This easy Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta can be made in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop and is packed with flavor! Such a delicious, kid-friendly, healthy dinner that's 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers friendly, too!
Hi, friends! This post was originally published on September 1, 2015, but I've just updated it with Instant Pot Instructions and it's so easy and creamy-delicious! Don't have an Instant Pot yet? I love my Instant Pot 6 Quart Duo (affiliate link)!
I LOVE pesto, who's with me?!! For the sake of this post, I'm going to pretend that I heard lots of loud, boisterous cheering from all of you because pesto is perfection. Seriously, what's not to love? You combine a handful of amazing ingredients that you then use to coat pasta. Hmm... pasta.
Pasta is a little bit tricky on the 21 Day Fix. Some of us can only have a total of 1 cup of "yellows*" in a whole day... which doesn't feel like all that much. I don't know about you, but I need pasta in my life. The trick is to bulk it up with protein and veggies and cover it with a healthy sauce. I'm getting pretty good at this trick, have you checked out my 21 Day Fix Broccoli Mac & Cheese? Because it's ridiculous.
I've had a vague idea for this pasta in the back of my mind for a while now. I had a chicken dish once from Bucca Di Beppo that was served on top of a pesto cream sauce and I've been hooked on that idea ever since.
Anyway, I recently ran out of an important ingredient that I had needed for dinner that night, so instead of going out and getting said ingredient (which probably would've taken a good 45 minutes to an hour due to the location of the nearest grocery store) I looked around in my fridge and realized that I had all of the ingredients on hand to make this instead!
Needless to say, I was pretty excited... it turned out so well and I knew you guys would love it! Especially since you all love pesto. I heard you cheering, don't forget.
I used zucchini in this recipe because that's what I had on hand the first time that I made it and we all loved it, but feel free to add whatever veggies you like!
I'll be honest, I also kind of liked that everything was green... I guess I'm weird like that. Btw, if you left out the chicken and doubled up on the veggies, I think this would make an awesome side dish, too. Just some food for thought 🙂 Have a great day, and go get a workout in! You deserve it!
*"Yellows" are what 21 Day Fixers refer to as carbs though we still get plenty of fruits and veggies (which also have carbs) on top of these ones - I just want to be clear that the 21 Day Fix isn't some crazy low-carb diet or something. 😉
Don’t forget to save this easy Instant Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe to Pinterest! ⇓
Just FYI – this recipe has only been tested in the Instant Pot 6-quart duo (which you can check out here! <- affiliate link) – If you have an 8 qt, you may need to add more liquid.
Can I ask a quick favor? If you make this Instant Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta recipe, please let me know how it went by leaving a star rating (in the recipe card) and commenting! And if you snap a pic, I’d love for you to tag me @thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! I love seeing what recipes you guys are making!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chopped chicken (or 1 ½ lbs raw, chopped chicken - ½" to ¾" pieces- for Instant Pot)
- 8 large cloves of garlic, minced (I use less in the IP - about half)
- 4 cups zucchini, chopped
- 6 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta (about 3 cups dry {12 oz} - you'll use dry in the Instant Pot)
- 2 ½ cups water (Instant Pot only)
- 1 ½ cups 2% or low-fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup 1% plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup fresh basil, packed
- 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ⅓ cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Season your raw, chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and the minced garlic, set aside.
- Put your Instant Pot on saute mode, once heated, spray the bottom with olive oil cooking spray, add the zucchini and season lightly with salt and pepper. Once the zucchini have softened, remove from pot and set aside (I put a piece of aluminum foil over them to keep warm).
- Add the dry pasta and water to your pot, then add the seasoned chicken on top (don't stir). Put on your IP lid and cook on manual (or pressure cook) for 2 minutes with a quick release afterward.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, blend together the cottage cheese, greek yogurt and olive oil until completely smooth. Then add the pine nuts and the basil and blend just until the basil is well chopped (taking care not to blend into a smooth green sauce, you should see flecks of basil).
- Once pot has finished cooking and the pressure has fully released, remove the lid, there should only be a little liquid left in the pot and it adds to the sauce, so no need to drain it. Stir in the creamy pesto sauce and the cheese, season as you like with a little salt and pepper and serve!
Stovetop Instructions:
- In a blender, blend together the cottage cheese and Greek yogurt until completely smooth. Add in the basil and the pine nuts and blend again just until you can see that the basil is finely chopped and all is fully combined (you don't want to over-blend). Set aside.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil to medium-high heat. Add the garlic and the zucchini and cook until the zucchini softens. To the skillet, add the pasta, chicken, sauce mixture and pecorino and heat through. Salt and pepper to season then serve.
- Note: If you're using raw chicken, after cooking the zucchini, remove it from the pan to prevent overcooking, then saute the chicken in the same skillet (seasoning with salt and pepper). Once chicken is fully cooked, add the pasta, sauce mixture and cheese. Heat through, season with salt and pepper and serve!
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Equivalents: 1 ½ YELLOW, ½ RED, ½ GREEN, ½ BLUE, 1 TSP
Weight Watchers Personal Points Link: Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 ¼ cups per servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 392Total Fat: 13g
Melissa L Harlow says
Would this work with two cups of ricotta instead of the cottage cheese and yogurt? Sounds so good and with that sub I would be all set!
Stephanie says
Hi! I think it would be different, but still tasty!
Sonja says
We tried this tonight and it was delicious!! Our store was out of fresh basil so I used dried basil and it still tasted great! But I'm not sure what it's "supposed" to taste like 😊 I am excited to try it again with fresh basil sometime!
Stephanie says
Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit for you even with the dried basil, that's awesome!
