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 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.