Philly pesto chicken pasta

Find more recipes at fussfreeflavours.com

A close up of a serving of chicken philly pasta, topped with rocket and tomatoes.

5 from 13 votes

This comforting creamy pesto chicken pasta is big on flavour, but easy on effort and time. Adaptable and ready in less than 20 minutes for a fuss-free weeknight supper, all made with a few simple ingredients.

Servings: small servings

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Ingredients

100 g pasta shapes
1 small chicken breast - (diced)
1 tsp olive oil
40 g Philadelphia cream cheese
40 g pesto
100 g frozen peas
25 g cheddar cheese - (grated)

Instructions

Boil a large pan of water, add a good pinch of salt and start cooking the pasta according to the packet instructions.
Heat a small frying pan on a medium ring. Add the olive oil (one good glug will be fine), and add the diced chicken breast. Cook the chicken breast for 5 minutes, turning the pieces frequently so that they don’t burn. If the chicken isn’t colouring, add a teaspoon of butter to the frying pan.
(If you are using leftover roast chicken fry it for a minute to warm it through.)
When the chicken has cooked through and has some colour, add the cream cheese and pesto – one heaped tablespoon of each. Stir together with the chicken.
Scoop out an espresso cup of the pasta water and stir into the chicken along with half the grated cheese to make a sauce.
When the pasta is nearly cooked, add the peas to the pan to cook.
Drain the pasta and peas, and add to the sauce. Stir well together and serve immediately, garnished with the remainder of the cheese.

Notes

Hints, tips and variations to Philly Pesto Chicken Pasta

This dish is SO forgiving, so use what you have!

Use any pasta shapes you have. Because of the chunks of chicken, short pasta shapes work better than spaghetti or other noodles.
Use leftover roast chicken or turkey – just heat through for a minute in the frying pan.
Add some chopped bacon and fry with the chicken.
Use red pesto for a colourful twist.
Swap the peas for sweetcorn, or a mix of the two.
Add extra veg with our handy hints for adding extra vegetables to pasta dishes.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.