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! :)
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.