This pesto chicken pasta is a fresh summer dinner made with cherry tomatoes, pesto, mozzarella and tender chicken. It’s an easy 30-minute dinner.

overhead photo of pesto chicken pasta in a skillet

This post and recipe have been updated from the archives. First published May 2009.

This time of year, I can subsist on pretty much three things: tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. It’s a habit I picked traveling around Italy a few years back and serves as my main motivation for growing my own tomatoes, which most years doesn’t exactly work out. I like to blame the weather, but I’m pretty sure my tomato fails are due to gardener error. But, this year, there’s hope! My plants are heavy with tomatoes that aren’t yet ripe but are very much alive, so fingers crossed.

And the original plan was to use those tomatoes in this pesto chicken pasta I’m sharing today. It’s a riff on my three favorite summer ingredients with some pasta and chicken tossed in to make it a proper dinner. Luckily, seeing as my tomatoes are on the slower-ripening end of the stick, it’s easy to find summer-fresh tomatoes in other places besides my backyard.

Besides all the summer tomato goodness, this pesto chicken pasta is an easy stovetop dinner that comes together in about the time it takes to boil the pasta. The tomatoes are cooked just until they’re softened so they retain their summery freshness. Their juices combine with the pesto to create a light and flavorful sauce that’s tossed with tender chicken, fresh mozzarella and pasta. In other words, it’s an easy-breezy summer recipe.

I love some easy-breezy cooking, don’t you?

Ingredients

Penne
Olive oil
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cherry tomatoes
Pesto
Fresh mozzarella
Parmesan cheese

Tips for Making Pesto Chicken Pasta

If you saw my post a few days ago with an easy pesto recipe and wondered what you might do with it besides just tossing it with some pasta (although, this is an excellent idea) this chicken pasta recipe puts it to good use.
That said, I totally get if you’d rather just buy some pesto instead of making your own. If you do, be sure to buy fresh refrigerated pesto that’s usually near the produce department. Stay far away from any pesto sauce that’s sitting in a middle aisle at room temperature – it’s the opposite of fresh.

overhead photo of a bowl of homemade pesto

While you wait for the pasta water to boil prep the chicken by pounding it out to an even thickness. This will tenderize the chicken and it will cook evenly in the pan.
Cook the chicken first in a large skillet and then cook the tomatoes in the juices left behind by the chicken. The tomatoes only need a few minutes in a hot skillet. They will release juices as they break down which will mix with all the flavor left behind by the chicken.
Once the pasta is cooked, I like to use a large slotted spoon to transfer from the pasta water to the skillet. That way, it brings along some of the starchy pasta water which helps give the sauce a little body. If you drain your pasta with a colander, be sure to save a couple of tablespoons of the water to add to the pan.
Once you’ve added the pasta you can add the chicken (slice it into bite-sized pieces first), the pesto, and the mozzarella and toss it all together to combine.
For serving, garnish with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Variations and Substitutions

Check your pasta stash before you buy a box of penne because any short pasta shape will work in this recipe. Farfalle, rotini, gemelli, orecchiette, and cavatappi are all good choices.
If you can’t find cherry tomatoes (or your tomato plants are slow like mine) you can use grape tomatoes, too.
I used fresh mozzarella pearls, which are small balls of mozzarella typically sold in 8-ounce packages. If you can’t find them, just get a regular ball of mozzarella and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
As far as the pesto, you aren’t limited to classic basil pesto. For a twist, try tossing it all with some beet tops pesto or spinach and parsley pesto.

Happy cooking,

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