Recipe: Appetizing Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli. Cut the fresh broccoli buds into small florets, leaving as short a stem as possible; set aside. Add the pasta noodles and cook according to the package directions or until al dente. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the noodles to a colander to drain and reserve the pasta cooking water in the pasta cooking pot.

Place the pasta and broccoli back into the large pot. Add the chicken mixture, pesto and parmesan cheese. The chicken is first cooked in browned garlic and onions then the parmesan, pesto and cream is added and that's where the real fun begins. You can have Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli using 9 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli

You need 2 of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
You need 1/2 tsp of salt.
You need 1/2 tsp of pepper.
You need 16 oz of farfalle (bowtie) pasta.
It's 1 cup of basil pesto.
You need 1 cup of cherry tomatoes halves.
You need 1/4 cup of fresh basil chopped.
You need of Parmesan cheese.
Prepare 1 cup of steamed broccoli, chipped.

Aldente pasta and broccoli is then added to this delicious mixture of creamy heaven and the result is the BEST most FLAVORFUL pesto pasta you will ever have. I used penne but you can use any pasta you have on hand. I'm all about the quick skillet meals because, let's face it, sometimes after a long day of work you don't really want to cook anything… but you still gotta eat. This super quick Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli combines the vibrant flavors of basil pesto with tangy cream cheese to make a deliciously rich sauce to smother the pasta, chicken, and broccoli.

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli step by step

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until completely cooked. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and slice into strips..
Boil the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Rinse and drain pasta and set aside. (I usually pour a little milk over the drained pasta to prevent the pasta from sticking together).
Steam chopped broccoli and add it to the chicken and pesto mix.
Using a large bowl, mix together the pesto, pasta and chicken. Stir until well combined and place in the refrigerator until chilled..
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and fresh basil immediately before serving. Finish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese..

Meanwhile, blanch broccoli florets in a medium size saucepan, remove with slotted spoon. Add the chopped tomatoes and set aside. In a large bowl toss cooked pasta with blanched broccoli, cooked chicken and garlic/tomato mixture. And make this basil pesto chicken pasta with sundried tomatoes and broccoli. I had a box of unused orecchiette in the pantry so I decided to use them in this dish because I love that the little 'ears' catch all the pesto and yummy goodness.