Creamy Pesto Pasta With Chicken and Broccoli - Budget Bytes

19/07/2021 Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli - Budget Bytes
CREAMY PESTO PASTA WI TH

CHICK EN AND BROCCOLI
$5.48 RECIPE / $1.37 SERVING
BUDGET BYTES » RECIPES » MEAT RECIPES » CHICKEN RECIPES » CREAMY PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN
AND BROCCOLI
JUMP TO RECIPE  GROCERY LIST  FAVORITES
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.
The pesto provides all the garlic and herbal flavor needed, so there’s no need to even dice
an onion, mince garlic, or measure any herbs and spices—it’s already in the sauce! The
whole dish cooks very quickly so you can have this one on the dinner table in about 30
minutes.
Originally posted 11-24-2013, updated 8-9-2020.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/creamy-pesto-pasta-chicken-broccoli/ 1/21
CAN I USE A DIFFER ENT PASTA S HAPE?
Yep! Any short shaped pasta, like penne, rotini, or even macaroni will work fine for this

recipe. You can use a longer type pasta, like fettuccine or linguine, but it’s a little harder to
stir chunky ingredients, like the chicken and broccoli, into long pasta. Sometimes breaking it
in half before cooking can help.
WHAT KIND OF PESTO DO YO U US E?
I used basil pesto from ALDI for this recipe because it’s super affordable. If you don’t have an
ALDI store near you, Classico brand pesto and Barilla brand pesto also tend to be very
affordable.
CAN I SUBSTITUTE THE C R EAM C HEESE?
If you’re not into cream cheese, you can make a similar creamy sauce by substituting the
cream cheese with about a ½ cup heavy cream, or replace both the chicken broth and cream
cheese with 1 cup half and half. The sauce will be nice and creamy, but it won’t have that
tangy cream cheese flavor that some people are not a fan of. You may need to add a pinch
or two of salt at the end if you’re skipping the chicken broth.
MAKE IT A VEGETAR I AN C R EAM Y PESTO PASTA
This Creamy Pesto Pasta can easily be made vegetarian. Just use a little extra broccoli,
substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth, and you’re good to go!
CREAMY PESTO PASTA

WITH CHICKEN AND
BROCCOLI
A super fast creamy pesto sauce drenches tender pasta,
chicken breast, and broccoli for an easy weeknight dinner.
TOTAL COST: $5.48 recipe / $1.37 serving
AUTHOR: Beth - Budget Bytes
PREP TIME: 5 mins
PRINT RECIPE 
COOK TIME: 20 mins
GROCERY LIST 
TOTAL TIME: 25 mins
FAVORITES
SERVINGS: 4
INGREDIENTS 4.81 from 61 votes


8 oz. bow tie pasta ($0.67)
8 oz. frozen broccoli florets ($1.00)
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast ($2.49)
1/3 cup basil pesto ($0.73)
1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
4 oz. cream cheese ($0.40)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Once it reaches a full boil, add the
pasta and continue to boil just until the pasta is tender, but still slightly firm in the
center (7-8 minutes). Once the pasta is tender, add the frozen broccoli florets to the
water with the pasta and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until the
broccoli is tender. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
2. While the pasta is cooking, cut the chicken breast into ½-inch pieces. Heat one
tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the
chicken and continue to cook until the outside of the chicken pieces are white, but
they're still tender in the center (they will continue to cook as more ingredients are
added).
3. Add the chicken broth to the skillet with the chicken and allow it to heat through.
Once hot, add the cream cheese (cut into small pieces) and pesto. Continue to stir
and cook until the cream cheese has melted and created a smooth, creamy sauce
with the pesto and chicken broth.
4. Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli to the skillet and stir to coat
it in the cream sauce. If the sauce becomes too dry or thick, add another splash of
chicken broth to loosen it up. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
NUTRITION
Serving: 1 Serving・ Calories: 606.33 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 53.58 g ・ Protein: 37.18 g
・ Fat: 28.33 g ・ Sodium: 725.78 mg ・ Fiber: 7.15 g
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclaimer here.

EQUIPMENT
Stainless Steel Pots and Pans
Liquid Measuring Cup
Color Cutting Boards
Chef's Knife
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love. As an
Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
HOW TO USE YOUR LEF TOVER PESTO
Not sure what to do with the rest of the jar of pesto? Try these recipes:
Pesto Grilled Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken Dinner
Pesto Stuffed Shells
The Pizza Roll Up Lunch Box
One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
HOW TO MAKE CR EAM Y PESTO PASTA WITH