Melissa Harris says
Hi Stephanie! Looking forward to making this recipe this week! I’m looking to adjust to 4 servings for a whole ❤️, but don’t want 3💛 of pasta per serving. Will this require an adjustment to the water in the recipe if I cut the pasta in half? Or should I double the chicken and leave the rest of the proportions alone? Thank you!!
Stephanie says
So this is tough without testing - but if I were you I would try just doubling the chicken and cutting back the water to 2 cups (because the extra chicken will create extra liquid). Hope this helps! I'd love to hear how it goes!
Alexis says
For some reason the site won't let me select 5 stars but this recipe definitely deserves it!!! This was so easy, filling and incredibly flavorful. EVERYONE loved it and when my fiance goes back for seconds that's a BIG WIN!! Thank you, again, for another wonderful dish.
Stephanie says
That IS a win!! So happy you guys loved it! And you DID end up giving it 5 stars, so thank you! 💕
Brittany says
All I have is dried basil, can I use that instead?
Stephanie says
Hey Brittany! To me, dried basil doesn't taste anything like fresh and it definitely won't give it the same flavor. It may still be good, but it probably won't taste much like pesto. Most times I'm pretty open to substitutions, but on this one I wouldn't.
Annette says
I made this tonight it was amazing! A huge hit!!
Stephanie says
Whoop whoop!! Happy to hear it!
Miranda says
Just had this for supper - delicious and like others - can't believe it's "Fix Friendly!" Love it! My one suggestion to make it easier would be to just cook the chicken in the pan before adding the zucchini (unless you have precooked chicken on hand). I ended up boiling my chicken ahead of time and could have saved myself washing one less pot if I had just cooked it in the skillet before I added the zucchini. 🙂 I'm sticking pre-measured leftovers in my freezer for healthy fix lunches another day!
Stephanie says
Great to hear, Miranda! Yep, this recipe was written to use leftover prepped chicken (I always have it on hand!) for a quick dinner, but if I didn't have any that's exactly what I would do 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Steven R Rosen says
Just a comment in regards to your statement that some 20 day fixers can only have one cup of carbs per day. Yes, we can only have one cup of certain types of carbohydrates (what goes in the yellow container), but vegetables and fruits are also carbohydrates. And that equates to 5 more cups of carbs (3 cups vegs, 2 cups fruit). I just wanted to clarify, in case there is any misconception that the 21 day fix is one cup of carbs total.
Stephanie says
Yes! Thank you, Steven, I should've specified "yellows" not "carbs" as that's really what I meant. I was just trying to not make it confusing for the non-fixers out there. I'll clarify this in my post. 🙂
Allysa says
Have you ever made this and halved the pasta but doubled the chicken? I don't want to waste all my yellows on dinner hahaha!
Stephanie says
Hey Allysa! I haven't, but I don't see why not, go for it! I'd love to hear how you liked it!
Ashley says
I have already made pesto, so if I skip Step 1 how much Pesto can I use from my already-made Pesto?
Stephanie says
Hmm... that's a tough question to answer since I throw everything together in the blender, I've never seen how much actual pesto it would make without the cottage cheese and yogurt. What I would do in your case, is drain as much of the oil as possible (saving it to cook with in the skillet) and add a tablespoon at a time to the blender until I was happy with the result. I would start with just one tablespoon though. Hope this helps!
NancyK says
I'm not officially on the "Fix" but just pinning and trying out recipes. I couldn't believe how good the creamy pesto tastes! I decided to try this with zucchini pasta, and for the first time ever I was satisfied after eating a noodle substitute! I will definitely make this again!
Stephanie says
Thanks, Nancy! I'm so glad you liked it! Great idea to have this sauce with zucchini pasta, I'm definitely going to do that!
Lindsay says
What are the container equivalents you have listed based on? How do you measure out 1 portion for own meal after making all of it?
Stephanie says
Hi Lindsay! The container equivalents are per serving and are based off of a 1 1/4 cup serving. The way I figure out the container equivalents is by taking all of the ingredients of each color, adding those together, then dividing by servings. For example, in this recipe, there's 6 cups of cooked whole wheat pasta for the yellow container, which is 12 yellows total. I divide the 12 yellows by the 8 servings to get 1 1/2 yellows per serving. All you have to do is make as directed, then measure out 1 1/4 cup of the mixture for each serving. 🙂
Shaun says
If I only want 1 yellow container per serving how many cups would that be? 4?
Stephanie says
Yes, exactly!
KATRINA L ROBINSON says
Can I measure this out by containers for a serving? 1 Y 1 Red 1 TSP 1 G?
Stephanie says
1 serving of this recipe will be 1 1/4 cups, which is 1 1/2 yellows, 1/2 red, 1/2 green, 1/2 blue, and 1 tsp.
KATRINA L ROBINSON says
Did you make this? What was the 4 cups in reference to?
Stephanie says
Hi! The 4 cups was in reference to the number of cups of cooked pasta he should use in this recipe to bring down the yellow container count to 1 per serving. Not sure if he made it or not, hopefully he'll get back to you on that!
erica says
DELICIOUS! This was so easy and quick to make but definitely did not taste like it! Such a healthy meal and it really feels like you're being "bad" lol. It made a lot, too, so we had leftovers for the next couple of days, which I was grateful for. 🙂
Stephanie says
Thanks, Erica, I'm so glad you liked it!
Jenna says
This sounds delicious! Do you think you could make the pesto portion the night before to make dinner prep a little quicker?
Stephanie says
Absolutely!
Sarah Y. says
I made this last night, and we couldn't believe it was Fix-friendly! So creamy and filling. Thanks for the great recipe.
Stephanie says
You're welcome, Sarah! I'm so glad you liked it 🙂