Chicken Pesto Pasta is a quick, easy and creamy pasta loaded with juicy chicken and tender asparagus!
We love creamy Alfredo pastas like our Chicken Alfredo or Creamy Shrimp Pasta. Pesto pasta takes a cream sauce to the next level!
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Chicken Pesto Pasta!
This Chicken Asparagus Pesto Pasta was shared by one of our readers, Katie N., and it was love at first bite – an instant hit! You won’t believe how easy it is with a very short list of ingredients. All you need is heavy whipping cream and basil pesto for the sauce. The chicken, asparagus and sauce are all cooked in one skillet and it doesn’t get any easier. Thank you Katie for generously sharing your amazing recipe with all of us!
What is Pesto Sauce?
Pesto is a creamy blended bright green sauce originally from Italy. The ingredients in a good pesto are typically: basil, nuts (often pine nuts), parmesan, garlic and olive oil. Click here for our best homemade pesto recipe. Adding pesto to the cream sauce adds amazing flavor.
If you’re looking for a good store-bought pesto, our favorite is the Kirkland signature pesto from Costco. Whether you make or buy pesto, you can use the rest to make chicken pesto roll-ups, or freeze portions to make pesto pasta another day.
What kind of pasta is best for creamy pasta?
You can use your favorite pasta which is what we love about this recipe. We use what we have on hand but these are pasta varieties that work well with cream sauce pastas:
- Fettuccini noodles
- Linguine pasta
- Spaghetti
- Penne pasta
- Pappardelle
- Rigatoni
What Other Vegetables Can I use in Pesto Pasta?
You can omit the asparagus altogether and the recipe will still work well, or try substituting with these healthy vegetables to make it a meal:
- Broccoli Florets
- Snap Peas
- Blanched green beans
- Frozen peas (or add cooked peas at the end)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (added at the end)
Can Creamy Pasta be Reheated?
The general rule of thumb for reheating a creamy sauce is LOW and SLOW. Warm the pasta on low heat, stirring often or in short intervals in the microwave. If you overheat, the cream can separate and seem oily. To make the sauce creamier, add a splash of water, milk, half and half or cream before heating.
More 30 Minute Meals to Try:
- Shrimp Fried Rice – easy peasy and great for meal prep!
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Asparagus – light and flavorful
- Chicken Stir Fry – so saucy and comes together quickly
- Beef Chili – hearty, beefy and reheats so well
- Chicken Fried Rice – genius way to use leftovers
Watch Natasha Make Pesto Pasta:
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Chicken Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1 tsp salt, (divided)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 Tbsp pesto sauce
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz fettuccini pasta, (or linguine)
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions to your desired doneness. While pasta is cooking, proceed with the recipe then add drained cooked pasta to the sauce in step 5.
- Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise and season all sides with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat with 2 Tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot, add chicken in a single layer and saute until fully cooked through (3 min per side). Remove from pan and rest 5 minutes, then slice into bite-sized strips.
- Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the same pan with asparagus pieces. Sautee stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until crisp tender.
- Add 2 cups heavy whipping cream, bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 4 Tbsp pesto then add chicken breasts and cook 2 minutes. Season sauce with 1/2 tsp salt or to taste.
- Add cooked pasta, stirring to coat noodles in sauce. Remove form heat and serve right away.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This was a great dish! It was quite & easy. I substituted Vegan Heavy Cream that I found at Trader Joe’s for my husband & daughter who are lactose intolerant.
Natasha, thank you for another fabulous recipe! I made this tonight with your homemade pesto that I made yesterday (another amazing recipe) and my family absolutely loved it. Everyone wanted seconds!
Loved this quick and easy recipe. Had my son, wife and their young daughter for dinner and she ate 5 helpings. Think this recipe is a keeper. I loved the crisp tenderness of the asparagus most of all. From 8 servings-no leftovers
That’s great, Judy!!
Simple and tasty! Thanks for the recipe! Unrelated: But I would have loved to have a recipe for beef tongue from you!! Maybe with creamy mushroom sauce, for example! <3 With lots of love!
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Bahar! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Chicken Pesto Pasta.
This was way better than any restaurant quality food! Absolutely delicious- everything comes together quickly and I could eat the whole pan! Make this!
That’s great to hear, Amber! Thank you.
We loved this recipe! Super easy and tasty! We used mushrooms and spinach instead. A couple suggestions: adding more than 4 tablespoons of pesto (we used about 8 tablespoons) and we had to cook the heavy cream almost 10 minutes instead of the 3 minutes the recipe suggests in order to make it a sauce.
So incredibly simple and Very Very Delish!! I personally am a huge garlic fan so I did add some garlic powder to the sauce. Definitely will be making this frequently! Thanks for another awesome recipe Natasha!!!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Ja’el!