CHICKEN AND BR O CCO LI – STEP BY STEP
PHOTOS
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8oz. bowtie pasta and continue
to boil for 7-8 minutes, or just until it’s tender with a little firmness in the center. Add ½ lb.
frozen broccoli florets and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes more or just until the broccoli is
tender. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a colander.
While the pasta and broccoli are cooking, cut one pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
into ½-inch chunks.
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add the diced chicken
and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the chicken is white on the outside, but still slightly
tender inside (it will continue to cook as more ingredients are added). Add ½ cup chicken
broth to the skillet and allow it to heat through.
Add 4oz. cream cheese (cut into small chunks) and ⅓ cup basil pesto to the skillet.
Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese has melted and created a smooth
sauce with the pesto and broth. The cream cheese might look a little chunky as it’s melting,
but keep stirring and cooking, it will smooth out once fully melted.
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli to the skillet and stir until it is all
coated in the creamy pesto sauce. If the sauce becomes too dry or too thick, add another
splash of chicken broth to loosen it up.
And that’s that! So easy! If you like ranch flavored foods, I think this tangy, garlicky sauce
almost tastes ranch-like. So yum!
POSTED ON AUGUST 9, 2020 IN CHICKEN BREAST 124 COMMENTS »

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124 COMMENTS ON “CREAMY PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN

AND BROCCOLI”
« Older Comments
LINDSAY —
02.05.21 @ 9:23 AM REPLY
I don’t have frozen broccoli right now, do you think that frozen asparagus would
work? I have all the other ingredients so I’m hopeful someone thinks it would be an
acceptable substitute!
BETH - BUDGET BYTES —

02.05.21 @ 9:57 AM REPLY
Yes, I bet that would be awesome!
CUPYUMYUM —
02.01.21 @ 1:30 PM REPLY
It’s absolutely lovely ☺️
TATIANA —
01.26.21 @ 1:10 PM REPLY
It sounds delicious. Is there an alternative to pesto? or would another pesto flavor

work if I don’t have basil?

01.27.21 @ 9:00 AM REPLY
You can definitely use any flavor pesto. :)
AUSTIN —
12.10.20 @ 3:49 PM REPLY
Had tons of flavor. Blandness a lot of times comes from lack of sodium in the dish
which brings out all the flavors. I added a good amount of salt to the sauteing
chicken in the beginning. Amazing recipe.
SARAH SMIDERLE —
01.03.21 @ 9:14 PM REPLY
Made my entire family happy! It tastes wonderful and I have a toddler and 2
preteens! Everyone loved it
ANDRA FORAKER —
12.09.20 @ 4:18 PM REPLY
I added a lemon and bacon to this 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋
SERA —
12.06.20 @ 10:49 AM REPLY
Amazing pasta… thanks for the recipe
JUDE —
10.08.20 @ 2:52 PM REPLY
Not sure what I did wrong, maybe I didn’t put enough pesto in, but it ended up rather
bland for me, would appreciate any help to make it more flavourful, other people
seem to really love it.

10.09.20 @ 8:27 AM REPLY
Pesto can vary from brand to brand, so maybe adding a little more would
help. :)
BEN ALLEN —
10.05.20 @ 5:31 PM REPLY
Just made this but subbed tempeh for the chicken and it was delicious!!!! Great recipe
so fast and easy!
DANIELA —
09.26.20 @ 8:18 AM REPLY
We just did this recipe subbing the chicken for mushrooms!
It’s great but I think we’ll add some frozen carrots and peas as well next time
AMIT BAJAJ —
08.24.20 @ 5:47 AM REPLY
i love soya food and thanks for this post i like this information please provide few
more information about this post veg meat
« Older Comments
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19/07/2021 Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli - Budget Bytes

CREAMY PESTO PASTA WI TH

JUMP TO RECIPE  GROCERY LIST  FAVORITES

Originally posted 11-24-2013, updated 8-9-2020.

CAN I USE A DIFFER ENT PASTA S HAPE?

WHAT KIND OF PESTO DO YO U US E?

CAN I SUBSTITUTE THE C R EAM C HEESE?

MAKE IT A VEGETAR I AN C R EAM Y PESTO PASTA

CREAMY PESTO PASTA

INGREDIENTS 4.81 from 61 votes

Tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!

Stainless Steel Pots and Pans

Liquid Measuring Cup

Color Cutting Boards

HOW TO USE YOUR LEF TOVER PESTO

Pesto Grilled Cheese with Sun Dried Tomatoes

HOW TO MAKE CR EAM Y PESTO PASTA WITH

POSTED ON AUGUST 9, 2020 IN CHICKEN BREAST 124 COMMENTS »

124 COMMENTS ON “CREAMY PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN

BETH - BUDGET BYTES —

Yes, I bet that would be awesome!

It’s absolutely lovely ☺️

It sounds delicious. Is there an alternative to pesto? or would another pesto flavor

BETH - BUDGET BYTES —

You can definitely use any flavor pesto. :)

I added a lemon and bacon to this 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋

Amazing pasta… thanks for the recipe

BETH - BUDGET BYTES —

We just did this recipe subbing the chicken for mushrooms!

« PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST »

5 TEMPL ATES FOR EASY THE CHEESE BOARD LUNCH

As a food lover and a number

>>>> FIRST TIME VISITING? Start Here! <<<< 

ONE POT RECIPES

EAT MORE, SPEND LESS.

Sign up for our newsletter and you'll

Enter Your Email

I'll never sell, share, or give away your

CONNECT BROWSE INFORMATION

Facebook Recipes Hi, I’m Beth…

©2021 Budget Bytes. Design by Purr.

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