pepper before you brown it.
#2 Use 2 teaspoons avocado or olive oil PLUS the butter
#3 Use chicken thighs vs. chicken breasts because they have more flavor
#4 Instead of cream cheese and mil, use Half & Half
#5 Use 2 cups of chicken broth
#6 Use a full 7 oz container of Basil Pesto instead of half the container. That was not NEARLY enough
#7 Use 3 cloves of garlic
#8 Add 1 teaspoon or more of quality Italian seasoning blend in the chicken/garlic/pasta mix
#9 Use 1/2 cup or more of Parmesan or Parmigiana Reggiano
#10 Use 1/3 cup vs 1/4 cup of sun dried tomato julienne slices with a bit of the oil
#11 Use a full 8 oz package of organic baby spinach
After doing that the recipe was fabulous. As written it was bland and flavorless.
Will this recipe work with reduced fat cream cheese? I’ve made the recipe multiple times before but looking to reduce some fat and cals. I must say this is one of our favorite dishes in our home!
I haven’t tried it with that, so I’m not sure. Sometimes they add other ingredients when they reduce the fat that can affect how it melts and things, so I’d have to test it to know for sure.
Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to try tonight since that’s what I have on hand. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Last week I used 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese and it turned out just as good!
Would this still be good without cream cheese?
The cream cheese definitely helps thicken the sauce, but I’m sure you could do something similar with just the pesto and no cream cheese. It will just be more like pasta and chicken coated in pesto, without any real sauciness. :)
Thanks for the response! My husband’s agreed to just take his lactose pills for this one lol. Have you ever tried freezing the leftovers?
I don’t think I’ve tried freezing this one, but I have this on my schedule to make a video this week, so if I get to it I’ll see how well it freezes for you! :)
Amazing!! This household meal preps for the week…3 adults. We have been using this amazing one pot pesto chicken for many weeks and have yet to get tired of it. We double the recipe with great success and it reheats beautifully.
We cook 3 meals for the week so the one pot is a must. We have used many of your one pots and have yet to find a dud.
The recipe itself is really easy to follow, and the proportions are spot on for the broth to pasta. However, I really wouldn’t call this a pesto sauce! The amount of pesto in this is pitiful. I added 1/3 cup at first and it basically disappeared. I doubled, nearly tripled the amount of pesto it calls for and still could barely taste it over the chicken broth. I’d probably quadruple it next time, or maybe dilute the chicken broth.
I’d also suggest seasoning the chicken since there are no other herbs or spices called for in the recipe.
Good recipe overall, just needs more pesto and other flavors going on.
Perfection
I used rotisserie chicken added at the end
Rave reviews
Easy and affordable
This was delicious and easy. I love that it’s all in one pot!
I added some seasonings along with shallot and red & green bell pepper.
I recommend marinating the chicken if you get the chance, as it lacked much flavor of its own. Could marinate in pesto, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper.. just something to give the chicken a pop of flavor would make this dish 10/10.
So so so good. The spinach and the sun-dried tomatoes are a must! I think the only thing that could improve this dish, is making a spicy version.
This was super delicious! PSA I used whole wheat penne and I didn’t have any issues with the pasta to broth ratio :)
Thanks for sharing! I’m trying with whole wheat for the first time tonight.
I’ve never left a food review before but I had to for this one. This is literally the best dinner I have made all summer. It’s so creamy and flavorful! Definitely add the tomatoes and spinach it makes it so much better (I used a normal tomato and it was great)! Excellent recipe.
I made this last night and it was delicious.
Could I substitute the cream cheese and milk with heavy cream instead?
Yes, that should work fine. The flavor will be less tangy, obviously, but it will be deliciously creamy.
I have family members who are lactose intolerant. Can I use a dairy free cream cheese?
Yes you should be just fine. Enjoy!
Was looking for something different to make for dinner and came across this recipe. WOW absolutely simple and delicious and I had all the ingredients so I figured I’d give it a go. The family loved it
how is there 41g of fat in a serving of this dish? Even if you used whole milk with the cream cheese, and parmesan I can’t see how it’s that high
The nutrition data provided is calculated using all ingredients listed on the recipe card, including any ingredient listed as optional. Keep in mind that recipes that involve marinades, breading, salad dressings, oil for frying, or salt for cooking pasta and potatoes may be skewed because some of these ingredients will be discarded and not included in the final edible portion.
