A delicious, quick, and easy 30-minute gluten-free creamy pesto pasta topped with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes & parmesan. Perfect for the whole family!
Hey you guys! Remember that homemade pesto from last week!?
It’s back! And that dreamy pesto is serving as the base for this creamy pesto pasta with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. Here’s the best part (drumroll plz), it takes only 30 minutes to make! That’s like music to my ears. A delicious and satisfying meal that the whole family will enjoy in 30 minutes is a BIG win in my book any night of the week!
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🌟 Why you’ll love this recipe
This dish is super versatile. Customize it however you need and like. Don’t like chicken? No probs, leave it out! Love tomatoes? Add more! You could even throw in some fresh chopped tomatoes with the sun-dried tomatoes just to create a flavorful tomato-ey party in your mouth. You like your pasta on the extra saucy side? Add more cream and pesto you saucy person!
I don’t know what it is about a creamy pesto pasta dish like this one, but it just makes me want to smile, lean back in my chair, and close my eyes for a moment to savor the tastiness. Do you ever do this when a meal is just so SO good? Or am I the only one? Doubtful.
It’s pure creamy pasta comfort in a bowl. Make this for your next dinner guests and you’ll have a hard time getting them out the door. Either because they ate too much or because they’ll be hoping for seconds (and since it takes less than 30 minutes to cook, you could make more). Be sure to cut them off at some point though. Too much of a good thing can be……well, never mind.
This pasta is also my go-to meal for new parent meal trains (see Note #3 in the recipe card below). I often make this meal for families that have just welcomed a new baby into their lives. I can tell you after having birthed two children of my own, this creamy comforting plate of pasta with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes is where it’s at! There is definitely no shame in enjoying a plate of creamy pasta after all the hard work of labor. Or sleep deprivation.
No shame at all.
Make sure you cook up enough of this creamy pesto pasta so that superstar mama can have a second helping. And don’t forget her other half. Birthing is hard work for them too. Just ask my husband. This meal will definitely be welcomed with a big smile and a hungry appetite (husband nods his head up and down).
👩🍳 Recipe tips
- Cook your pasta ‘al dente’ (Italian for “to the tooth”). This simply means to cook your pasta just long enough so that it’s chewy but still firm. When you return the pasta to the pot to be tossed with the hot creamy pesto sauce the pasta will essentially cook a second time. For ‘al dente’ pasta I subtract 1 minute from the cooking time listed on the pasta packaging.
- Reserve some of your pasta water. If you feel like your pasta sauce is a little too thick, rather than adding more heavy cream to the sauce which will make it richer, just add a little bit of the starchy pasta water to thin it out while still maintaining its creaminess.
- Preparing this dish in advance: If I’m meal prepping this dish in advance or delivering it to someone at a later time I cook the dish the night before but do not stir in the cream and pesto until right before I’m ready to serve it or right before I head out the door to deliver it. Tossing the noodles in just a little olive oil the night before should prevent them from sticking so that you can easily stir in the cream and pesto at a later time. Waiting until the day that the meal will be served to add the cream and pesto will help prevent the noodles from soaking up too much of the sauce before it is served.
💭 Frequently asked questions
This meal would be great served with a simple green side salad or some roasted vegetables such as yellow squash, zucchini, or broccoli.
Use it in this tomato soup recipe! It would also be delicious on a grilled sandwich, as a sauce on a pizza, or paired with grilled meats or seafood.
Alright pasta lovers, let’s eat.
P.S. Don’t forget to top your pasta off with some freshly grated parmesan. And just when you think you’ve grated enough, grate a little more (for good measure 😉).
✨ More tasty pasta recipes!
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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
If so, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment and a star rating below! I greatly appreciate your feedback and it is also so helpful for other PMST readers who are thinking about making the recipe. Remember to snap a photo and tag @passmesometasty on Instagram so I can see!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
A delicious, quick, and easy 30-minute gluten free creamy pesto pasta topped with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes & parmesan.
