Easy pesto chicken pasta recipe

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This easy pesto chicken pasta recipe is a shoo-in in our family, and trust me that’s saying a lot when you’re speaking about my family, which includes 3 very picky little eaters! I very excited to not only share my easy chicken pasta recipe with you, but I have also teamed up with 4 of my friends (linked at the end) who are sharing their go to pesto recipes as well! Bon apetite!

Summertime is the season of backyard gardens and easy cooking (well let’s face it… easy cooking occurs year round in this home!) Once we hit July our garden produce is in abundance and it’s time to put all that declines produce to good use.

One of my favorite herbs to grow is basil and our garden has yielded a very successful crop this year, which means that I better get cookin’! Basil has so many wonderful uses and an endless amount of recipes in which it can be used. My go to basil recipe, besides tomato, basil, mozzarella (still waiting on those tomatoes!) is hands down my delicious and easy pesto recipe!

Pesto sauce for easy pesto chicken pasta recipe

Pesto lends itself to an endless amount of summer recipes that require little time and little effort (done!). Plus, you can double or triple the pesto recipe, freeze it in ice cube trays (I love these that have a lid!) and then you have pesto available for easy access whenever you need it!

cooked chicken for easy pesto chicken pasta recipe

For this easy pesto chicken pasta recipe you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients – Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta (serves 5)

1 (16 ounce) package pasta (I used spaghetti)
1 teaspoon olive oil + 1/4 cup olive oil to add to pesto sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Seasoning Salt
All Purpose Seasoning
½ cup pesto sauce (see recipe here)
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips (optional)

Directions – Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta

Step 1 – Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Step 2 – Season chicken with desired amount of Seasoning Salt and All Purpose Seasoning,
Step 3 – Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, then stir in chicken. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through.
Step 4 – In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, pesto, oil oil and sun-dried tomatoes (optional). Toss to coat evenly.
Step 5 – Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Note:

Adding the extra olive oil allows the pesto to spread more evenly throughout the pasta. This pasta can be served warm or cold (my children prefer warm, however, I enjoy the leftovers cold).

I hope you enjoy this easy pesto chicken pasta recipe! Like I said, the possibilities of cooking with pesto is endless… white pesto pizza, fresh al fresco apps, and so much more!