I made this tonight with spinach noodle pasta and chopped up broccoli.. I found I had to increase the liquids quite a bit to get the spinach pasta to soften. Ended up using 1 litre of chicken broth and double the milk (1%). I used 4 oz of low fat cream cheese as well. I omitted the chili pepper. I would say it turned out reasonably well. I like the idea of bacon and artichokes being added.
My picky husband just told me we should add this to the “rotation.” Even my toddler likes it. Don’t think I’ve met a recipe on this site I didn’t like! Does seem to be a theme that I end up having to use more chicken broth than expected in one pot pastas, but otherwise no complaints!
My family goes NUTS for this dish!!
This recipe slaps
I made this today. My family absolutely loved it. I’m definitely making it again soon
This recipe really knocked it out of the park for me. I made extra to share with friends the next day, which was easy to do, as all the ingredients came in packaging conducive to doubling e.g. 1 lb pasta, 6 oz. cream cheese, etc. I’m vegetarian, so I omitted the chicken and added the fresh spinach. I used vegetable broth, and fat free milk, and it still turned out very creamy and decadent. I’ll take it one step further next time and use low cal/low carb pasta and low fat cream cheese, because with how much I can eat of this delicious dish, I will soon become round as I am tall.
This dish is AMAZING! I make it at least once a week because of how quick and easy it is. Thinking of adding some bacon pieces to it just to shake it up every once in a while.
This is so yummy! I added artichoke hearts (unmarinated). I found it needed a bit more broth for the pasta to be tender. Will definitely make this again.
This is awesome!!! Super easy for a weeknight meal and easy to customize. Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch. Adding to the rotation!!
Would almond or soy milk work in this recipe.?
Very curious about this — does Almond milk work?
I think it would change the flavour unless it was unsweetened and “original” in flavour.
I used almond milk in mine and it turned out delish!
Super easy and yummy! Adding it to the lineup!
I made this last weekend and it was fantastic!
I did make a couple changes but only because I had different items in the cupboard. I doubled the recipe, I used bow tie pasta and when I realized I only had 1 cup of milk I also used 1 cup of 1/2 & 1/2. It came out great!
Looks great, going to be trying this Sunday with some homemade pesto. Could you tell me though, how big is a serving size?
Thanks
How do you think this dish would go in the freezer if I made a big batch?
You can freeze it, but just know the pasta may get a little chewy.
Another great recipe! Thank you.
This is going to be a regular recipe for me from now. It was so easy and the sauce was perfectly rich and creamy.
This was so good! Everybody love it! Thanks, Beth
This recipe is amazing! The tang of the tomato is a great contrast to the creamy pasta, and I highly recommend everyone include it. My only complaint is the recipe title. Creamy chicken pesto pasta rolls off the tongue almost as well as it pleases it!
We had this tonight. I doubled it, so we’d have leftovers, and it was a big hit! We’re vegetarian, so I subbed Morningstar Farms “chicken” meal starter strips and cooked them separately. (Veggie meat-style products tend to absorb extra liquid, and I didn’t want them stealing water from the pasta) Also used a fake “chicken” broth instead of the real (obviously.) Other than that, I followed the recipe, and times and flavor were spot-on! I added about two big crowns worth of steamed broccoli florets and about 1/3 of a head of cauliflower all chunked up, also steamed, and about a cup of frozen peas. Everyone loved it! This is definitely going into regular rotation. Thanks so much for the great recipe! Keep them coming!
Really yum recipe that the whole family enjoyed. Fed 4 adults and two children perfectly! I would suggest cooking the chicken in batches so that it browns and doesn’t stew.
Would I be able to use fresh linguini that I made and froze with this recipe ?
Also, do u think I can use ricotta instead of cream cheese or split the two (I’m trying to. Get ride of my ricotta before it goes bad #nowaist)
Thanks so much !
I think fresh would be delicious! And the ricotta could be great too. You may want to blend it first to give it that creamy texture.
going to try this tonight with ricotta ( and maybe some fresh tomato) – thanks for some much needed dinner inspiration!
