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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“Such a great dish! I think we’ve had it at least twice a month now for a year and it’s here to stay. 😋 Quick and easy, and so delicious! Also always a hit when we make it for guests.”
Céline
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.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious one pot creamy pesto chicken pasta:
- Chicken Breast: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts whenever I make this recipe, but boneless chicken thighs will also work. Be sure to cut your chicken up into evenly sized 1-inch pieces.
- Butter: Browns the chicken and adds extra flavor to the sauce.
- Garlic: Mince two cloves of fresh garlic and sauté it with the chicken for even more flavor.
- Pasta: Penne pasta is the one I always reach for whenever I make this recipe. It cooks perfectly using this one-pot method, and the little ridges grip onto all that creamy pesto sauce. But if you’re wondering what other pasta might work, see my notes below!
- Chicken Broth: Yes, it won’t seem like much once you add it to your skillet, but it’s just enough to cook the pasta perfectly and create a yummy sauce with all those browned chicken bits.
- Milk & Cream Cheese: These are the creamy components in the sauce. A little milk and cream cheese helps emulsify everything together and creates a velvety texture.
- Basil Pesto: I just love the herby flavor of basil pesto mixed with the smooth sauce and chicken. You can use homemade or store-bought pesto; either will work.
- Grated Parmesan: Adds a salty, umami (savory) kick to the dish.
- Black Pepper & Crushed Red Pepper: I don’t add any extra salt because the Parmesan and broth already have plenty. But I do add some freshly cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper! If you use low-sodium chicken broth, feel free to season to taste.
- Fresh Spinach & Sun Dried Tomatoes: These are the optional extras I mentioned above! They bulk out the pasta and add texture and color. If you’re not a fan, feel free to leave them out or substitute them with your favorite vegetables. Some of our readers added sautéed mushrooms and said it turned out great!
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:
- Keep the pot covered to trap steam, which will help cook the pasta.
- 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.
- I like to use a burner that is close in size to my cookware. This helps 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.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is already one filling, complete meal in itself…but I’d never say no to some easy sides. ;) My homemade garlic bread would be perfect for sopping up any leftover sauce. And a simple green salad tossed with balsamic vinaigrette would balance out the richness of the pasta. But if you’re looking to stretch this dish even further, I’d make some roasted carrots or balsamic mushrooms to serve on the side.
Storage & Reheating
This creamy pesto chicken pasta is definitely best served fresh. The pasta will continue to soak up the sauce and get softer the longer it sits. But that said, if you do have leftovers, don’t let them go to waste!
Store the cooled pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop (over low heat) with extra broth to loosen up the sauce. Make sure everything is piping hot before serving. You can also try freezing this recipe for up to 3 months, but keep in mind that cream-based sauces tend to separate, and the pesto can turn brown once thawed.
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!
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 the 3 cups of fresh spinach and 1/4 cup sliced 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! :)
So good! So quick! So easy! This is a great week night meal that was easy to alter. I added onion but I plan on adding mushrooms as well next time I make it. I added a little bit more chicken broth and didn’t use any milk. Will be making this again!
Oh I forgot my star rating. Please see my comments in my other post.
I love your blog. Everything I’ve made has been so delicious. I do tweak the recipes slightly to account for my family’s taste, but follow pretty close. Tonight I made this and only subbed in blackened cherry tomatoes for the sun dried. And doubles the parm. My 9yo dramatically fell to the ground when I let her try before I served it. Huge hit!! Thank your for sharing!! Another win!
So cute!! Thanks for sharing that story!
This recipe sounds delicious and I’m going to try it on my weekend guest. I’m sure they will like it as I know I will.
Excellent recipe, BUT..
It would be nice to have a metric cionversion for the 97% of this planet that doesnt cook in the USA.
We had no idea how many shopping carts equal the area of a basketball field, and the weight of ingredients measured in bald eagles when serving for two, made no sense.
Aren’t there websites that can do that for you? How is it the author’s responsibility to cater to you and your special circumstance? She’s American and provided a recipe as she knows it. Don’t be that person.
Simply asking for Metric measurements to be included would have been one thing, but this was another thing entirely.
This was disrespectful to the author and to everyone who read your comment.
I read British recipes all the time and just make the conversion by using google. I always assume the person writing the recipe is going to write it with the language and measurements they are used to. What you are asking is the same as if I asked a Japanese chef to. write their recipes in English because more people read English than Japanese.
Made this for dinner tonight and we
LOVED it! My son is lactose intolerant so had to make with homemade vegan pesto,, vegan cream cheese and vegan Parmesan. Delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe.
Do leftovers of this creamy one skillet pasta freeze well?
I haven’t personally tried freezing this one, so I’m not sure. Generally, creamy sauces don’t freeze well, but because this one has cream cheese that might help stabilize the sauce.
I tried freezing leftovers & reheating. It doesn’t do well, at all. The pasta results in being mushy and the cream cheese loses its flavor. However, I did refrigerate leftovers for 2 days. For reheating, I added a tablespoon of cold butter and a splash of milk to reconstit’ute creaminess. I then warmed the mixture in a covered skillet on low heat, for about 8 minutes – – just until heated through.
Just amazing 👏 made it my first time tonight and it hit the spot perfectly!
It was nice but I found it to be a bit too rich and salty so I think I’ll just use water instead of chicken broth next time
Hi there! Looking forward to making this. Can I just cook the pasta beforehand? I haven’t had much luck cooking pasta all in one pot with other things, so it will probably be easier to cook the pasta in boiling water and then add it to the pot with everything else. Will that work? Thanks!
You’ll want to boil the pasta in broth instead of water to maintain the same level of flavor as the one pot version. :)
Beth mentions the unknown in this recipe using gluten-free pastas. I thought I would let anyone know (who is interested) that I made this recipe last night using gluten-free penne pasta and it turned out great. I did cook it an extra 2 minutes beyond the 8 minutes stated in the recipe, but I’m not sure I needed to. I do recommend adhering to the every-two-minute stir after the pasta begins to cook.
Thanks, Beth, for another great one.
Thank you so much for sharing, Betsy!! That will be so helpful to others. :)
Perfect balance of ingredients
This recipe is SO GOOD! After ordering chicken pesto pasta at a restaurant, I had to make my own and this was spot on. I used a rotisserie chicken and it came out so well. Bookmarked and will be making again and again. Thank you!
Sorry I don’t have a kitchen scale. Approximately how many cups is 1/2 pound of penne? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I don’t have the volume measurement, but you can approximate the weight based on the package size. If you bought a one pound package of penne, use half. If you bought a 12oz. package of penne, use ⅔ of the box. :)
The end of my comment was supposed to say.. this was better then pasta we have eaten out at restaurants! ;)