Chicken Spaghetti Pesto
Chicken spaghetti pesto is the best way to enjoy pasta with pesto chicken. Al dente spaghetti gets tossed with fresh pesto and topped with grilled Italian chicken for an Italian meal you’ll love!
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I’ve never met a pesto recipe I don’t adore.
There’s something about the beautiful simplicity of fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil crushed into a sauce.
It’s amazing on pasta, sandwiches, off the spoon…
And it makes for an amazing meal with the chicken spaghetti pesto.
This dish is restaurant quality right at home, but very easy to make.
It’s definitely a chicken spaghetti you could serve to company, but easy enough to make any time you feel like a little Italian food.
Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies
To make this chicken spaghetti pesto you’ll need:
- Chicken- You can use shredded rotisserie chicken breasts but we prefer using our Easy Italian Grilled Chicken. The garlic herb flavor is perfect with pesto spaghetti. You’ll need chicken breasts, olive oil, Italian seasonings, lemon juice, and garlic for that.
- Spaghetti– Cook it according to the package directions for al dente. You could substitute linguine or another noodle if that’s what you have on hand. However, I would stay away from thin spaghetti and angel hair because they won’t hold up to the pesto sauce.
- Pesto- You can use your favorite store bought pesto sauce or make your own. We often make Traditional Pesto Genovese with fresh basil and pine nuts or Basil Pesto Sauce with Walnuts for this. You could even use this lemon pesto.
- Cheese– Shredded or shaved Parmesan.
- Garnishes– Totally optional but you could top this chicken spaghetti pesto with some extra pine nuts and fresh basil for pretty presentation and a little crunch.
Kitchen supplies for this recipe are pretty minimal but you’ll want:
- A pasta pot– To cook the spaghetti
- A food processor– If you plan to make your own pesto sauce
- Grill pan and tongs– To grill the chicken if you aren’t using rotisserie
How to Make Chicken Spaghetti Pesto
1. Cook the pasta.
Start by making the pasta according to the directions for al dente.
2. Prepare the chicken.
If you are using rotisserie chicken, just remove the breast meat from the chicken and discard any skin and bones.
If you are making Italian grilled chicken, mix together the Italian seasonings, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and coat the chicken breasts in the marinade.
You can marinade it for 30 minutes to let the flavors sink in a bit or jump straight to grilling the chicken on a grill pan, indoor grill, or outdoor grill.
Grill each side of the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes.
You want to make sure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
3. Prepare the pesto sauce.
If you are using store bought, you can skip this step.
If you want to make your own, place the walnuts or pine nuts, basil, garlic, and parmesan cheese in a food processor and pulse to create a thick paste.
Once you have a good paste, stream the olive oil into the food processor as you pulse the pesto sauce.
Keep adding a small amount of olive oil until the sauce is thick but will not hold its shape in a spoon.
4. Bring it all together.
In a large serving bowl, add the noodles, pesto sauce, and parmesan cheese.
Using either tongs or a couple of spoons, gently mix toss it all together until the spaghetti is coated in pesto.
Top the pesto spaghetti with chicken and more pesto if desired.
Serve on plates or bowls and top with more cheese, a leaf of fresh basil, or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Serving
Chicken spaghetti pesto makes a pretty complete meal, but you may want to serve with some side veggies, salad, or bread.
For sides, you might want to try roasted brussel sprouts.
You can make your own side salad or get a bagged salad from your local grocery store.
You can make your own bread, a semi-homemade garlic bread, or serve with a baguette.
Storing
Pasta with pesto chicken is best served fresh, but if you have left overs, they will make a decent lunch on the go.
To store, scoop the spaghetti and pesto chicken into an air tight container and place in the fridge.
It should stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days.
You could also toss in a pan over low heat and gently heat until warmed through.
Add a bit more pesto sauce to help reinvigorate any dried noodles.
Do you add pesto before or after cooking spaghetti?
After! Never before.
Imagine my grandma looking horrified at the suggestion of adding it before cooking.
And you don’t cook pesto at all.
Pesto is a raw sauce and the heat from the cooked pasta is enough to warm it.
Tips and Tricks
- Chicken spaghetti pesto can be a semi-homemade creation, partially semi-homemade, or you can make the whole thing from scratch. However you decide to prepare the sauce or chicken, the end results are still amazing and an easy way to feed your family or self.
- When combining the pesto, do not use heat. The noodles and chicken should thoroughly warm the sauce. Heating the sauce directly can make it seperate.
- Cook your spaghetti according to the package instructions. Generally, the longer it cooks, the softer it will be. Shorter cook times creates a more al dente noodle with a slight bite in the middle of the noodle.
- You can add additional cheese to the pesto and chicken. Some popular choices include sharp provolone, asiago, romano, parmesan, or mozzarella. You can also add in red pepper flakes for some heat, or additional Italian seasonings to give the chicken more flavor.
Other Pesto Recipes to Try
You can also use pesto sauce in other recipes, like:
- Easy Baguette Caprese Sandwich with Pesto
- Pasta al Pesto (Pesto with Linguine)
- Easy Pesto Caprese Salad
- Pesto Chicken Burgers
- Quick Lemon Pesto Chicken and Orzo Skillet
- Easy Baked Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce
- Easy Caprese Panini Sandwich with Pesto
- Caprese Tortellini Pasta Salad with Pesto
And if you are looking for another chicken pasta recipe or two be sure to try:
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Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 pair of tongs
- 1 Food processor (if making your own pesto sauce)
Ingredients
- 1 cup store bought or homemade pesto sauce
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 chicken breasts from rotissary chicken or grilled Italian chicken
- 1 package spaghetti (1 pound)
If making Italian Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1.5 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 6 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper (to taste or omit)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (you can omit this if you prefer)
If making pesto sauce from scratch
- 2 cups packed basil leaves or 8 ounces
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves
- 1.25 cups olive oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2c cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
If making grilled Italian chicken (otherwise skip)
- Combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, crushed garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper into a bowl and mix to account.
- Toss the chicken breasts with the marinade. For best results, allow it to sit for a least a half hour. It can also rest all day in the fridge if you plan to make this for dinner. You can also just grill the chicken once coated.
- To grill, use a grill pan, indoor grill, or outdoor grill and cook each side for about 3 to 4 minutes on high heat or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- Allow to cool slightly and then shred or cut into smaller pieces.
If making homemade pesto sauce (otherwise skip to below)
- Combine the garlic, basil, walnuts, and parmesan cheese into the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse unitl you get a thick paste with small, roughly even chunks of walnuts.
- Slowly stream the olive oil into the paste and pulse.
- The paste should transform into a sauce. It is ready when it cannot hold its shape on a spoon. If it is too thick, add more olive oil. If it is too loose, add a few more walnuts or parmesan cheese, a little at a time.
Making chicken spaghetti parmesan
- Start a pot of water boiling and prepare the spaghetti according to package instructions. (You can work on making the pesto sauce and grilled chicken as the water comes to a boil and spaghetti cooks.)
- If you are using rotissary, shred the breasts while the pasta cooks.
- Carefully drain the pasta and return the spaghetti to the pot or a large serving bowl.
- Add in either grilled chicken pieces or shredded chicken breasts, homemade or store bought pesto sauce, and parmesan cheese.
- Use tongs or two spoons to toss the chicken, spaghetti, and pesto sauce together until well coated.
- Serve with more parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, or more cheese as a topping. A side of bread and a salad go well with chicken spaghetti pesto.
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