This was delicious! I had to sub a mix of ricotta & sour cream (approx 3 tbsp each) for the cream cheese but otherwise followed the recipe exactly with the added spinach. Thank you for sharing! This was a quick & easy to prepare one-pot dinner. We will definitely have this again!
Just made this one pot pasta and it’s absolutely delicious! I also added 2 tablespoons of full cream and it was amazing! Thank you so much!
I made this tonight, minus the spinach and sundried tomatoes. It was a hit! My men ate every bit. And it was so easy, my gosh! I have also made cajun chicken pasta, same idea. Both recipes are gold. I buy a block of cream cheese and use half on the cajun, and half on the pesto a couple of weeks later. Thank you, Budget Bytes!
This was so good!! I had foraged for some wild leeks/ramps out in the yard recently and made a pesto from it. It was delicious, but, also extremely pungent :) Too strong to eat it full strength. This was the perfect recipe to make with it, since it’s diluted with the milk and cheese. I did sub out roasted garlic chicken sausage for the chicken, because #covid pantry life. Thank you for making such accessible and delicious recipes.
Hello! Would this recipe freeze well? Thank you :)
Hi Hannah! It should be okay but the pasta may get a little soggy.
We had this last night. It was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, but I do like the thought of adding some cherry tomatoes. My 4 year old, husband, and I devoured it. I wish I had made a double recipe so we could have leftovers.
This was AMAZING, but I wouldn’t even add the chicken next time! You don’t need it because the dish is full of flavor on it’s own and filled me up. If you do use the chicken, I suggest seasoning it so that it doesn’t get lost in the rest of the ingredients.
Beth,
I’ve done a similar recipe in the past but love the one pot plan. Do you think I can use no fat Greek yogurt in place of the cream cheese? I would like to cut out some fat.
We haven’t tested it that way yet Terry, but you can certainly try. It may give it a bit more tang.
What does replace the lid mean?
Simply put it back onto the pot for the remainder of the cooking time.
This was delicious! This was the first recipe that I tried from budget bytes and I loved it, it has inspired me to try more. I followed the recipe exactly except the tomatoes. I think it tastes even better the next day when the sauce has thickened up a little. I like to sprinkle a little extra Parmesan on top of my individual serving.
Absolutely fantastic! I added a little bit more of everything mentioned in the recipe plus cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and sprinkled mozzarella cheese…mmmhmm.
That sounds awesome!
Is this with shredded cheese you’d find in the cheese aisle or the one in the container? Either way I’m excited to try this!
I’d use the grated parmesan in the containers it’s better :)
So thankful for your recipe! In the middle of Covid19 lockdown and i had one chicken breast, 1/2 a box of penne, 2 TBS of cream cheese and pesto each, plus a bounty of frozen spinaci! So happy you helped me put it all together to feed the gang. Happy weekend! jen
Do you think this would come out good with vegan cream cheese?
My husband loved this dish! So easy to make and minimal cleanup. Will make again.
ugh this is one of my favorites now
Budget bytes pulling through as always! You’re the best Beth!
Well, I did a really weird thing.. I didn’t have any pesto, and given the whole “social distancing” thing (thanks, COVID-19), I wasn’t inclined to brave the grocery store. I did have some chimichurri leftover & frozen, so I tossed that in instead, and HOLY COW this is delicious! Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it with pesto!
So good! I’m trying new recipes every week and it’s very simple. I added a little more cheese and pesto than it called for to suit our taste, but I’m definitely putting this in our dinner rotation :)
Wow – simple and delicious!! Prepared as written but I did end up adding more pesto (because it’s just that good)!! With ingredients on hand, this comes together quickly in one pot (BONUS)!! My entire family enjoyed this and I will definitely make this often.
Super easy and turned out really well! My friend and I are learning how to cook a new thing each week for a project and this was the best thing we’ve made so far :)
I used 1 tablespoon of butter in the first step, 2 oz cream cheese, and Aldi protein pasta. One serving turned out to be 580 calories (48 g protein) and is amazing!!
Do you cook the chicken all way in the first step?
