
Wonder how to make chicken and pesto pasta at home?
It’s not hard – you can do it!
In this pesto with chicken dinner, a fragrant basil-garlic-oil puree enhances a succulent herbed chicken breast, to top your favorite pasta. Big flavor with a minimum of ingredients. Simple, yet soooo good.
This herbed chicken can also stand alone if you only have buttered pasta and a salad handy. (It’s a simpler version of the herbed chicken in Chicken, Sausage and Peppers)
There are no pine nuts in this recipe, due to food allergies in our family. So if you are a purist feel free to choose a more traditional recipe.
What goes with chicken and pesto?
If you wonder what to make with chicken and pesto, our family enjoys it with:
- Garlic bread
- Tossed salad
- Romano cheese
This works best with fresh basil. Luckily it grows in our herb garden in the summer.
Enjoy!
Did you make this? Show me your #chickenpestopasta!

Prep Time | 20 minutes |
Cook Time | 15 minutes |
Passive Time | 10 minutes |
Servings |
servings
|
- 1.5 lbs boneless chicken breasts 2 large chicken breasts without skin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 c gently packed basil leaves
- 1 c olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic large outer cloves
- 2 oz Romano cheese
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the pesto sauce
|
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- For the chicken: Slice through the thickness of each chicken breast half to form 4 thin filets.
- Combine salt, sugar, garlic and cumin in a small bowl. Season both sides of each chicken piece with the salt mixture.
- Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat being careful to keep it below the smoking point. As soon as the oil is hot, place chicken pieces in single layer.
- Squeeze lemon juice over chicken after 1 -2 minutes of cooking.
- Cook the first side for 3-4 minutes medium-high heat until the chicken is browned and beginning to caramelize
- Turn the chicken and lower the heat to medium. Cook 5 minutes more, and check the thinner pieces for doneness. Remove each piece as when a slice through the thickest part shows meat is juicy and no longer pink (165-degrees F, if using a thermometer).
- Set chicken aside to cool to room temperature. Chop into bite sized pieces when cool enough to handle. Meanwhile prepare the pesto.
- For the pesto: Combine the basil, garlic, salt and oil in a blender. Blend to a smooth consistency.
- Grate the cheese and blend into the basil and oil puree.
- Taste and adjust for flavor. I like a bold garlic flavor, and sometimes blend in another small clove of garlic.
- For the pasta: Cook your favorite pasta of choice according to package directions
- Serve your hot pasta and add a dollop of pesto, a spoonful of chicken and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
The pesto sauce in these photos is a deep green because I was testing a 4:1 ration of basil to oil.
It was delicious but may be too rich for most people.
So this recipe is adjusted for a 3:1 ratio of basil to oil.