Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli. Melt the butter in the reserved skillet over medium heat. Cut the fresh broccoli buds into small florets, leaving as short a stem as possible; set aside. This pesto chicken and broccoli dinner is a jazzed up version of my favorite creamy chicken and broccoli pasta.
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Ziti, penne, rigatoni, fusilli or similar short pastas may be used (do not use long, noodle-like pasta).
The broccoli should be firm and a bright green when cooked (al dente).
You can cook Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli using 9 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.
Ingredients of Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Broccoli
- You need 2 of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- It's 1/2 tsp of salt.
- It's 1/2 tsp of pepper.
- It's 16 oz of farfalle (bowtie) pasta.
- You need 1 cup of basil pesto.
- Prepare 1 cup of cherry tomatoes halves.
- It's 1/4 cup of fresh basil chopped.
- It's of Parmesan cheese.
- Prepare 1 cup of steamed broccoli, chipped.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, veggies, and pesto until the chicken and veggies are coated well with pesto. A mixture of pasta, broccoli, pesto, tomatoes and cheese that is practically a meal in itself, especially with the cooked chicken. Great served with crusty bread or a tossed salad. Try using bow tie pasta for an added variation!
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. The grilled chicken is also quite simple. All it needs is salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.