You’re cooking it until it’s golden brown, then continuing to cook while you mince the garlic, then add the garlic and cook. By then the chicken will be cooked through.
This meal was really delish! Will definitely be making it again! I used elbow noodles, Didn’t have penne. Tasted fine to me.
Beth, I’ve been a fan of your recipes for a long time. However, I must say you’ve made a very serious mistake here. The name of this recipe is not and cannot be “creamy pesto chicken pasta”. Let the words “creamy chicken pesto pasta” flow off your tongue, let the allure of alliteration into your heart and you will understand what must be done.
Could I sub the milk for heavy cream?
We haven’t tried it with that swap but you could certainly give it a shot.
I love making this recipe because it’s soooo quick and easy to whip up. It tastes great with the chicken but I tried it with huge shrimp and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for the great dish!
Very nice recipe, but it was a pain trying to convert to metric,
e.g. 1/3 cup pesto = ??? Anyway, it tasted great after I spent an hour doing complex algebra to figure it out ;)
If you have this issue going forward, check out a website called “The Metric Kitchen.” It will give you quick conversions. It is primarily written for cooks used to American Weights and Measurements trying to cook from a metric recipe, however, it works equally well going from American standard to Metric.
No need to break out the calculator. Google has you covered.
Delicious and easy and affordable! The one change I made was my pasta required almost twice the boiling time, and was still al dente. Not sure what that’s about, but it turned out great in the end!
Fabulous! I added the extras- spinach and sun dried tomatoes. It was even better than I expected. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious, and truly very easy to make! I omitted the tomatoes, and I had whipped cream cheese so used 1/2 cup, which was perfect. I also put pepper on the chicken while it cooked because it looked a little sad and bland (though I’m sure it would’ve been fine without it!). This will definitely be added to our regular rotation, particularly since we often seem to find ourselves with half used pesto and cream cheese!
Really tasty dish and easy to make. The only thing I would change is to use less parmesan, as it was a bit overwhelming.
Amazing!!! Highly recommend. I have a ton of veggies on me right now so I added mushrooms and a chopped shallot in when I put the garlic in and added spinach and arugula at the end. Added a little extra chicken broth because of the additions. Love the creaminess. Thank you!
Yes I love when you can add in the extra you’ve got on hand!
This recipe was so delicious and easy to follow with the step by step pictures. Seriously my favorite dinner I’ve cooked in a long time. I added the spinach, omitted the tomatoes, and used sprinkle parm in place of shredded. It really was incredible and there is still a nice leftover serving after me and my husband absolutely pigged out :-)
Happy to hear it Kayla!
Could you instant pot this? Would you still have to add the cheese and milk separately or could I just toss it all in at the start?
It’s hard to say without testing it, but I would assume you would still need to add the ingredients in the same order as above.
Do you season the chicken before cooking it?
We don’t have that outlined in this recipe. But you certainly could season it some and give it a little extra flavor.
I had high expectations for this. As usual you have never let me down!
Hooray! We’re glad to hear you loved it!
Hi Beth, I love your recipes! Can you pretty please give some suggestions on chicken swap outs to make this vegetarian? My partner and I eat veggie at home, so I’d love to be able to adapt this one! Thanks :)
Hi Keira! You could omit the chicken and it will still be delicious! I’ve started to make it a few times and forgot to get chicken entirely and it’s still delicious. I’ve even added broccoli a few times :)
Another one-pot winner – we loved this! Thanks!
Happy to hear it Erin!
This recipe was affordable, easy to make, and delicious! Will definitely be adding to my regular meal rotations :-) thank you for sharing!
Happy to hear it Shelby! Thanks for sharing.
If I want to make this with a pound of pasta (ie the whole box) do I just double everything, or is the ratio less straightforward for the broth? Thanks!
Hi Adam! You can just click on the servings box and adjust up to 8 servings and it will then give you the right amounts for the rest of the ingredients for using 1 lb of pasta.
Oh duh! I had put the recipe in Evernote and only came back to ask my question. Oopsie! :) Thanks so much!
Ok. This was great. One pot and eight bowls but turned out great. My wife and even my son loved it. The chicken actually shredded by the time it was finished, but was probably better the chunks in our opinion.
