Pesto Chicken Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes

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Pesto Chicken Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes

This pesto chicken pasta with cherry tomatoes is light, fresh, filling, and balanced. It's a great easy weeknight meal that you can throw together quickly and packed with tons of pesto flavor.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 499kcal

Author: Olivia & Annie

Ingredients

12 ounces pasta of choice
¼ cup pasta cooking water, reserved
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 ½ cups fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
12 ounces rotisserie chicken, chopped
½ cup fresh pesto
¼ cup half and half (or light coconut milk)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt + more to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil and be sure to salt the water. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions, and be sure to reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water for the sauce.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the veggies are tender.
Add the chicken, spinach, and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Add the pesto, half & half, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir. At this point, you can add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. If you like the consistency as is, feel free to skip the pasta water. Turn the heat to low and let the pasta simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Next, add the parmesan and stir. Add more parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste when serving.

Notes

To make this dish gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta noodles. To make this dish dairy-free, use a dairy-free pesto (we love our homemade dairy-free pesto or Trader Joe's Kale Cashew Pesto), omit the parmesan or swap for nutritional yeast, and omit the half & half or use coconut milk.

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