This pesto pasta chicken with pine nuts is super easy to make. The fresh pesto really gives this dish an amazing depth of flavor and it’s a lot easier than you think to make fresh pesto! It’s a great way to use up any extra fresh basil you have or a recipe to keep on hand for busy weeknights.
I’m not sure why but basil loves to grow in my garden. Like it really, really loves to just grow and grow. I barely have to do anything and it grows like magic which leaves me wishing that everything else would grow as well as it does. Because I tend to have a lot of fresh basil on hand, I end up making a lot of pesto. Fresh pesto is great on toasted bread, crackers, or in this case- pasta with chicken. This pesto pasta with chicken recipe is super easy to throw together for a weeknight meal. Also, any leftover pesto goes great on some toasted Cuban dinner bread!
What ingredients are needed for this recipe?
To make this pesto pasta chicken, you’ll need:
- Fresh basil
- Parmesan cheese (shredded or grated)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Pine nuts
- Garlic
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Pasta
- Chicken breasts
- Italian salad dressing
- Pepper
Pesto Pasta Chicken with Pinenuts
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil plus some for drizzling
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt or more to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper or more to taste
- pasta of your choice
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup Italian salad dressing
Instructions
For the chicken
- Drizzle an oven safe pan with olive oil and add the chicken breasts.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken and then add Italian salad dressing on top.
- Bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until juices run clear.
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on package and add a small amount of olive oil after draining.
For the pesto
- For the pesto, combine the basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic, sea salt, and pepper to a food processor and blend well adding more olive oil if necessary.
If you liked this pesto pasta chicken with pine nuts recipe, you might also like:
- Lemon and Rosemary Chicken Thighs
- Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Chicken
- Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
- Copycat Outback Alice Springs Chicken
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. If you need even more recipes, be sure to check out our Take a Recipe and Leave a Recipe group on Facebook for even more cooking and recipe inspiration.
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