That’s awesome John! Thanks for sharing!
Yum! Such an easy and delicious meal!
Thanks Rachel!
Thank you Rachel!
Any suggestions on what to use instead of milk? Girlfriend can have the cream cheese but milk is a dietary restriction. Thanks in advance!
Are you sure she can’t have cream cheese too? In any case you could swap with an unsweetened coconut milk.
Hey Beth,
I have been following your site for a few months now, never actually commented but this is so good, very nice recipes.
I have a few question about this recipe in particular because I stumbled upon a few problems.
First of all, are there any more tips on how to cook the pasta, I followed the recipe strictly, I even cooked it longer, but the penne wouldn’t cook nicely. I think I eventually overcooked it because parts were turning into a dark color, but they never were soft/cooked nicely. I religiously followed the tips above too but it didn’t help unfortunately, any tips for this?
Second, is there an alternative for the chicken broth that is vegetarian? I now made it with the chicken broth but I want to be able to make this dish vegetarian, so what should I put in with the penne instead of the chicken broth?
Thanks, and greetings from Holland! :)
David
Hi David! Thank you! Yes you can swap vegetable broth for the chicken broth. As for the pasta, which type of pasta were you using? Sometimes gluten free pastas can take a little longer to boil.
Where are you finding pesto for only $0.73 for a third of a cup? Most that I’ve seen is at least $5 for a cup. Is there a brand you’d recommend?
Aldi! It’s only two bucks and some change for a little jar of it. :)
I never had pesto before and I just finished making this dish,it is absolutely delicious,I’m going to double the recipe next time .thanks!
Hooray! I’m happy you liked it Destiny!
I left out the chicken and used veggie broth because we are a vegetarian family. This pasta dish was so good. I’m always skeptical of using cream cheese because it tends to take over all the flavors but it was so subtle here.
Thank you Bethany!
I made this week and LOVED it, it was so delicious and so easy. My husband and I also rarely fully agree on food, when I thing something is amazing, he usually thinks it’s alright and vice versa. This and the sushi bowls are two where we completely agree. I want to make it again this week but just realized I’m out of Parmesan and going back into the store again is never a great idea for me. Do you think the shelf stable stuff would work, or just omitting it completely?
Hooray for agreeing! Yes the shelf stable parm will be fine. Don’t go out of your way or your budget! :)
Made this for dinner tonight! So delicious! The flavors came together perfectly. Wasn’t too rich or lacking! I added some spinach and used low sodium chicken broth and adjusted my pasta time to 10 minutes. Your recipes are always spot on! I also really like how budget and pantry friendly they are!
Thank you Caroline!
The pesto ruined it, I’m going to omit it next time.
I’m sorry to hear that Raquel! Let me know if you have any questions about the process to see if we can improve for the next time you make it.
hi beth! i’ve been following budget bytes since i was in college in 2011, but this is the first time i’ve ever commented. your summer vegetable tian was the first recipe i ever made from here, became a staple that carried me through college, and is still a favorite today. eight years later i love to share the budget bytes joy with my partner and we make at least 3 recipes from your blog a week. i just want to thank you for sharing delicious, low-cost food with the world. your recipes helped me learn to cook – now a passion of mine – AND have helped carry me through so much financial struggle in my life and i am SO grateful for that!
i made this recipe last night and as usual, it was mindblowing. i used a full 12 oz bag of fun halloween shapes pasta, so i added another half cup of broth and an extra ounce of cream cheese. i also threw in some frozen chopped kale because i had it on hand and love to sneak veggies into all my food 😂 it came out absolutely perfect. thank you!
Hi Kayla!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! It means so much to me to hear from people who have been following for a long time. :) And I love the idea of the Halloween shaped pasta! Now I want to find some! Haha!
This looks amazing!! I have a quick question.. I don’t like to have half a bag of pasta hanging out in my pantry; I’d rather just cook it all at one time. Can I use the entire bag and just double everything else in the recipe (especially the liquid).. or will that be a recipe for disaster? If I attempt it, I will definitely use my huge pan! Thanks much and really looking forward to trying this! :)
Yes you could! Yes get a large enough pan for sure, or do two batches in two pans each. Good luck!