Ingredients
- 10 oz. gluten free penne pasta (see Note #1)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose seasoning mix for chicken (see Note #2)
- 3–4 chicken breasts
- ⅓ cup julienned cut sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
- ½ cup prepared or homemade basil pesto
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and toss with just enough olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking together while preparing the rest of the dish.
- While pasta is cooking, heat the grill to medium-high heat. Brush olive oil on both sides of the chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and chicken seasoning.
- Grill the chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked through. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing it.
- Drain the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and chop into smaller pieces if you prefer.
- Place empty pot used for pasta back on the stove at medium heat. Add sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and saute for a few minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and pesto. Stir until incorporated.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and sliced chicken.
- Serve and top with finely grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Gluten-free penne pasta brands that I enjoy are Jovial Organic Brown Rice Penne Rigate, Delallo Gluten Free Brown Rice Penne Rigate, and Lundberg’s Penne Brown Rice Pasta. I have found that buying my gf pasta in bulk through Amazon is quite a bit more cost-effective in comparison to purchasing single boxes in the grocery store, which is why I have linked you to these products selling them in 6 and/or 12 packs. Dried pasta doesn’t spoil and it will eventually be eaten in my household so I prefer to save some dollars where I can by buying the larger quantities through Amazon.
I use Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning for my all-purpose seasoning mix for the chicken.
When I prepare this dish to be served later (such as when I’m delivering it to someone on a meal train) I cook the dish the night before but do not stir in the cream and pesto until right before I head out the door to deliver it the following day. Tossing the noodles in the olive oil the night before should prevent them from sticking so that you can easily stir in the cream and pesto at a later time. Waiting until the day that the meal will be served to add the cream and pesto will help prevent the noodles from soaking up too much of the sauce before it is served.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill, Boil
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
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Sunny says
I used to be so intimidated by cooking, but i took a step with this recipe and now i cook everything with no fear! This has also become a go to. So yummy. Do not leave out the sun-dried tomatoes! (I just cut mine up really small as I don’t like big chunks of tomato, but I truly think they are mandatory to get the right taste) Now go buy the ingredients and make this!!!
Shannon Emery says
Sunny, I am SO happy to hear that you overcame your fear of cooking!!! And I love hearing that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your comment and I hope you continue to find many more recipes that you love. Have no fear and remain confident in your cooking abilities!
Laurie says
Excellent rendition of a recipe that I used to enjoy at a restaurant in Arlington, VA. where my little guys and I used to go, when they were young. They would make their own pizza’s tableside and I would order the ‘Pesto Walnut Chicken’, is what they called it. Their restaurant added walnuts to it. It was absolutely scrumptious and this recipe emulates it so very well, add the walnuts!
Enjoy!
Shannon Emery says
Thank you so much for your comment Laurie! Adding some walnuts sounds like a brilliant idea. I am definitely going to try that! So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
sarah says
one of my go-to weeknight meals.
Shannon Emery says
So glad to hear you enjoy this recipe Sarah! Thanks for sharing!
Joseph says
Whipped this up in no time at all, super tasty. I especially love the sun dried tomatoes. Nice!
sarah says
delicious – one of my go-to meals now.
Shannon says
Thank you Sarah! So glad to hear you enjoy this meal!
Menaka says
My family loves Pesto but we are lactose intolerant wondering what I can use instead of Heavy whipping cream ?
Shannon says
Hi Menaka! I would probably try canned coconut milk in place of the heavy whipping cream. Make sure you mix the coconut milk well before adding it in as canned coconut milk has a tendency to separate before it’s been opened. Hope you and your family enjoy!
Donna says
Delicious! This was a big hit the family loved it 🙂
Shannon says
Thank you Donna! I’m so happy to hear your family loved it! : )
Leighton says
This was a huge hit for my boyfriend and me! We made it over black bean spaghetti to try and use it all up and it was SO GOOD together! I highly recommend it!
Shannon says
I’ve never heard of black bean spaghetti! I’m going to have to look into that! Thanks for sharing and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. : )
Anna says
This recipe was so yummy! My 5 and 2 year old also enjoyed it! I will be making this recipe again! Thanks for sharing it!
Shannon says
Thank you Anna! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!