Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta

a serving for creamy chicken pasta in a plate garnished with parmesan cheese.

4.60 from 5 votes

Pasta perfection in under 30 minutes! This one-pot Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta is quick, easy, and delicious! It’s tender juicy perfectly seared chicken in a yummy Parmesan and cream cheese based basil pesto sauce that is cooked together with lots of garlic, pasta, and fresh spinach!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 790kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Equipment

6 Quart Dutch Oven

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic minced
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature, cut in cubes
¾ cup basil pesto
3 cups milk 2%, or half and half
2 cups chicken broth low sodium
1 pound pasta such as bow tie or penne, uncooked (about 4 cups)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces fresh spinach

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Brown the chicken: Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven and then heat it over medium-high. Now, add the chicken pieces and cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Turn the chicken pieces from time to time so that they brown evenly on all sides, which will create more flavor.
Start the creamy pesto sauce: Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the Dutch oven, and sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Then stir in the cream cheese and pesto and cook until it’s all completely melted.
Add the milk, broth, and pasta: Stir in the milk, chicken broth, and pasta into the melted cream cheese pesto mixture. Then bring it to a boil.
Lower the heat and cook: Once the chicken and pasta mixture has come to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low. Then allow it to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Add the cheese: Once the pasta is cooked, stir in the Parmesan cheese. Then taste for salt and season with salt and pepper.
Add the spinach: Toss in the fresh spinach and let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the spinach has wilted.
Serve the pasta: Sprinkle the creamy chicken pesto pasta with more Parmesan cheese and serve warm.

Notes

Sear the chicken well. You want to turn the chicken pieces occasionally as you sear them so that they brown evenly on all sides. Doing this will add more flavor to the dish.
Use quality ingredients. Pasta recipes tend to be very simple, so using better olive oil and Parmesan does make a difference in the final result.
Stir to prevent sticking. Don’t forget to stir the pasta from time to time as it cooks. This will not only help it to cook more evenly, but will also prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Season at the end. Do taste your creamy chicken pesto pasta and add more salt as needed along with some freshly ground black pepper. One of the main reasons that pasta dishes turn out bland is that people don’t taste their food right before serving.

Nutrition