I’ve been serving with hot sauce for some extra spice and to cut the richness with some acid. Works well!
Good to know Nick! Thanks for sharing!
This was sooo good! I was feeling lazy last night and this was the perfect meal. I hadn’t cooked pasta with broth like that before and it turned out great.
Thank you!
Happy to hear it worked out Melissa! Thanks for sharing!
Beth – “Stocking a bomb shelter”? Gawd, yer too funny, but this will be a delightful staple in my man cave this winter. I sure appreciate the recipes you post in your blog. They are really great, healthy and economical for old people like me, economizing to save for retirement.
Thank you Maurice! ;)
If I’m omitting the chicken (I have everything else on hand), would the quantities of any of the other ingredients change?
No you should be just fine :) Enjoy!
Nice one, Beth! I didn’t have spinach (although it looks great) but sauteed & removed some asparagus snapped into bite-sized pieces in the butter before throwing the chicken in. Only thing I’d change is maybe low-sodium chick broth. Between the pesto and parm, mine was a tad salty.
But as usual, truly great recipe, instructions, and frugality. Thanks for your site! It’s a constant help in the “what’s for supper” dilemma.
Thanks for sharing Larissa!
Made this tonight. Very easy and D-LICIOUS! My pasta wasn’t quite done after 8 minutes but 10 was perfect. I didn’t have penne so used spirals, that could be why. One thing I was a tad nervous about was that the taste of pesto would be over powering. I should have known better, Beth knows her stuff! It was beautifully balanced, creamy and will be made again and again. Aside from pasta change I added more crushed red pepper (about 4 pinches total) and probably 1/2 cup more Parmesan, bc “Parmesan” people! Can’t get enough!
❤️ This recipe! Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
I forgot to note that I did add the spinach and sun dried tomatoes…both were gorgeous with the rest of the dish. I do think fresh cherry tomatoes would also taste nice
Thank you Valerie!
I made it tonight. Was amazing!
Any idea what I could use instead of the milk? We’ve got one that’s dairy free in our house.
You could swap for coconut milk that could work!
While you could potentially replace the milk with coconut milk, there are three other dairy containing ingredients in this, and I don’t think you could replace all of them without drastically changing the end result. Unfortunately with really dairy heavy recipes like this there usually isn’t a simple dairy-free swap. :(
I made this dairy free tonight with vegan pesto and vegan cream cheese from Trader Joe’s and Silk Cashew milk and it came out AMAZING.
Happy to hear it Mia!
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing your method and how it turned out! I know there are going to be a LOT of people who want to know. :)
What do you think of using regular tomato chopped up instead of the sun dried ones? It might not have that tang but my garden is still producing for a little while longer … isn’t this weather odd?
I saw an article about you in my “Food and Wine” email feed recently! Good job! I read your blog all the time and I have your cookbook too.
Thanks Katie! Yes you could use fresh from your garden. :)
Any suggestions for other veggies that will work well with or in place of the tomatoes?
You could try mushrooms!
Thanks for another great-looking recipe. Can you recommend a brand of pasta that has at least some whole grain content and tastes good?
I don’t have a particular brand of WW pasta that I use, I usually just buy whatever is available and is a good price. Be aware, though, that if you sub WW pasta for the regular pasta in this recipe you may need to increase the amount of broth used, as WW flour tends to absorb more liquid.
This looks delicious! And it seems perfect for the long-awaited fall temperatures we’re finally getting! I think this will be going on the menu for this week.
Happy to hear it Kathryn!
What would you advise substituting for chicken if someone wanted to make this vegetarian? Could I use mushrooms? Broccoli?
Mushrooms would be great with this, or you can just leave the chicken out. I don’t think it necessarily needs anything to replace it. :)
This sounds fantastic! I am wondering though why your chicken breast was so expensive?! I usually only pay $2 lb here in IA, purchasing 5 lbs or so at a time from Sam’s club or Fareway (midwest grocery.)
She has mentioned trying to buy more organic, local food and that would be why most likely.
Organic chicken is around $5-8 per pound.
More humane: $$$$.
Yep, that’s exactly the reason. :) It was organic chicken.