Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta has simple, cheesy pasta with spinach, artichoke, sun-dried tomato, and chicken. This family dinner is perfect for your busy weeknight.
Yeahhh this is happening. Creamy cheesy pasta with the easiest sauce ever, ready in 20 minutes. Simple ingredients like Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast, and we just whip this together for a mid-week, holy cow-we-are-going-back-to-school, totally satisfying dinner.
Because this post is for all the parents. For when we are ready to lose it …but it is only Wednesday. For when we come home, beat and stressed, but still need to feed them all and be present. For when we just need it …pasta loaded with cheese or just super easy dinners. BUT, we don’t want to make much effort. Because we are kinda done right then. Hence, Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast to the rescue.
So, I am working with Tyson Foods for this little project. Sandwiches, quesadillas, or just straight onto a plate with peas and carrots. ? I know, I know – I can’t believe I’m already thinking about Back-to-School either. But I live in Florida, and school starts in early August. So here we are, and I was kinda thinking this year that I’d get ahead of the game, take some time, and plan a bit better to have ready-to-go dinner solutions planned. Go me. ☺
I am happy with the Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast in particular. It is such a simple solution to many of my life’s problems. I keep the bag in the freezer, then grab and add and go as I need.
My case in point… that is Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast in the lower corner.
I like the large 22 ounce bag of Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast. That way I just buy it and it lasts for a couple dinners or bunches of lunches. I throw the chicken in healthy lunches and salads in the morning still frozen, then by lunchtime it is perfectly thawed. Because the chicken is already cooked, I LOVE to add to lunches when I get super organized on a Sunday and prep lunches for the week. In my busy busy life, I need little hacks like this especially once school starts up again.
So, have you tried the Walmart online grocery pickup yet? Holy COW it is easy. And FREE. Just go through Walmart’s site and create a login if you don’t already have one.
Then, it is super easy to search for groceries you want. I have never had an issue tracking down what I want or the size package I want it in. And you are not limited to groceries either, because I get all the goods – paper towels, kitty litter, laundry detergent, even clothes hangers.
Then when you are done, just click checkout, pay, and at the allotted time that you select – under the arrow in the photo above, you can see the link to schedule your pick-up time (for me it has always been the next day, but I don’t know if that’s true for every store), you go and just pick up. You don’t even have to go into the store – my Walmart has designated spots, so I pull in, call them to let them know I’m there, then they bring the goods out. And here’s the clincher – if they don’t have an item, they substitute and it is usually for a larger item AND you are not charged more. So, that’s sometimes a score too. But then also, if you do not want the replacement item, you can decline and are credited back that amount.
So if you are really into meal planning like I am and only want to have to make one grocery run a week (I pray), this is fantastic. Just get it done and let’s get on with it, you know? This will literally save me once the kids are back in school. …btw, this also really helps me stick to my budget, because I can only stick to my list! Get it??
Alright, this recipe – because I can’t possibly talk food without making up a way to use it, right? My wanting here was a creamy, cheesy dinner without having to go through the steps like we do for macaroni and cheese. I wanted this to be a weeknight dinner, but one that gives a hug too. And the easiest part is that you do not even have to thaw the chicken – just throw it in there and it will all be perfect when it comes out of the oven.
And there’s spinach. Let’s remember that.
Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 6 oz bag fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 14 oz can quartered artichoke hearts
- ½ cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil drained
- 10 oz Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast or can substitute Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Refrigerated Chicken – if using refrigerated, you do not have to thaw in advance. or can substitute Tyson® Grilled & Ready® Refrigerated Chicken – if using refrigerated, you do not have to thaw in advance.
- 1 8 oz tub garden vegetable cream cheese
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tbs store-bought pesto
- 1 4 oz bag shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 8 oz bag shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz pasta of choice I used orecchiette pasta
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn on the oven broiler.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. Add the cooked pasta and remaining ingredients, except the mozzarella cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is incorporated.
- Layer the shredded mozzarella on top. Put the skillet in the oven under the broiler until the top is golden brown (~5 minutes). Yields: 6 servings.