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. ;)
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 ($5.56)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta ($0.40)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 1 cup milk ($0.32)
- 3 oz. cream cheese* ($0.29)
- 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
Video
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 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.